Believe it or not, social media is for more than sharing memes and arguing about politics. It’s also a great marketing tool for medical practices. “41 percent of patients said social media influenced their choice of a particular doctor, facility, or medical practice,” according to a recent data collection.

Smart medical practices need to keep this statistic in mind and capitalize on it. Social media is an excellent platform for marketing your practice, and it’s also relatively cheap. While you can pay to get your posts in front of more people, you can also expand your reach organically with a few smart tips and tricks.

Keep reading for tips on marketing your medical practice with social media.

Facebook Marketing.

With over one billion active users, Facebook is one of the most popular social platforms on the internet. Sometimes it gets so congested that it’s hard for people to find the information they need or to connect with others. One of the ways to overcome this is by creating a professional Facebook page for your practice.

Take time to familiarize yourself with Facebook. Become an expert by studying your target audience. What content do they engage with most? What time of day do you see the most activity?

Once you know your target, post compelling content with quality images based on your findings. Post things that others might share. Invite friends and family to your page and ask your employees to invite their Facebook friends too. You can also promote your page with paid advertisements to a targeted audience.

Instagram Marketing.

Research shows that Instagram users are highly engaged. They spend a lot of time browsing, liking, and interacting with the accounts they follow. Because of this, it should be easy to grab their attention, even for a medical practice.

To stand out, you must share engaging photos because Instagram is a visual platform. Keep in mind that engaging doesn’t have to mean beautiful or artistic. While users do appreciate a pretty picture, a medical practice audience will probably engage more with before and after photos, infographics, local attractions, and patient testimonials.

Don’t forget to fill out the caption! A caption is where you can show your personality and give your followers valuable information. Here you can tell your brand’s story, provide crucial information such as hours or contact information, and promote your services.

LinkedIn Marketing.

LinkedIn presents opportunities to connect with other medical professionals, so know your audience before jumping onto this platform. With a very similar navigation as Facebook. LinkedIn allows you to connect directly with other businesses and job seekers. If your primary focus is only to target patients, you may have a harder time doing that with this platform.

Start by updating and optimizing your profile. Join other relevant groups, connect with other professionals, and share quality content with your network. Once you have some content shared and you are comfortable with the process, it’s time to dive a little deeper by interacting with your followers, driving traffic to your website, and paying to promote your posts.

While there are many more social media platforms to use and explore, these are great places to start for any medical practice. Begin here, become social media savvy, and an expert in these three before you take it to the next level. We hope these ideas help you launch a successful social media marketing plan for your medical practice, where you can reach new patients, and engage the ones you already have.

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