Social media marketing for hospitals is something relatively new in the marketing world. Popular social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are no longer just places for individuals to share news, enter contests and post pictures. Many businesses and organizations now include social media as an integral part of their marketing and communication strategy.
Why are these organizations using it? Does social media really have any impact? The most effective way to use social media marketing for hospitals is by sharing educational content. By posting content that is designed to inform and engage, rather than to directly advertise or sell, you create a sense of knowledge and trust. People view your hospital as a healthcare knowledge authority. They see that you truly care about promoting a healthy lifestyle, not just promoting your services. This builds trust and creates loyalty, steering visitors away from other competing hospitals.
What types of content should you post on social media? And how do you manage your pages without wasting your staff's time? Try automated social media management. Your staff creates the messages and schedules them to post over a length of time. That way, your pages are updated with fresh posts all the time but you don't have to manually post everything. After your posts go up, review your report analytics to see which posts perform the best with visitors. This process helps you optimize the content that you post. Many organizations swear by the 80/20 rule: 80% educational content, 20% marketing content.
Healthy Living Tips
One of the best strategies for social media marketing for hospitals is to share healthy living tips on a regular basis. This is one of the big ways that hospitals interact with their social media followers. Visitors come to the page to stay up to date with health risks and learn how they can stay healthy.
Community Support
The Mayo Clinic is one of the leaders in healthcare social media, and they talk about the use of social media for patients to share their concerns and find support from others. Because there are so many people on social media, the chances are high that someone else is dealing with the same issue. Patients can post their story and ask questions. The hospital joins the conversation to provide medical advice, show patients where to go and provide an organized place for patients to gather.
Hospital Events
If you're hosting a special women's health clinic, skin cancer awareness week, children's charity benefit or any other hospital event, let people know. Build buzz on social media with pictures and videos, information from the sponsors, patient spotlights and so on. This helps raise awareness and boost attendance.
Important Health News
People do still turn to social media to learn about breaking news and current events. Share updates about breakthrough studies, cures that have been found, rare medical conditions being studied and more. This keeps visitors interested and shows that your hospital is up to date with the latest medical information.
Health Warnings
Social media is an effective way to reach a lot of people in a short amount of time. If you have a health warning that people should be informed about, post updates on your social media pages. Is the flu or a bug going around? Are you offering vaccinations for a common disease? Is it allergy season? Whatever the warning or information is, post updates on your pages to keep people in the loop.
Try Social Media Marketing Today!
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