by Ellen Luers, RHIA, COC-A, CRC
On Friday, July 15th, I had the opportunity as an OHIMA board member to attend virtually the 2022 AHIMA Leadership Symposium along with other members of the 2022 OHIMA executive board. The topics discussed in sessions included the current and future state of AHIMA, advocacy strategies, how to foster board member inclusivity, as well as an analysis of how CSA’s (component state association) contribute to current and future employable skills of the profession.
To kick off the day, AHIMA had slated some ‘coffee chats’, which were essentially different topics that could be chosen to attend based on interest. I chose to attend a session titled ‘Maximizing Your Presence on Access’ featuring LaSha Cofer, the Social Media and Access Chair from GHIMA’s (Georgia Health Information Management Association) board.
LaSha outlined her current practices in her role as Social Media and Access chair. She had some great tips, and it seems like she puts in a lot of time and effort into her role and really cares about making her chapter visible and active on different social media outlets, as well as AHIMA’s Access. Below are a few tips that she gave during the presentation that any organization can benefit from when it comes to basic marketing and social media usage:
- Have a Plan: LaSha stressed that to
have an effective social media presence, it is important to stay
organized. She does this by creating a
content calendar and sticking to it.
Although she mentioned this initially takes some time to create, it
helps streamline the daily/weekly/bi-weekly postings and emails for the
chapter.
- Don’t Procrastinate: The key
to a strong social media presence is consistency. LaSha touched on the importance of avoiding
procrastination when it comes to creating content and updating social media channels,
which is why creating and sticking to a content calendar is important. She also mentioned to know when and who to
ask for help when needed. For example,
she likes to do all the posting herself, but will ask one of her board members
who is a coding specialist to write and post for specific coding content.
- Track Engagement: In order to get feedback on her activity, LaSha mentioned that she tracks her analytics from her social media accounts, which has been a convenient way to get feedback on what really resonated with the audience and should be repeated, and what wasn’t very heavily viewed.
OHIMA is active on many social media platforms to inform the public and members about current happenings, so you should follow these to stay up to date! If you have not already, please visit our blog, the OHIMA Exclusive, which is always updated with important and insightful articles and information: https://ohiohima.blogspot.com/
If you are looking for another way to get connected with HIM professionals in your area or across the country, try visiting AHIMA’s Access site. It is free to login with your AHIMA credentials. Once you login, you will be able to access different blogs, post and answer questions, and connect and network with other professionals. There is even an OHIMA Access group that can be joined to connect with others in the chapter.
About the Author
Ellen Luers, RHIA, COC-A, CRC is the current Director of Professional Development on the OHIMA FY 2022-23 Board of Directors. Ellen is a Data Quality and Reimbursement Consultant at Cleverley + Associates.
