Traditionally, healthcare clinics have relied on physical media to reach local consumers. For example, doctors often send brochures and postcards to potential patients in their immediate vicinity to maximize response rates and ensure they reach the greatest number of local residents.
However, with more than 200 million Americans connected to the web and internet penetration growing steadily, many organizations in the healthcare industry have turned to online marketing platforms, ranging from email marketing to social media.
In particular, many organizations are finding social media to be especially effective at generating buzz and reaching both existing patients and prospective clients. Recently, the online marketing blog TopRank offered some tips to healthcare organizations looking to leverage the channel to expand their traditional advertising campaigns.
Inform existing patients
One of the best uses of social media among healthcare organizations is not for customer acquisition, but retention. According to the HealthCare New Media Conference, 73 percent of patients search online for medical information either before or after an appointment.
Social sites are the perfect way to reach these patients doing online research. Doctors could post information about popular sicknesses and treatments online, especially if there is a widespread fear of a condition, such as the swine flu panic in 2009.
Doctors should tailor their social media marketing initiatives for the specific sites they are using. For example, if they opt to use Twitter, they could actively answer followers’ questions. On Facebook, they could use status updates to post industry-relevant news and articles. They could also join medical communities such as Inspire and establish themselves as thought leaders, which could lead to referrals.
Whichever platforms clinics decide to use for their social media marketing, they should be sure to include their organizations’ information and a link to their websites so followers can book appointments if they need their services.
Disaster communications
Whenever disasters hit, regardless of whether they are floods, earthquakes, or man-made tragedies, hospitals are almost always involved in one way or another. Healthcare providers can use their social media profiles to deliver updates to followers, while also providing emergency information to those who are directly affected by the disaster.
For example, after the November 2009 Fort Hood shootings, Scott & White Healthcare, an organization that treated victims, used its social media presence to retweet news about the event to those affected. It also provided users with information about emergency room access and hospital operation status.
Though its Twitter efforts, the organization was able to boost its number of followers by 78 percent in three days, while its YouTube channel was in the top 100 during the week of the crisis. Meanwhile, “Scott & White Healthcare” was also listed on the front page of Twitter as a trending topic, helping it popularize itself even further.
Other uses
Healthcare clinics can use social media for other purposes as well. For example, during employee training sessions, instructors could use Twitter to collect relevant questions and gauge how well students understand subject material. Clinics could also use their social media to talk to journalists, which may help drive their mainstream media exposure.
Regardless of how healthcare organizations use social media, it’s vital that they have some sort of presence on the channel. Facebook recently acquired its 500 millionth member, while Twitter is on the fast track to the 200 million mark. With such a large audience of prospective and existing patients, organizations are missing out a huge source of potential referrals if they aren’t active on social media.
Source: Deluxe for Business
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