Nearly 70% of US adults are using Facebook every day. Among all social media channels, Facebook reaches the maximum number of people of varied age demographics. In fact, Facebook has one billion active users with five new users added every second across the world.
Previously, people were using Facebook only for personal purposes. Now, it’s not so. Facebook is used for professional purposes to create community groups that encourage reviews of local services.
To be on the radar of these community groups, medical practices should have online visibility on Facebook. Facebook marketing basically keeps the clinic top of mind for users searching for care services in their communities.
If you are ready to set up a social media platform to grow your medical practice, here’s how you should use Facebook.
Build a strong foundation
If you are new to Facebook or already have a Facebook page already, the first step is to add, update, and review your practice information regularly. Having accurate information with appealing photos will earn more followers on your medical site.
Make important practice information like location, email address, phone number, and hours of operation easily accessible without much effort
Make your practice name a username to streamline the URL. Instead of the URL facebook.com/pages/46892456, show it as facebook.com/YourPracticeName. By doing so, you can easily share with the patient community.
Include a short description of your practice and add your website URL for creating a backlink to your website.
Choose the primary page category, subcategories, and profile/cover photos.
Promote your Facebook business page as much as possible
Link your practice page to your personal profile. Encourage the rest of your colleagues and staff to do the same for more visibility.
Make sure to add social media widgets to your website
Add your Facebook URL in marketing materials such as brochures, advertisements, and business cards
Send an email to your existing patients to like your Facebook page so that they will stay informed about the latest news about your medical practice
Start sending interesting articles related to your medical practice on your Facebook page.
Keep using hashtags to reach more people outside your circle. Choose the trending hashtags that can help in bringing outsiders to your Facebook business page. However, do not use more hashtags as that could be perceived as spam
Post regularly
Keep posting useful content regularly. Make sure to post 2-3 times per week for building engagement with your followers.
Incorporate images while sending any social media posts. In fact, social media users are 44% more likely to engage with content if the image is added.
Instead of writing paragraphs, comment with a list to attract users to your page. The content should be short and relevant. Make sure not to cram multiple thoughts in the same post. Instead, break it into separate posts. Keep the content unique, interesting, and shareable.
In case your receive comments for your posts, respond within 24 hours. A timely response is very important. Make sure to like the comments shared by the users. Try to pose an open-ended question as well to continue the conversation.
Follow popular news sites to save time
In case you are too busy, make sure to follow trustworthy popular news sites. By doing so, the content they share will appear in your own news feed. Hence, you can share them with your followers.
Assess your Facebook platform regularly
Make sure to review your Facebook business page regularly. Keep updating the content. Spend just 10-15 minutes once a month to validate the information on your Facebook business page. Refresh your page or cover photo with new services or release monthly specials.
Check your Facebook Insights as well. They will help in determining which posts made a significant impact on your patients by highlighting post impressions, likes, clicks, shares, etc. Getting insights on that will help you to create similar impactful posts in the future.
Final Thoughts
Facebook marketing for medical practices need not be so complicated, still, we know your focus is on care delivery. HealthSoul can help your practice with full-scale Facebook business page setup and ongoing monthly management. Contact us and let’s get started right away.