Hospitals are taking over the healthcare industry, and it’s increasingly more difficult for private practices to compete. Hospitals have a lot more resources available to them, and this is especially true when it comes to marketing. They can purchase big billboards along the side of the freeway, and their large buildings scream “Hey, we’re here!” You think your practice should have a social media marketing initiative. It’s a free and easy way to market your practice, right? Well, not so fast.
Don’t get us wrong, your practice is a small business, and it should have an active social media presence. But there are several myths about social media marketing to dispel. To learn how your practice can effectively use social media, be sure to sign up for our free webinar.
Myth #1: Social Media Marketing is free.
Nope, nope, nope and nope. Social media marketing was free, but those days are long gone. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn all have these nasty little things called algorithms, which only deliver some content to some people. This is especially true when it comes to business accounts. To operate a business social media account, you need to focus on increasing both organic reach (the reach that naturally occurs because your content appeared in users’ algorithms) and paid reach (the reach that occurs because you paid a social channel to deliver your content to more people). Establish a monthly social paid media budget. The good news? Paid social media is less costly than other traditional marketing outlets, but you can still expect to spend some dollars.
Myth #2: Social Media Marketing can be done in your free time. Just post whatever comes to mind.
I hate to break it to you, but managing successful social media channels (and the key word there is “successful”) requires time. Without a plan you’ll be running a fool’s errand. Develop a plan and measure it against performance. Tweak it over time to perform better. Creating content calendars, assets, scheduling those assets, scheduling paid media and putting together analytics reports require more time than you lunch break. Thankfully, you don’t have run a full-fledged social media program to have a presence. You can choose to dedicate your attention to just one social media channel, and nurture it until you feel confident to take on more.
Myth #3: Hire your nephew to do it!
To be clear, if your nephew is a social media marketer as his profession, then yes, hire him! But it is a huge mistake to relegate your internet presence to someone just because that person is young and “gets the Twitters.” Social Media Marketing is simply just marketing, except it lasts forever. Your social presence represents your business. If your business is a practice, it is subject to HIPAA and malpractice laws. Remember how we busted the first myth about Social Media Marketing being free? Well, if marketing is worth your investment (and we think it is), it’s also worth hiring a marketer or marketing contractor who is dedicated to creating content, scheduling content, buying media and fostering relationships with your patients all while keeping your practice in compliance.
Have you thought about marketing your practice on social media, but don’t know where to start? Join us for our free webinar: Social Media Marketing for Practices. Learn how to set up your social media presence and use it in an effective say to drive more patients to your practice.
