VNSNY Sees Huge Surge in Social Media Posts During COVID-19

“Yay!!”  “Awesome!” “I am so proud of each and every one of you!”

These are just some of the hundreds of comments that have been posted on VNSNY’s Facebook and Instagram pages in recent weeks, reacting to photos of VNSNY staff wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), making house calls, and otherwise providing care to COVID-19 patients. VNSNY’s high profile during the coronavirus pandemic has generated a huge surge of attention on social media—all of it extremely positive.

“In mid-March, we had one social media post that resulted in over 8,000 likes and shares,” says Cristina Melendez, Associate Director of Digital and Social Media. “That’s almost twice as many as any post in 2019.”

This increased online attention has been very important for the VNSNY Coronavirus Response Fund, which raises money for PPE and other COVID-19-related supplies. The Fund has received over $2.1 million in donations since it was established two months ago. The fund has attracted many individual donations, thanks in part to a digital marketing campaign, Help Us Help New Yorkers right now, that features VNSNY’s frontline staff in action and includes a strong social media component.

In the early days of the pandemic, social media also provided a way for VNSNY to transmit an important message to the public and healthcare leaders about the organization’s need for PPE. “Everyone was focused on hospitals and the shortages they faced,” says Catherine Callaway, Vice President, Marketing and Development. “Social media played a critical role in getting VNSNY’s message out that we’re on the front lines too, and that we also desperately need PPE.”

Nearly three months into the pandemic, social media continues to play an important part in raising public awareness of how VNSNY is stepping up to provide care during the current crisis, adds Catherine. “Social media allows us to show all the caring people of VNSNY on the front lines, and share what a pivotal role VNSNY is playing for New Yorkers who count on us,” she notes. “It also lets patients, members and their families share their personal stories of VNSNY helping them at this difficult moment.”

Facebook is the social media channel where VNSNY gets the most engagement, explains Cristina, and many VNSNY staff are active users. “Facebook promotes all that we’re doing,” she says. “It’s brought an outpouring of support for us nationwide, including family members across the country who need help with a relative living alone in New York.”

To further enhance its Facebook presence, VNSNY recently launched a new Facebook Frame featuring the VNSNY logo along with the powerful message, “We are stronger than our circumstances.” The frame can be used to customize people’s Facebook profile pictures, as a way of inspiring others while also showing support for VNSNY during the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn how to you can add the VNSNY Facebook Frame to your own profile, click here.

VNSNY’s social media presence also includes:

• VNSNY’s Twitter account, which focuses primarily on communicating with health care professionals and policy-makers, letting them know about VNSNY’s organization-wide response to the pandemic. Our Twitter platform also played a key role in promoting the VNSNY shout-out by the cast and crew of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on their #Maisel Monday live chat in which the beneficiary of fundraising was the VNSNY Coronavirus Response Fund.

• LinkedIn, which helps establish VNSNY as a thought leader in home health care nationwide—including serving as a platform for promoting recent webinars in which number of senior executives have discussed VNSNY’s response to the pandemic.

• Instagram—VNSNY’s newest focus platform. “Instagram lets VNSNY visually tell the story of our response, including all the staff selfies,” says Cristina. It’s also where users were able to donate money and earn equivalent donations from Book of the Month’s matching pledge to the VNSNY Coronavirus Response Fund. Combined with Book of the Month’s own pledge, the campaign raised more than $85,000, with a majority of first time donors using Instagram’s donation feature to donate.

“I hope every staff member will consider following VNSNY on these different platforms,” says Cristina. “They’re a great way to stay engaged, and they also help spread the word that care at home is broader than many people think. Yes, we have nurses and home health aides—but home care is also physical therapists and mental health practitioners, remote care management, our CHOICE Health Plans—and much much more. Social media is a perfect way to share this message.”