Within the next 4 to 6 years, the use of social media to connect with individuals is expected to increase 2 or 3 -fold.
Now let’s talk about social media in the field of healthcare. Relevant and timely information on social media can help engage patients, providers, and the public. It can also communicate the value and reliability of the health system.
Is the social media tactic really a critical component of a healthcare marketing strategy?
It has been found that most consumers’ decisions to receive treatment at a healthcare facility are strongly influenced by the provider’s social media connections. It is enough to derive that patients trust health organizations that have a social media presence.
Doctors also like to stay updated and the majority of doctors now believe that social media is improving the quality of care delivered to patients. Doctors believe transparency and open communication which social media provides is a very effective tool.
Social media provides the opportunity to increase patient referrals. Hence, it should be no surprise that many health systems are jumping on the social media bandwagon. Visit The Real Social Company for the best social media services.
Social Media Marketing Tips for Healthcare Websites
Let’s take a look at a few ways that can be used to increase overall marketing efforts using social media.
1) Give Your Organization A Personality Online
You might have seen healthcare companies that seem a bit sterile. Depending on the companies’ point of view, this is great as this covers the cleanliness of the equipment, but it may also be lacking in some places when we consider communicating your personality with patients and the public.
As a healthcare company, you must know how to use social media as a way to interact and engage with your patients or customers. Show a bit of your personality. In other words, humanize your organization. Try responding to reviews and inquiries more frequently.
2) Educate Your Audience Online
Social media is a place where people visit daily and more or less get a lot of their information or updates from. Hence it can also be a great way to spread the word about public health issues.
A little brainstorming from your side and you can come up with a unique campaign that you can run to raise awareness on an issue.
Try limiting self-promotional posts and focus on ways that you can help your audience.
After all, your social media page is not a place to invite people for surgeries and stuff, it is a place where you can educate them and earn credibility.
There is a lot of misinformation online about different health and fitness topics. Your social media page should come up with ideas and knowledge to curb them and use social media to positively impact patients and the public.
Your physicians can share useful information with patients. It will support preventative care initiatives and also make it easier for clients to determine what kind of medical care they need.
3) Advertise Online
Will it be hard for you to digest if I say that Americans spend more time online than we do sleeping each day? It’s true you’ll say!
It’s a kind of a no brainer, then, that advertising online is a good way to reach your targeted audience.
As a healthcare organization, you should advertise to raise brand awareness for your organization. You can also use it to drive leads towards premium content downloads so that you can nurture them into becoming patients or customers.
Your social media ads have to be relevant, well-written and if accompanied by an image, then it is sure to grab the audience’s attention.
4) Facilitate Physician Collaboration Online
Nowadays, healthcare marketers use social media channels to encourage physician alignment and collaboration. A major healthcare chain in The US created an industry social network that helped physicians communicate and work with one another in overcoming challenges posed by the work environment.
Do you know what the result of this step was?
This networking initiative helped the health system by
- Improving physician collaboration
- A shorter learning period
- Increased acceptance of using social media tools.
One question that would now naturally rise in your mind is why should healthcare marketers be concerned with improving physician alignment and collaboration?
- Social media is an easy way to find physicians and connect with other health professionals.
- It even helps to find and connect with professionals outside of your own health system or hospital.
- Physicians can now share their knowledge or research to benefit other providers – all by the grace of social media.
- This improves physicians’ knowledge and willingness to work as a team.
- The more informed and educated the physicians are the happier patients will be.
- Healthcare marketers should strive to provide patients with better experiences in order to increase loyalty, retention, and positive word-of-mouth referrals.
5) Give Your Audience Content They Can’t Get Elsewhere Online
On social media, the sky is the limit. You get a platform to show your creativity and create relevant and informative content that can be helpful. You can post:
- video tutorials on how to use at-home healthcare monitoring devices
- product demos for equipment and services that you’re selling
- infographics with tips and fitness exercises for adults and/on the handicapped
If you have a social media page that has unique posts to offer to its audiences, then the following things don’t matter:
- healthcare organization’s industry segment
- whether your organization is patient-facing or B2B
- whether you’re a company selling latest equipment or a hospital that performs cutting-edge surgeries
You will get the desired shares, likes and retweets irrespective of all the above factors.
6) Go Viral by Appealing to Community Values Online
Building active relationships is an important part of social media.
A study found out that every minute more than 120 new LinkedIn accounts are created, 452,000 tweets are sent out, and 900,000 Facebook accounts are logged in.
Just imagine how successful your healthcare organization can be if you figure out how to activate this engaged community in a way that’s positive for your brand!
- Over the last few years, you might have seen a number of viral posts. Viral marketing refers to the campaigns that rocket quickly into fame and capture the attention of a wide audience.
- If there is one sector that can take viral marketing to its full use then it is healthcare companies. This is just because their focus is on a topic that everyone cares about.
- Show me one person, who doesn’t want to prevent or fight against cancer, or cure disease and live a healthy life!
- Reach out to a community that is ready to act for an important cause. You can also show your patients how much you care by partnering with a charity on a campaign.
7) Lean Into Your CMS
Once you have understood the social media in your area, it’s time to create content that will help you reach the top of your healthcare consumers’ feeds and search results.
A sophisticated CMS (content management system) will help you create a seamless, personalized digital consumer experience based on local health issues and patient education initiatives.
The correct CMS will allow you to publish and manage content to your website.
It will also help you connect complex social campaigns across your most popular and highest-yield platforms.
The right CRM opens the door to targeted messages based on location. It will track conversions for you and you will know exactly know how your content is paying off for you.
8) Stories Are The Real Deal
When people can relate to the scenarios you create, they will understand that you relate to them. They will feel that your brand offers exactly what they need. This strategy will definitely help you boost your sales.
However, don’t get stuck in a story for too long. Be regular in the process of monitoring the needs and wants of your audience. You must make sure that your brand’s heritage is thoroughly conveyed by every story that you present to your audience.
Recognize the moment when the campaign needs an upgrade or a complete makeover and act on it as soon as possible.
The tips and strategies mentioned above can help medical professionals find new ways to reach out to their audience, demonstrate their expertise and help their practice grow.
Just remember to keep track of your marketing campaigns as you implement them. Learn about which content your audience responds to best, and it will be easy for you to create an online strategy that really resonates with your patients.
Max Effect Marketing is the best SEO agency in Denver. With a highly experienced team that has worked with healthcare clients from all over the world, we have a reputation for giving the best social media marketing services to our clients. We have different and well-versed teams for content creation, generation of links, and analyzing the conversion and traffic rates. Max Effect Marketing ensures a satisfied experience.
