In today’s world, it seems as though everyone is on social media. From major corporations to small mom-and-pop shops… business owners are taking advantage of the opportunities social media provides their company to grow and prosper.
Healthcare, Wellness, and Social Media
However, an industry that has taken a bit longer to climb aboard the social media train is the healthcare industry. A 2015 survey by Greystone reported that most healthcare marketers considered their social media efforts behind the curve compared to other industries. Since this report, however, there has been a large adoption of social media in the healthcare industry, which is great news.
But what was the hold up? Partly, a lack of understanding on how to integrate current healthcare marketing efforts with social media is to blame. Additionally, the fear of patient privacy and compliance with HIPAA regulations are causes for concern. If you are considering whether social media is right for your practice or organization, here are some tips we have for successful medical marketing!
5 Medical Social Media Tips
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Always Remain HIPAA Compliant:
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HIPAA regulations and medical ethics codes should always be the first thing on your mind when it comes to your social media strategy because protecting the privacy of your patients is of the utmost importance. Never share a patient’s personal information, or any information that could potentially identify them.
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Create a Voice:
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This is an important step for any brand on social media. Creating a unique voice for your organization helps set your organization apart from others. Just because you are a medical practice or organization does not mean you need a sterile tone of voice, either.
Having a personality allows your followers to trust you and feel they are interacting with actual people rather than robots. Furthermore, responding to comments and reviews allows you to humanize your practice and instills trust in your patients and potential patients.
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Educate:
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Don’t allow your social media efforts to all lend themselves to self-promotion. While this is a good tactic part of the time, you will also want to create a space where your patients and followers can learn.
Become a resource of rich information. This will translate in your followers trusting you and coming to your page for information they can rely on.
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Distribute Breaking News:
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We don’t mean you’re responsible for being a news outlet now that you’re setting up your social media channels. However, according to Pew Research Center, roughly half (52%) of Americans say they prefer getting their news from a digital platform. That being said… your social media channels serve as a terrific way to spread crucial information pertaining to public health and crisis monitoring.
Specifically, we have seen this within the last year surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the World Health Organization, 43.9% of males and females polled reported that they would likely share “scientific” content on their social media. This means that your scientific content is seen as shareable in the eyes of your followers.
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Engage:
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As mentioned above, engaging with your followers is an important part of creating a voice for yourself. But what exactly does it mean to engage and how often should you do it? Engage as often as you can! This can be done by responding to questions, posting polls, and asking questions to get your followers involved in your content and brand. This leads to trust, and trust leads to business!
You can engage furthermore by sharing resources and support and giving your audience content that they are not going to get elsewhere. Any content that will help your audience and allow you to further engage, such as infographics and tips, are great places to start.
Getting Started
Now it’s time to get the ball rolling and establish your medical practice or organization on social media. These tips will help you to be successful in your medical marketing efforts.
It is also a great idea to look to other medical institutions that you admire and see what their social media content looks like. By observing what resonates with their audience, and then understanding your own tone and direction, you will be off to a great start to establishing success on your own.
Efferent Can Help Your Social Media Presence
Ready to upgrade to professional marketing that generates results? Give us a call at Efferent Media to discuss whatever aspect of marketing you need – social media marketing and ads, community management, lead generation and nurturing, SEO, and more. To get started, contact us today.