Today, using social media to promote your health and wellness practice is a must. If you’re not connecting with prospective patients on social media, you’re probably losing business to competitors who do. And if you already have an online presence, there is always room for improvement.
In this article, we will explore the following related to provider social media marketing:
- Ways you can use social platforms to highlight the benefits you offer,
- encourage prospects to seek treatment, promote how you can help them relieve pain and improve their quality of life, and
- position yourself as an expert in your specialty.
Spotlighting your services
According to Statista, Facebook is the largest social network on the planet with over 2.7 billion monthly active users. It surpassed 1 billion users in 2012 – the first social network to accomplish this.
Because of its size, Facebook is a no-brainer for care provider social media marketing. But here’s another compelling reason to use Facebook. The Journal of Internet Medical Research reports that close to 90% of older users find and share health information on Facebook and other social sites. They note that adults 55 and up are a segment of the population facing a higher risk of chronic disease, social isolation, and poor health outcomes.
So, how do you engage prospective patients? One way is to educate them about your services. For instance, a regenerative medical physician would benefit from sharing links on social media to an article on their website about what makes stem cell treatments a viable alternative to surgical procedures.
Since not a lot of practitioners are using social media to promote themselves, according to Sprout Social, simply informing the public about what you have to offer will put you ahead of your competition.
Using provider social media marketing to encourage treatment
Most people don’t rush to make health and wellness appointments. But this especially applies to dentists, primarily because of the pain factor. Use social media marketing to highlight examples of patients getting treatment in a safe environment. Explain what you do to ensure their comfort. Show your audience that you’re worthy of their trust. Give them a behind-the-scenes glimpse into your practice and staff. All this will allow you to nurture a relationship with prospective patients and acquire new customers.
According to healthcare marketing company Boost Medical, over 200 million people visit at least one Instagram business profile each day. As with the other social media platforms, posting on IG builds a sense of community and enables you to build a rapport with your followers.
Since Facebook owns Instagram, you can link your business profiles on both platforms. Why have Instagram and Facebook pages, you ask? IG is highly visual, so you should focus your social media marketing on photos and video content. However, both platforms allow your audience to connect with your practice and build a rapport.
Emphasizing the quality of life
As we mentioned above regarding dentists, the fear of pain keeps many patients from seeking treatment. On the other hand, being in constant pain often motivates people to seek medical care to relieve it.
Here’s an example of outstanding provider social media marketing. B3 Medical is a sports medicine and interventional pain practice with five Tampa Bay area locations. B3 uses its Twitter feed to inform followers they have benefits specialists on staff who can help patients figure out what their insurance covers. They also post photos of therapists working with patients, and tips on posture to help people avoid neck and back pain.
With over 310 million active users who tweet over 600 million times a day, consider incorporating Twitter into your social media marketing mix. Our experience at LeadingResponse is that it takes longer to build a following on Twitter than Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn, which we’ll get to shortly. However, if you’re prepared to post fresh and frequent content relevant to current and future patients – and respond to their comments and questions – Twitter may be right for you.
As online reputation management company Birdeye suggests, include links to your website and appointment booking page in Twitter posts.
Positioning yourself as an expert
Unlike the other social media marketing platforms we’ve examined here, LinkedIn is specifically for business professionals. It boasts 756 million members worldwide. You can interact with potential patients and showcase your knowledge and experience to promote yourself as an expert in your field.
Therefore, as healthcare marketing company Intrepy points out, it’s essential to make a solid first impression on LinkedIn. Use a professional headshot in your profile, along with a background image of your practice. Make sure you send the right message to anyone looking you up or reading articles you post.
In addition, Forbes says, optimizing your LinkedIn profile will help establish you as a thought leader. Write a headline describing who and what you are and use keywords related to your specialty. If you can make time to post, target your ideal audience with articles. You can share them as updates on your feed, and with any LinkedIn groups you join.
But always remember that social platforms aren’t just for promoting sales. Yes, you can pitch your practice on occasion. However, your pages should focus on thought leadership, connecting with patients, and building relationships. Use social media to stimulate conversation and create a dialog with other practitioners and future patients.
LeadingResponse can help with provider social media marketing
In closing, we hope this guide to social media marketing provides you with tips and tactics to help you connect with your audience and elevate your brand.
As we noted in our previous blog on social media for healthcare providers, there are guidelines protecting your clients’ personal information. Don’t fail to get their permission before posting any before-and-after photos and videos on social media, or testimonials identifying them by face or name.
For those who don’t have the time or resources, the healthcare team at LeadingResponse is skilled in social media marketing. We design campaigns promoting all types of health and wellness clinics and medical centers. Learn more about how we can help you raise awareness of your practice among prospective and existing patients and expand your business.
