Amplify the stories people are already sharing.
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is using patient creators to tell stories about emergency rooms, births and complex care at a time when trust in healthcare is strained.
Sabrina Upole, digital strategy and influencer marketing manager at UPMC, helped build the program five years ago, before influencers were common in healthcare, she said.
“I think it was just a happenstance, really, that (UPMC was) looking for someone to take it on,” she said. “So we built it from nothing and really began thinking about how to leverage real peoples’ experiences.”
Instead of promoting a single department, her strategy is about focusing broadly on patient stories across the system and emphasizing their experiences.
“Our most recent influencer campaign is really focused on patient stories,” she said. “For this one, we’re not really creating new content per se, just amplifying the stories that people are already sharing.”
Don’t rewrite what’s already working
Rather than scripting testimonials, UPMC identified people who had already posted about their care experiences on platforms like X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
In one video, a mother described her experience in the emergency department and how nurses calmed and connected with her daughter.
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“We didn’t change any of the parts of it,” Upole said. “So it really was almost duplicate content in some way.”
If a story resonates organically, resist the urge to overproduce it, she said. Get permission first.. But keep the voice intact.
“The audience can feel when something maybe isn’t in their natural voice or is heavily scripted from a brand.”
In a trust deficit, authenticity is so critical, she said. The more the brand’s fingerprints show, the less credible the story becomes.
Borrow trust from existing relationships
Patients often trust friends, family and creators more than messaging from a big institution. UPMC’s approach leans into this.
“Everyone turns to their friends and family when they’re making those healthcare decisions,” Upole said. Influencer relationships “carry the same weight as those friend and family recommendations.”
Notably, UPMC doesn’t look for traditional influencers who have large social followings. It looks for people who already have strong community ties in their own niches.
“We don’t really look specifically for a healthcare influencer per se,” she said. “We just look for people who are sharing their authentic stories online with their communities.”
Credibility travels through relationships, she said. Instead of building a message from scratch, identify where trust already exists and work within it.
Structure appropriately
UPMC works with an agency for outreach. Influencers are vetted through content reviews and background checks, with permission, Upole said. Contracts outline usage rights, payment and protections on both sides.
“Our process has really changed throughout the years,” Upole said, describing it as a “crawl, walk, run approach.” She says they’re currently in the “walk” phase.
Their vetting process is part of the trust equation. Authenticity does not mean lack of oversight, she said. For PR teams in regulated industries, this is key. You can protect the brand without scripting the human out of the content.
Each partnership typically includes:
- A post on the influencer’s Instagram (or agreed upon social channel) with a collaboration tag to UPMC.
- Organic usage rights for UPMC to repurpose the content on its own channels, including YouTube Shorts and TikTok.
- Two weeks of paid amplification.
Amplification is usually focused on Meta platforms, with targeting adjusted by audience, Upole said. A college student’s story is targeted differently than a mother sharing a birth experience, she said.
Measure signals of intent
The primary KPI is engagement rate, including saves and shares, Upole said.
“Is someone finding this content so valuable that they want to find it easily accessible?” she said. “Did it resonate with them enough to share it with a friend or family?”
Some posts have generated as many as 200 shares. The volume signals that the story is moving beyond passive scrolling, she said.
Comments are another indicator.
“Followers often say they are happy that their influencer had such a positive experience,’ Upole said.
Think long term
Right now, most campaigns for UPMC are one-offs. But Upole is considering longer-term agreements that span a year.
The reasoning is to make partnerships easier on both sides and deepen the relationship over time.
“Influencer marketing and healthcare really only works when it’s built on real trust, which comes from those real authentic experiences,” she said.
Especially at a time when institutional voices are questioned and misinformation spreads quickly, UPMC’s strategy is about being measured, human and building trust, she said.
“When it’s done right, it can really humanize healthcare,” Upole said.
Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at courtneyb@ragan.com.
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