Most people can agree on the power of social media in today’s world. In the last year it was reported that about 40% of Earth’s population (3 billion people) were actively using social media.

With numbers like that, you have no reason not to take your practice online and start connecting with patients.

If you’re already active on social platforms, we’re going to give you some tips that will help you harness the full potential of social media.

Having social media profiles is an easy and affordable way to increase online search results and get connected with more patients.

However, if used incorrectly, you can do more harm than good.

Whether you’re starting a new practice or just looking to expand your patient base, social media should be part of your practice’s marketing strategy. Read on for our best tips for using social media to grow your practice.

 

Define Your Goals

To effectively incorporate social media into your marketing, you must identify the specific goals you hope to achieve from using online platforms. This will help you determine which social media sites are the best for your practice.

For example, if you want to be perceived as a leader in the industry or engage with professionals, LinkedIn and Twitter may be your best bet.

On the other hand, Facebook may be more useful for practices looking to grow their patient base.

 

Be Timely and Consistent

When you commit to sharing content online, you must foster trust by sticking to a schedule.

As you build your community, you’ll need to give them some regularity in posting schedules. As time passes, you can use data to determine what times/days are the best to post.

 

Always Deliver Value

You must give patients a reason to follow you.

Be current and mindful of your tone of voice. Also, understand your patient base and their needs so you can deliver the best content for them.

This is an example of where you can lose support if done incorrectly. If you post irrelevant or lazy content, you may lose patient interest; or worse, the appearance of being trustworthy.

 

Encourage Interaction

Invite feedback and discussion on posts to engage with your patients.

You can also set up pages on platforms like Facebook and Google+ where patients can leave reviews. Actively invite reviews with regular posts or reminders at the end of posts.

Be sure to respond to reviews in a timely manner.

 

Partner Up

Depending on your practice, you can promote community events, disease awareness days, or give information about different fundraising endeavors.

When you do this, you have the unique opportunity to link up with community organizations that work with similar causes.

You also get the added benefit of having them repost your content to increase your audience.

 

Social media is an essential part of growing your practice digitally. With consistent and valuable posting, you can expand your patient base and help more people.

Are you currently using online platforms?

Leave a comment letting us know about your experiences.

If you’d like to learn more about how to develop a strong marketing strategy to find the right patients, let’s talk.

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Summary
Article Name
Five Keys to Using Social Media in Medicine
Description
When it comes to expanding your digital presence, social media is the core aspect. Learn how to effectively use social media to find patients.
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