Why does social media matter so much to healthcare? The answer is simple: social media is everywhere. A 2022 study found that on average we spend around two and a half hours on social media daily. To put that into perspective, a group of ten people will collectively spend 25 hours in one day on social media. Now imagine millions of people who are constantly scrolling through social media. This is what makes it so important in the healthcare space. An efficient page keeps your audience engaged and attracts new leads.
NewGen is a premier marketing team dedicated to helping brands grow and expand. We understand the importance of social media and make sure we keep up with trends and make engaging content, all while keeping your vision in mind.
What is Social Media Marketing
It is no secret that platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok have millions, if not billions, of users daily. Being able to reach out and communicate with this vast audience is the key to a successful page. It oftentimes requires a well-thought-out plan with engaging quality content.
Effective social media marketing gives your brand the opportunity to humanize your practice and drive traffic to your website. Social media advertising generates leads and increases overall brand awareness. In addition, some brands tend to use social media as a customer service outlet as well through direct messaging, allowing patients to have questions answered in real-time.
Why Social Media
Going into 2023, social media is the pinnacle of digital healthcare marketing. Of course, the old ways still exist and are still effective, but if you are a healthcare brand in 2023 without a social media page, you are missing out on a plethora of opportunities and benefits. Healthcare social media is more than cut-and-dry content. It is fluid, constantly changing, and adapting to new medical information or general trends. Learning how to market on social media can increase leads and keep your current audience engaged. It also has the added benefit of being relatively inexpensive but wildly efficient in reaching more people across different platforms.
Running a social media page for your brand in our day and age is actually expected by a majority of people. Similar to having a solid website, having a social media presence makes your brand look legit and relevant. Through quality content, you can attract a wider audience which means more leads and potential long-standing patients.
Tips and Tricks You Should Consider
Now that you have a better understanding of what social media marketing is and what it can do for you, it’s important to consider how to make your strategy effective and worthwhile. Consider the following tricks that will take your social media page to the next level.
Identify your audience
Your target audience is the bread and butter of your social media page. Without them, there is no point in even having one. With that being said, you need to find your target audience and stick to them. It is easy to feel as though you need to reach multiple audiences but this can actually do more harm than good. If you specialize in spine care, there is no need to consider a 16-year-old as part of your target audience.
When on the search for your target audience consider the following:
- Compile data. In order to reach your target market, you need to know what they’re like. It’s important to know things like your audience members’ ages, locations, and engagement patterns to market effectively to them. While it may seem daunting to gather this information, customer relationship management software stores and sorts this data and makes it easy to put into action.
- Use analytics. Many platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, have built-in analytics that can tell you about your followers, including when they post, where they post, and other interests. Plus, these tools are free to use with business accounts.
- Check the competition. Understanding your competition will give you insights into how to talk to your audience. You can look at what your competitors are doing wrong to fill any gaps in your current strategy.
Once you have determined your target audience, it’s crucial to stay up-to-date on their wants and needs and to implement them into your social media strategy.
Use multiple platforms
Take into account the multiple social media platforms your patients may use every day. If you focus on just one platform, you won’t be able to reach as many people as you could through social media.
Every audience is different and the platform they use can depend on a number of factors. Some audiences may be more inclined to use Facebook as opposed to Instagram, but it is good to use both as your brand grows.
Measure Results and Adapt to Them
When it comes to an efficient marketing strategy, results are everything. Analyzing and adapting to results is key to running a successful social media page. Analytics can help:
- Optimize campaigns
- Create new goals
- Assess tracking metrics
However, before your brand begins tracking, identify the metrics most important to your brand and goals such as
- Reach
- Engagement
- Impressions
- Mentions
- Post clicks
Quality Over Quantity
When it comes to a strategy, your best bet is quality over content. There is no need to post multiple times a day on multiple platforms, instead focus on quality consistent posts. This is good practice not only because it spaces out your content but also because some social media platforms will penalize you for posting too frequently marking you as spam.
Keeping up with your page and providing quality content can be difficult. If you haven’t already, a content calendar is an excellent way to manage and organize social posts. They also help your team stay ahead which reduces overall stress surrounding a social media marketing strategy. Content calendars can be divided into posts, post captions, post visuals, and which platforms to post on all of which help marketers keep track of the various moving parts of social media.
Another way to prioritize quality posts is to ask yourself the following questions:
- Does this content help my followers?
- Is this original?
- Is this actionable, inspiring, or entertaining?
- Does the content have cited sources if needed?
Answering these questions will allow you to post content that is engaging to both current followers and new ones as well. The best way to reach more people online is to know how to create the best social media content based on the platform.
Post Content Regularly and On Time
Posting compelling, engaging content is vastly important but doing so in a timely manner is equally as important. Consistency makes your brand look dependable and expresses that you have timely knowledge to share and that your brand has a genuine concern and care for your audience. If your brand is not active on social media then you will have a difficult time generating followers which in turn will decrease the number of new leads.
It is true that some platforms change their algorithm over time but the general rule of thumb is to post regularly. This can help your content show up in newsfeeds. Focusing on consistent, relevant content helps show the algorithm that your posts are worthy of being presented on various news feeds, which will ultimately attract new followers.
Also, consider what times of the day the bulk of your audience is online through social media analytics. Many management tools give you insight into when your followers are generally online so you can post at the best time. In order to determine how posting times affect engagement and reach, you can experiment with posting at different times of the day.
NewGen Can Help
NewGen Marketing is a premier healthcare marketing agency dedicated to helping healthcare brands expand and achieve their marketing goals. We are a dedicated team, capable of handling any and all healthcare marketing needs. Ranging from web design to SEO to quality content, NewGen has you covered. We are able to provide you with a comprehensive marketing strategy that is realistic and attainable while also maintaining the vision you have for your brand.
Contact us today if you have any questions about NewGen or other general marketing questions. We are more than happy to help you with all your healthcare marketing needs.