10 Things Your Medical Practice Should Be Doing on Facebook
May 18th, 2016 by
We all like to think of ourselves as Facebook experts. This is 2016 after all, and Facebook has been around for over eight years. But the resting state of the online world in our internet age is continual flux, with updates and improvements becoming available quicker than you have the time or energy to research and evaluate. We know you’re busy, so let us give you the tl;dr (too long; didn’t read) version, with some easily employable tips and tricks that you should be using on Facebook.
1. Engagement, Engagement, Engagement!
Relationships can’t be one-sided, so make sure your Facebook fans see the benefit in keeping up with your page by responding to their comments, questions, and concerns. Just like your patients, your growing fan base wants to feel like they’re being heard. Taking just a few minutes to reach out to them and address their inquiries will keep your current fans happy and could even help you gain more interested Facebook followers. And, with Facebook providing users with an estimated response time right on your page, it’s more important than ever to quickly and thoroughly respond to your fans.
There’s a reason it’s called social media! For more tips on posting irresistibly engaging content, check out this post by a fellow influencer.
2. Create Shareable Content
The key to great Facebook messaging is shareability. Creating compelling, viral content that your fans can’t help but pass on increases your reach outside of your social network, earning you more fans and more influence. Consider curating a monthly list of debunked medical myths or posting an article detailing easy lifestyle changes that result in major prevention benefits.
3. Show Me the Money!
With subsequent Facebook algorithm updates, overly promotional posts are receiving less and less organic distribution on the platform. Thus, it has become increasingly important to put some spend behind your posts in order to engage specific audiences, especially since gaining fans doesn’t necessarily mean your content will reach those fans. Appealing to your growing fan base and encouraging engagement and familiarity with your products, services, and industry through post promotion is an extremely cost-effective way to combat these updates.
4. Practice Events
Facebook events are a great way to get your business and services in front of the community. Create your own events around prevention, fundraisers, and community outreach. Is your practice offering free flu shots? Create an event and allow people to invite their friends. Watch your RSVP list grow!
5. Community Events
Events can also be a great way to express your involvement in your community. Do you have a team participating in Relay for Life or a March of Dimes event? Show your solidarity, and encourage your fan base to support your favorite cause by creating your own Facebook event or attending one!
6. Know Your Audience
Being familiar with your fan base can help you provide content and services tailored to your fans’ interests. The Audience Insights tool can provide you with an invaluable cache of information. You can analyze the times of day your fans are most active on Facebook, the makeup of the Reactions your posts receive, and even the demographic makeup of Facebook users near your place of business.
7. Analyze Your Reactions
Also available through the Audience Insights tool, or by viewing individual posts on your page, are the myriad of Facebook Reactions users can now express. Taking a look at the various responses like Love, Haha, Yay, Wow, Sad or Angry can give your practice a good feel for the type of content your Facebook fans are interested in seeing more of as well as the content they’re definitely not interested in.
8. Make Posting Easier with Scheduling
Don’t have a dedicated social media team for your practice? If you rely on a few helpful individuals, and especially if you’re taking on the task of social media management yourself, you will definitely want to familiarize yourself with Facebook’s post scheduling tool. If you want your page and its content to be consistently at the forefront of your fans’ newsfeeds, and trust us, you do, the ability to “set it and forget it” is priceless.
Check out this post for a step by step on how to get started with this feature.
9. Update Your Page!
Just as you stay up-to-date on the latest medical innovations and techniques, you must maintain currency in your social media efforts! Keep your contact information current and accurate, and post content with an eye towards the future (i.e. new developments in the field and what this means for the patient). This up-to-date and active approach will help make your practice’s page more likeable.
10. Consistency Is Key
In addition to keeping your post content current, maintaining branding consistency across different channels, such as your website, blog, and social media profiles, is a must for any practice wanting to build authority in the community. A user should be able to seamlessly navigate between your multiple online presences without a jarring change in the consistency of color and imagery, helping your brand to project a pervasive, qualified influence.
As they say, practice makes perfect. So go, implement these tips and tricks to see what works for you and your practice, and keep checking back with us for the latest updates!
