Social Media: A Highly Effective Way to Build Your Practice

Social media has forever changed how we communicate, connect, and relate to one another.

Businesses and corporations have been leveraging social media for strategic marketing for years now.

When you use social media marketing, you can easily reach out to your target audience and build a long-lasting relationship with them. This is a highly effective way to build a brand that people trust while getting more bang for your buck.

Let’s look into some relevant social media marketing tips that will help your practice gain an edge over the competition.

Conduct a Social Media Audit

In order to get the most out of social media marketing, it’s crucial that you know which of your patients are already connected to you on the major social media platforms, and how they perceive your practice/brand.

To conduct a social media audit, you will:

  • Locate all your profiles: Copy the links to all your social profiles and put them into a spreadsheet.
  • Record information: Make note of the number of your followers, what kind of posts seem to have the most engagement, etc.
  • Check for consistency: Make sure the information is exactly the same across all profiles. This includes business name, phone number, website, and all other key information.
  • Delete unnecessary profiles: Remove the profiles that have low engagement or are not appropriate for a medical practice.

Conducting a proper social media audit will help you understand your current social media following. A social media audit also gives you knowledge of the areas that you need to improve on and a better perspective on how your competitors are building their social media presence.

Post at the Right Times

Social media is all about engaging with the right audience on the right platform, at the right time.

  • Best time to post on Twitter: Twitter users mostly use the platforms during breaks and commutes, with the optimal tweet times being 12 pm, 3 pm, and between 5-6pm.
  • Best time to post on Facebook: Facebook users are typically more active later on in the week, with engagement being 18% higher on Thursday and Friday, and 32 percent higher on weekends.
  • Best time to post on LinkedIn: as a business tool, LinkedIn users are frequently online in the middle of the working week. The best times to post are between Tuesday – Thursday, between 7-8am, at midday, and at 5-6pm.

Get Inspired by Other Practices

When you are doing social media marketing for your practice, it’s easy to misunderstand what your audience is looking for. This can lead you to create content that doesn’t go well with your overall business goals.

The most popular types of content include:

  • Visuals: Content with a visual element resonate more strongly than plain text. You can use stock images, but try to use original content, if possible.
  • Educational: Content that is educational and answers your patients’ most common questions will be valuable and get shared.
  • Practice News: Recent developments in your practice or in your field may be interesting to your patients. Share this content to keep them up to date.

This is why you need to spend time analyzing the type of content other practices are posting to their social media accounts. Look for patterns and see what’s fetching them the most social response.

Encourage Reviews

According to Forbes, 88 percent of customers trust online reviews as much as they would a personal recommendation. They also help boost your SEO. Online reviews are today’s word-of-mouth and are essential if you want your practice to be trusted by new patients.

To build up your reviews, include a reminder in all aspects of communication to current patients, whether it’s a block at the bottom of your email newsletters, an incentive on a business card, or a flyer in your reception.

Takeaways

  • Social media is one of the most cost-effective ways to build a strong bond with your patients.
  • Make sure your social profiles are consistent and complete.
  • Regularly view other practices for inspiration and to see what’s working.
  • Social media and online reviews are a powerful way to build a solid online reputation.

Next Steps

Take a few minutes to follow these suggestions with your own social media profiles. And if you have more questions about using social media for your practice, contact Officite.

3 Ways to Strengthen Your Online Reputation

Let’s imagine for a moment that you’re looking for a nice place to eat this evening. You narrow your options down to two choices as you’re walking down the street.

Through one restaurant window, you see a few patrons at their tables and not much else. Through another window, you see that every table is filled. There’s even a small line of people forming to see if they have a chance at getting a table tonight.

Which restaurant would you rather eat at?

Most likely, the one with more patrons. We use these cues as a shortcut for making decisions – it’s called social proof.

Social proof works much the same way online as offline. A healthcare practice isn’t the same type of business as a restaurant. But people want social proof no matter which type of business they’re looking for.

You can use social proof online to help your practice:

  • Make a strong first impression online
  • Improve search rankings
  • And build trust with potential patients

Read on to learn about how social proof works online and how it can help potential new patients contact your practice.

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