Facebook can often get a bad reputation for how its users interact on it, but have you thought about how it can be used to help your medical practice?
Maybe you have thought about it but you just didn’t know what to post or why it’s important for you to be active on it.
Well, that’s what we’re here for, friend.
It’s our job to show you how your presence on Facebook can raise brand awareness, increase your connection to your patients and increase patient retention.
In this blog, we’ll tell you 5 ways Facebook can improve patient care and what relevant content you can begin relaying to your patients now in order to grow your specialty medical practice.
Feeling motivated? Grab your Medical Marketing eBook for a more comprehensive guide on how to improve your marketing today!
- Build rapport with patients
Your medical practice is centered on the actions of the patients you serve. They can either leave your office feeling appreciated and loyal to you and your staff or they can feel disconnected and unsure. Easily keep clients engaged with a few simple strategies!
Building rapport means showing them why they can and should trust you. Showing up on platforms like Facebook, where your patients are already scrolling through daily shows them that you are relevant and want to stay in touch with them.
A great way to leverage Facebook in order to build rapport is utilizing patient testimonials.
With so much focus on advertising and other technical marketing jargon, it’s easy to put word-of-mouth marketing by the wayside. But not so fast!
In 2020, 87% of consumers read online reviews when looking for local businesses, which was up from 81% in 2019 (BrightLocal). BrightLocal also found that the most common industries in which consumers rely on reviews are: 1) Restaurants, 2) Hotels, 3) Medical, 4) Automotive, 5) Clothing Stores.
Build your rapport with search engine optimization (SEO) by sharing clients on Facebook. This helps patients find your website on search engines like Google and Bing.
Have positive Google reviews? Share them! Post them on Facebook to highlight a patient’s happy experience. You don’t need to share personal information that would put your office or a patient at risk, just sharing how they enjoyed their visit and why.
Videos from happy clients are easy to ask for because they shouldn’t take more than 2 minutes! You can post these to your website, but be sure to add subtitles to your video since viewers are usually watching videos without sound.
You can add these videos to your social media and a link to your website. This builds rapport with your social media followers, as well as pointing patients back to your website where they can make appointments easily.
- Be Personable
There are many ways that you can make patients feel more at ease when entering your office and one of them is helping your patients feel as though they know the people in your office.
Sure, they might know their name or how long they’ve worked there, but they may not feel a connection to them.
This connection doesn’t have to be as deep as you may think.
Adding personal fun facts about your staff could help patients relate to your staff before ever stepping foot in your office.
Little pieces of information about their hobbies, favorite movies or food, or favorite places to visit, could be great topics of conversation that could put a nervous patient at ease.
Making a light-hearted post about how your Office Manager, Ashley, visited the Pacific coast this past summer and her favorite part was seeing Hearst Castle, would make for some great content if your employees are comfortable with it.
- Provide educational health information
You want the best for your patients and love seeing them thrive in their health, so give them a chance to help you by maintaining and improving their health.
Try to incorporate short videos of helpful tips for the flu or COVID-19. Wyzowl says 66% of consumers prefer watching a video compared to reading about a product, and Hubspot says 54% of consumers want to see more video content this year.
An example of an educational post is letting your patients know the best ways to stay healthy throughout the year. This can look like sharing specific tips and health strategies in specific seasons.
With educational content, you will not only be their doctor for when they’re sick, but you’ll be the helpful source on social media on how to recover from illnesses or remain healthy!
Do statistics apply to medical offices since they are patients and not customers? Just the opposite. Your patients are your customers. They are buying your knowledge and expertise and are trusting you.
Remind them of why they trust you by popping into their Facebook feed and dropping some knowledge bombs on them and ways that they can improve their life!
- How to get your patients to help YOU
Remind your patients what is helpful for you to know as their doctor, and what they need to keep track of before they come see you next. Changes in their health? Life events that could have caused emotional or physical stress? The last time x, y or z happened? Shot schedule reminders based upon age?
Life gets busy and your patients won’t remember everything. So a simple reminder is always helpful! This won’t just be helpful for them, but it will be helpful for you to be fully informed and better able to diagnose/advise them when they do come in for a visit.
And don’t forget, if they are following you it’s because they want to hear from you. You’re not bothering them or disrupting their day, you are delivering value to them.
- Streamline the appointment process
Every medical office will feel different, much like any business will feel and look different.
Conveying the tone and organization of your medical office is imperative for clear communication between you and the client on what they should expect when they come for their visit.
Do you have first-time patient forms that should be filled out?
Maybe you require existing patients to fill out an update chart at every visit.
Or possibly a fun activity for your younger patients to help them feel more calm and peaceful during their appointment?
Define how you want your patients to feel throughout the entire appointment visit, from start to finish, and figure out what needs to be communicated in order for that experience to be achieved.
Summary
Facebook doesn’t need to be complicated or overwhelming. All you need is a plan of action.
As a medical office, your priority will always be the patient which is why having a presence on social media is ever increasing. Wherever your patients are, you should be also!
We love watching medical practices flourish and we firmly believe you need to connect with your people in order to do that!
If you need help creating a game plan for your marketing, download the free Medical Marketing eBook, below.