This article was written for Greystone.Net by Jessica Levco, a freelance healthcare writer and event strategist. 

When most people think of influencer marketing, they picture beauty products, fashion brands or the latest tech gadgets. They don’t think about colonoscopies, mammograms and heart scans.

But at Baptist Health South Florida, the largest nonprofit healthcare system in the region, influencer marketing has become their strategy for reaching patients in authentic, meaningful ways.

At the Healthcare Interactive Conference in Las Vegas, Valeska Valencia, Director, Reputation Management and Social Media at Baptist Health; Stephanie Wierwille, Executive Vice President, Engagement at BPD; and Emily Baker, Assistant Vice President, Engagement at BPD talked about the best way to develop an influencer strategy.

Start Small, Think Big

Seven years ago, Valencia started Baptist Health’s influencer program with a budget of $1,000. Today, the organization works with 80 influencers across South Florida, creating content about everything from early cancer detection to men’s health to menopause.

“Healthcare is very conservative and we’re very resistant to try new things,” Valencia says. “But the important thing is just starting. We all know that healthcare isn’t sexy. We don’t sell lipstick or a skincare routine. We sell colonoscopies, mammograms and heart scans, so we have to get creative in our approach.”

Tap into Local Influencers

Most people care about what’s happening in their own backyard. While national news coverage matters, patients want to know about the healthcare available in their community.

“Make sure to get local creators,” Valencia says. “They’re the ones that are going to be walking into your facilities, going to the urgent care and having a baby. You don’t need a global celebrity to do these videos.” 

Baptist Health’s mammogram campaign featured diverse creators because a mammogram looks different to everyone. The content ranged from in-facility “Get Ready with Me” videos to an artist creating a painting while discussing mammogram importance.

Baptist Health’s in-person events are also effective. A women’s health event invited about 50 creators to get a mammogram, reaching a combined 10 million followers (see content examples here and here).

Prove the ROI

When it comes to measuring success, Baptist Health tracks multiple metrics: brand awareness and reach, engagement and community building and appointment scheduling. The data shows that influencer content integrated into paid media campaigns consistently outperforms traditional ads.

Take a look at the stats from the mammogram campaign, which used influencer content:

• 32.86% decrease in cost per click. Cost per click dropped by $0.23 from $0.70 to $0.47, allowing Baptist Health to reach its audience at a more efficient rate.
• 20.5% increase in click through rate. This improved from 1.61% to 1.94%, ensuring ads reached the right audience at the most impactful moments.
• 204% increase in post engagement. This increased significantly from 6,144 to 18,652, driving more likes, comments and shares.

Not every piece of content needs a CTA at the bottom of it, Valencia says.

“Some content exists simply to meet the user where they already are, provide clarity and earn trust in the moment,” Valencia says. “That’s the whole point of the zero-click movement.”

This connects to what Wierwille described as the “living, thinking, solving” framework. Most healthcare organizations spend their time in “solving moments,” capturing people when they’re actively searching for care. But Baptist Health invests heavily in “living moments,” building brand awareness when people are living their lives, so they’re top of mind when healthcare needs arise.

Get Ready for an Organizational Shift

The biggest change Baptist Health went through with social media has been organizational. Valencia no longer attends conferences with just her social media team. For example, at HCIC, she brought her paid media, marketing technology and service line colleagues.

“At the beginning, we would do a social media campaign, and then, tell everyone the results,” Valencia says. “But not anymore. We’re all sitting together when we’re starting the campaign. The integrated approach saves on our budget, which our CMO and CFO appreciate.”

As social media platforms embed AI tools, as search and social continue to blur, and as consumers migrate to private spaces like Reddit and Discord, healthcare marketers face unprecedented complexity.

But Baptist Health offers a clear path forward: start small, think local, measure what matters, stay transparent and never forget that healthcare’s greatest asset is its human stories.

“Just make it make sense,” Valencia says. “Use your gut check. See what’s a good fit within your organization.”