Most healthcare organizations use social media in some way as part of their overall marketing strategy. But are you using the right strategies to use social media to the best advantage? 

These strategies will help move your online presence to a higher level. But first, make sure your website landing pages are the most captivating that you can create, as this is where users will land when they click on your posts or ads.

• Use educational content to build a following. People have questions about healthcare and social media is an excellent means for promoting your organization with health tips, ongoing research, awards, etc.
• Build health issue awareness. In the US, consumers use social media to find health information. During the COVID-19 pandemic, almost 50% of people used social media to get information about the virus and about one-third read pandemic information on social media on a daily basis. By posting timely and accurate health information, you can raise your organization’s reputation as a caring and responsible provider and boost your brand awareness. “Day” and “month” promotions can be very effective, e.g., American Heart Month and National Wear Red Day in February, in educating the public and promoting your organization’s services.
• Counteract health misinformation. Sadly, there is a lot of wrong health information out there. Anybody can post anything and someone will believe it. Use your clinicians to help neutralize bad information with live-streamed Q&A sessions, FAQ videos, infographics, etc. and be sure to use and attribute scientific, evidence-based sources. Share links to reputable sites such as the CDC, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, etc.
• Spotlight your clinicians. Your physicians, nurses, midlevel providers and allied professionals are no doubt being honored with various awards. Be sure to recognize them on social media. Not only does this help to boost your organization’s reputation, it also boosts employee engagement and morale.
• Promotion of health initiatives and causes. Maybe you’re running a campaign to raise funds for a particular program at your organization or to promote a particular service. Social media is a great place to promote these initiatives.
• Share your patients’ successes. Patient success stories can be very inspiring. Ask your clinicians about any patients that they think would be good candidates for a success story feature.
• Treatment information. If you have a specialty service line that provides treatments and/or procedures that aren’t common in your area, using social media to provide information about the treatments or procedures will help to bring attention to them. Videos, live-streamed interviews and Q&A are all good formats for sharing this information.
• Influencers. Partnering with social media influencers can help to bring followers to your social media platforms. There are various influencers on social media for various health and wellness topics that you might tap into. Consider inviting an influence to an event you’re organizing.