The benefits of social media in health care

Social media has permeated the fabric of modern society, finding its way into many aspects of our personal and business lives. As a result, patients and potential patients of yours will want to follow your clinic on social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter so they can interact with your team and learn useful information.

However, many clinicians don’t take advantage of the opportunities of social media, either because they don’t have the time or don’t see the value. This is a shame because social media offers many benefits for health care providers, including:

An opportunity to interact with people in real time

Your patients and potential patients have a lot of health care related questions that they need the experts to answer. And you’re the expert they can turn to. Social media allows people from different places to engage in one spot. Your patients might leave questions on your social media page. They might leave reviews or feedback about your service. They can do all of this from the comfort of their own homes whenever they want. And you can respond just as quickly.

It’s important to read these comments, reviews and feedback, and you need to engage with them. Answer questions as best as you can or point them to resources that can help. Thank them for positive feedback. Respond to negative feedback in a positive manner and show that you want to help improve their experience. 

Patient education

In 2019, there were 50 viral new articles with false health information that have been shared and commented on more than 12 million times. As of 2020, there is likely much more. This information can be dangerous for your patients who do not know any better.

With your social media platform, you can share real, helpful information and call out false or misleading information. This helps your patients avoid dangerous mistakes and trust your brand as an authority.

Networking

Your social media presence is not only a platform for engaging with your patients, but it is also a way to connect with other health care providers in your area and around the world. This helps you share and receive important information from other providers, while also building credibility for your brand.

Other clinicians may recommend patients to your facility if they do not have the skills to treat their condition or are too full to take on new clients. Likewise, you may find a clinic you trust that you feel comfortable referring your patients to as well.

Brand awareness

Every time you share content, leave a comment or post a photo on social media, you are improving your brand awareness. Even if you create a post that doesn’t get the engagement you’d like, it may get a high number of impressions (basically, people who saw it come across their feed), which means your brand is getting in front of more faces. 

Some people might not engage immediately, but they will be more likely to remember your brand when they need the types of services your clinic can provide.

Burg & Co. can help you manage your social media marketing strategy

As a clinician, you may not have a lot of time to dedicate toward managing your social media marketing strategy. This doesn’t mean your social media presence has to suffer, though. Our team at Burg & Co. can be your resource for your social media marketing needs. We can partner with you to help you build and maintain a strategy for connecting with your audience on social media.

Would you like to learn more about social media marketing or are you ready to find out what a strategy for you might look like? Contact Burg & Co. today for a free consultation. 

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