Ever-growing competition, faster responses, and expectations of better service are helping healthcare providers use social media to create stronger relationships with their patients. And as shortage of time and lack of resources often limit hospitals and doctors from staying in touch with patients, the right social media marketing strategies can help them respond quickly to patient needs.

Below are the top social media strategies for the healthcare industry to make the most out of available social media platforms.

1. Create branded social media campaigns and start trends. Healthcare brands can utilize social media channels to engage with visitors through online contests. #Hashtag quizzes and campaigns on common health topics give your followers valuable information and a better perspective. Tip: Include your brand name creatively in hashtags to create brand awareness (e.g., #Ask [YourBrandName], #[YourBrandName]Educates).
2. Provide important health information. Offer health quotes, share details about live medical procedures, and provide doctor tips through social media. This can be accomplished through YouTube videos, images, and infographics shared on your social media channels. Share your blog posts on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
3. Study your target audience to create the right media mix. There is a unique user base for each social media platform. The interests and demographics of people on Facebook and Twitter are different from those on LinkedIn. So, for the maximum benefit, design unique campaigns for the various social media platforms instead of going with one for all of them.
4. Build patient loyalty and create relationships. Social media marketing is not only about generating new leads. It also helps your brand maintain relationships with existing employees and build patient loyalty. Your satisfied customers will talk about you to others and help expand your customer base.
5. SEO through social media. When people search for hospitals and doctors online, they are prone to find their business profiles on Google and Facebook search results. When people want information on health-related queries, results on Quora, Yahoo! Answers, YouTube, etc. appear higher in their search results.
6. Reputation management and brand building. Social Media Marketing plays an important role in online reputation management. It can be used in spreading positive referrals by gathering new customer reviews, patient testimonials, feedback, and suggestions. Medical practitioners, medical insurance companies, and hospitals can also share customer reviews through social media.
7. Establish online communication procedures. Employees must be educated and offered incentives to use social media with due diligence and care. They should be firmly reminded about the privacy concerns of customers and ethics on social media. Any content shared as medical information and health tips should be thoroughly verified by experts prior to publishing them.

Social media marketing can quickly become a full-time job and most practices don’t have the time or workforce to manage it. That’s where Blue Orchid Marketing comes in!

We can help with every aspect of your marketing to grow your business including Direct Mail Marketing, a blogging program, Reputation Management, Email Marketing, Social Media Management, website design or any other marketing tools. Give us a call today at 203-746-5901 or send us an email at sales@BlueOrchidMarketing.com to schedule a consultation to see how we can help.