Social media is an integral part of any marketing strategy, let alone if you are running a medical practice or clinic. Social media is still the fastest growing platform on the internet today and the most popular activity for users, holding great potential for business growth and revenue.
So how can medical professionals harness the power of social media to their advantage and how can you benefit from your presence on social channels?
Social media marketing as a professional tool
The first question and probably the most important is what can social media do for a doctor or a clinic? the answer is simple – social media marketing can contribute to patient awareness, create new opportunities with new target audiences, build patient loyalty and retention and ultimately, increase revenue for your clinic.
Social media marketing for doctors – find your patients
Social media marketing is something that requires strategy if you want it to yield results. The first step is mapping out all the relevant social channels where your existing (or future) patients are. This is important to figure out so you don’t spend time or resources on the wrong channels.
For example, if you are a plastic surgeon, it is most likely that an Instagram account can be good for you. However, if you’re a gastroenterologist, perhaps not so much.
Social media marketing is not a one-time thing
Setting up social media accounts in all the right places is just the beginning. Part of your marketing strategy is remembering that a social media presence is for the long term. You are in fact establishing a relationship with your followers and as in every relationship; this one needs to be consistent.
Make sure to post information frequently enough. How much is enough? This depends greatly on your target audience, on how much time you have, etc. but also on how much real value you can create for your followers. The rule is simple – quality comes before quantity; but if you still need a rule of thumb, once a week would be a good start.
Make it easy for patients to find you
This may sound pretty basic, but you would be surprised to know how many businesses fail to follow this simple social media rule. One of the big advantages of the internet and social media have for businesses is that they make it easier for you to be found by potential patients. In that case, how is it that so many social media profiles lack basic contact information? When you set up social media accounts, please keep this in mind – people will not bother to look you up if the information is not right there in front of them.
Our attention span is so minimal in today’s busy world and unless we really want a product or service, we probably won’t bother to look you up if it’s not one click away.
So do yourself a favor and include as much information as you can on your social media profile – link to your website, phone number (preferably with a direct dial option from mobile devices), a link to download you bobile app, available hours, links to your website or appointment booking system etc. In this case, more is better.
To conclude, social media has the power to promote your business and bring you closer to new patients, increase their loyalty, reach out and stay in touch. Make sure you get to know this tool and its many advantages. bobile’s business app maker includes built-in social media promotion tools for doctors and medical professionals. Get in the social game.