While word of mouth is still how many people find their medical providers, social media has become integral to healthcare marketing. Tebra’s 4th annual Patient Perspectives report found that 77% of patients often or sometimes search online for doctors. This behavior isn’t just confined to the younger set; Gen X (75%) and Baby Boomers (68%) are not far behind Millennials (86%) and Gen Z (81%). This makes social media a crucial space to connect with prospects for medical practices. Medical practices thrive on bonding with patients and gaining their trust. By sharing your expertise and posting about your practice and team, you can give prospects a glimpse of the patient experience at your practice and build trust with patients before they even step into the office.
Social Media Strategies To Consider For Medical Practices
Below we list some social media strategies that can help your medical practice connect with potential patients and build a better relationship with existing ones:
Choosing The Right Platform
First, you need to figure out which social media platforms are best for your practice. Quality and consistency is what ultimately builds a successful social media strategy, and having a consistent, strong presence on one platform is better than a scattered, weak one on several. The platform you choose depends on the type of medical practice you have and the audience you are trying to reach. Figure out where your target patient population resides online, and where your efforts will get the best return. Some options include:
- Threads
- Youtube
- X (Twitter)
Generate Quality, Relevant Content
When creating and posting content, make sure that the content is aesthetically pleasing and easy to understand. Pretty pictures are great for grabbing someone’s attention, but it’s not enough – the key is solid storytelling and being able to dissect complicated topics in accessible ways that your audience can understand. Patients follow healthcare practices on social media for a range of reasons; they want to understand how your office and team works and who they are as well as to glean practical information and medical insights. Showcase diversity in your visual content and employ inclusive language to increase patient loyalty, promote equality, and heighten the reputation of your practice.
Create A Plan
Staying consistent is only possible with a plan. This means creating a posting schedule and having the time to create and schedule content. If you don’t have this kind of time, consider delegating to professionals like Affordable Digital Marketing. Some things to consider when building a content calendar include:
- Building in relevant holidays or events. For example, if breast cancer screening is important to your patients, spotlight Breast Cancer Awareness Month and emphasize testing and statistics
- Incorporate regional and local events like fundraisers, 5K races, or other municipal activities where you and your staff can connect with the community and other organizations
- Establish a day a week to post themed content. For example, you can make every Thursday “Test Results Thursday” where you post about a different procedure or diagnostic tool and break down what it is, how it’s used, and who it’s relevant to.
Contact Us Today
If you don’t have time in your day running a medical practice to focus on social media marketing, never fear – Affordable Digital Marketing has a proven track record of helping medical practices and other professional service providers build and enact effective social media marketing strategies. Call Affordable Digital Marketing for your content marketing needs today!