Getting Started on Social Media for Healthcare Brands
Building a following on social media can be difficult, especially for healthcare brands. Unlike other industries, healthcare attracts a unique audience, and creating engaging social media content can be challenging. Despite these hurdles, social media offers many benefits to healthcare brands looking to expand their reach. Healthcare providers can use these platforms to spread meaningful medical information and acquire new patients, ultimately becoming a more powerful voice in the industry.
NewGen Marketing is a modern healthcare marketing agency. We understand how content creation and classic marketing methods have to shift to adhere to the regulations of the healthcare world. Our team comprises healthcare industry professionals, content writers with industry expertise, and healthcare call center professionals. We are proud to offer unparalleled services to medical brands throughout the country. If you are looking to create or build upon your brand’s social media strategy, here is the guide to do so.
The Benefits of Social Media for Healthcare
Almost a decade ago, it was a universal understanding that healthcare had no place on social media. However, as many social media platforms became a more prominent part of our culture, many healthcare brands shifted to using it as an integral part of their marketing strategy. A portion of this change came during COVID-19 when more individuals began turning to healthcare professionals on social media for timely, reliable information. Now, the space is open for medical professionals to use social media as a resource for marketing and outreach.
Social media offers a plethora of benefits to both healthcare professionals and audiences on the other side of the screen. One of the most significant advantages is the ability of medical professionals to reach patients, and vice versa. Between the internet and social media, it has become increasingly simple for patients to find healthcare providers. There are many ways that brands can increase their reach through social media. One of the more common ways is through organic media; by creating compelling, interactive content that individuals want to follow. To achieve this, brands will need to understand the market and what their target audience is looking for while spending time on social media. If brands are willing to spend money on their social media marketing strategy, there are paid opportunities that can connect them with their intended audience. Although both methods are important, paid advertising yields more time-efficient, location-optimized results.
In addition to linking patient and practice, social media for healthcare offers an outlet for patients to review their experiences. Reviews and testimonials can provide useful guidance to inquiring patients and also vouch for the practice itself. Since reviews and testimonials benefit both patients and practice, this is a useful content type to incorporate into your social media for healthcare strategy.
What Your Social Media Strategy is Missing
Creating a perfect social media presence is more difficult than it may sound. Luckily, NewGen has perfected a list of the ultimate way to ensure your social strategy stays fresh and unique. Consider following this checklist when creating social media content for your practice:
1. Develop a Social Media Content Calendar
Creating a social media content calendar is an important step in the process. This allows brands to plan out their social media content months in advance and organize it by posting dates, captions, graphics, and more. In addition to preplanning posts, did you know that you can preschedule, as well? There are different online platforms, both free and paid, that allow you to preschedule months’ worth of content.
Interested? Check out these platforms that allow you to schedule your content at once:
2. Utilize User-Generated Content
User-generated content, often referred to as UGC, is content created by individuals who use your services. For healthcare, this refers to the patients who have attended your practice. The most common form of UGC for healthcare is sharing patient reviews and testimonials. This gives your followers an inside look at what a visit to your practice might look like.
3. Create Personalized Content
High-quality Stock images are great, but they do not necessarily tell the whole story of your practice. Instead of blending in with your competitors, it is time to stand out through the use of unique, personalized content. By investing in a photographer and collecting images of your staff and facilities, you can give potential patients a look into what they can expect.
4. Become a Voice in the Community
It is very important for healthcare professionals to be a voice on social media so they can spread truthful information. During COVID-19, social media users spread false information which led to confusion and misdirection. However, healthcare professionals can use social media to correct this misinformation and become a voice in the community during challenging times.
Refresh Your Social Strategy with NewGen Marketing
At NewGen Marketing, it is our goal to help our clients work towards perfecting their comprehensive marketing strategy. For this reason, we have a diverse team of marketing professionals with healthcare industry experience. Whether your practice is looking to refresh your social media or if you are wanting to implement a new call center, NewGen is the team for you.
Contact us today to learn more about our services.