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Today, people use social media to find products and services, including healthcare providers. As a result, medical practitioners can create new opportunities for connecting with current and prospective patients through social media. Social media is one of the most impactful digital marketing tactics for GPs to attract new patients and grow patient retention. It’s also an affordable way to reach potential patients while helping them feel like they know your practice before they even visit you. Whether you’re just getting started with social media or want to try something new, these 10 tips will help you get more out of your social media usage as a GP practice:
One of the most important aspects of social media is that it’s a platform that invites transparency and authenticity. If your posts feel like you’re trying to hide from your audience, people will notice. Practice transparency by being honest about your services and how you run your practice. Show patients that you’re genuine by linking to helpful blog posts and articles about health, wellness, and more. Share customer reviews and testimonials, and let patients know how to leave feedback about their experience with your practice. All of these are great ways to show transparency and grow trust with your audience.
When you’re just getting started with social media, it can be tempting to use the platforms that your friends or colleagues are already active on. However, if you don’t pick the right ones for your practice, you won’t be getting the maximum benefit out of your time and effort. To make sure you’re getting the most out of social media for your practice, start with the right tools. Choose social media platforms where your audience already is, such as where they go to get health and wellness information. You should also pick platforms where you can most effectively share your content, such as a visual platform like Instagram or a short-form platform like Twitter.
Social media is a great way to get to know your current patients better. This can be especially useful for younger patients who want to feel like they can get to know the people who are caring for them. Make it a priority to check in with your current patients on social media. Share encouraging posts about health and wellness, respond to questions, and encourage patients to share their experiences with your services. When you engage with your patients on social media, you show them that you care about more than just their payment: you care about their lives and their health. This can greatly increase your impact, and create more opportunities for positive interactions.
Build positive associations with your social media presence by rewarding patients who engage with you. You could let patients earn points towards discounts or free services, or offer access to exclusive content and information that only social media fans or followers see. You could also make your rewards public to encourage more engagement. This could mean that patients who reach a certain milestone of following you or engaging with your posts get featured on your page and earn more rewards. This can help you increase your reach, as well as reward your most loyal fans for their support. This is a great way to encourage more positive engagement on your page, particularly among your younger followers.
Considering that most social media users watch videos on one of the platforms at least once a week, it’s not surprising that video is a valuable and impactful social media tool. You could create videos that introduce your staff, give tips for certain health conditions, or answer common patient questions. You can also create or repurpose content you already have, such as blog posts or infographics, into video clips. Some social media platforms, like Facebook, have built-in video functionality, but you can also choose a video-specific platform like YouTube if you want to make more of an investment in video for your social media usage.
If your practice is located in a busy area, you might find that it’s difficult to get people to stop in during normal business hours. Using social media, you can host online events that bring patients together—and let them feel like they’re connected to your practice. You could host a weekly chat to discuss a health topic of the week, host a live Q&A session with your staff, or host any other event that would bring patients together in a virtual setting. You could also use events to expand your reach beyond your local community. For example, you could host a virtual conference or webinar that brings together people from around the globe to discuss a health-related topic. This can help you reach patients and potential patients who otherwise might not have the opportunity to interact with your practice.
If you focus too much on trying to bring in new patients quickly, you could end up neglecting the people who already follow your social media accounts. However, these are the people who have the chance to become your biggest advocates. You can grow your audience over time by creating and sharing content that resonates with your existing audience. Once you have a more established following, you can use social media to promote specials, let patients know about new services and offerings, or share information about health and wellness practices. This is an important way to start to offset your social media costs. If you focus on growing your social media presence over time, you can engage with your existing audience to help offset the costs of developing and maintaining your social media accounts. If you need help with mapping out your strategy and day-to-day social media activities, schedule a free discovery call with us.
There’s no doubt that social media has become an important part of most people’s daily routine. It’s also clear that social media is an essential tool for general practice (GP) practices. By following these 10 tips, you can make sure that your social media usage is as efficient as possible. This will allow you to reach more people, be more effective in your messaging, and have a greater impact overall. Social media is a great way to connect with current patients, as well as potential patients. It’s important to use these platforms wisely and to focus on creating engaging content that people want to see and share with their friends and family.
