Healthcare is a complex industry that is always changing and evolving. Social media is a valuable tool for marketing a healthcare program as well as a dangerous vehicle when your program is running to its full potential. For years people in healthcare have used HIPAA as an excuse for why their program doesn’t have a social media presence. In 2015 this excuse no longer holds water. The following are five tips to help any healthcare brand with their social media efforts.
1. Know Your Audience
If you are a business targeting c-level executives you don’t want to spend the majority of your time on SnapChat and Instagram. Sure some outliers in your target audience may be experimenting with those platforms, but the majority of your target is not. Instead invest your efforts on LinkedIn where you know they are going to be already.
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2. Stand Out By Being Authentic and Real
Too many marketers fall into the same PR traps of being too politically correct and safe on social media. Boring doesn’t work in this medium. You must find an authentic voice for your brand and take chances. In healthcare we are naturally very guarded, but that does not mean that a hospital system or health company can’t showcase their personality on their social channels. Be bold and think of campaigns that capture your culture to showcase the amazing work you are doing helping people heal.
3. Don’t Chase the Numbers
Making content with the hopes of suddenly going viral is a losing battle. Instead, create amazing content that provides value and tells a unique story. The biggest mistake social media managers make is having false expectations about how quickly the number of followers, retweets, views and page likes will come to their channels. According to Chris Schellenbach, director of media at Wound Care Advantage, trying to make content go viral is a big mistake.
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“Very few videos on the Internet will actually go viral,” he said. “Instead, focus your efforts on creating amazing content around a great idea that has impact on your audience.”
4. Invest in Social Advertising
Most people assume you just slap up some social pages, put out a few weekly posts and call it a day. Social sites are making it harder than ever to reach your audience through organic content. Today, you must invest in some sort of social advertising. This includes, Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter ads.
5. Enhance Engagement
It is so important to have an engagement strategy. If you are talking to patients your strategy is naturally different than if you are talking to hospital executives. Schellenbach suggests including video content often in your social media posts as a strategy to increase engagement on your pages.
According to The Guardian in just one year, the number of video posts per person on Facebook has increased 75% globally and 94% in the US.
“Your social posts that include video embedded will really stand out in the data scroll when compared to status updates that only use text,” Schellenbach said.
