With technology being more accessible than ever, the importance of social media for growing your medical practice has never been higher. In 2020, over 3.6 billion people were using social media worldwide and this number is projected to increase to almost 4.41 billion in less than 4 years.
Having a social media presence for your practice is becoming an essential tool for creating brand awareness and engaging with patients, which leads to more web traffic, leads, and appointments. Most importantly, it helps to humanize your practice, which is becoming increasingly important among patients who take an active role in their health.
With so many platforms out there, it can be difficult to determine which ones would best market your medical practice. To make your search easier, we have listed the top social media platforms and the benefits of each one for your practice.
Facebook remains a staple among social media giants with over 2.7 billion active users as of 2020. It allows users to post media, updates, events, links, and polls, which is a great way for a medical practice to become and stay engaged with its patients. A business account comes equipped with powerful advertising tools and comprehensive analytics. It also allows you to customize your page and add things like contact information, hours of operation, and services offered to increase your online presence.
Facebook also offers another way to interact with your current patients and potential prospects. From promoting blog posts to sharing the services your practice offers, you are encouraging your audience to interact with your posts, whether that means asking questions or tagging a friend who may be interested in your services.
Here are some Facebook demographics to keep in mind when implementing your social media strategy:
- Users 65 years and older are the fastest-growing group on Facebook
- 74% of high-income earners are Facebook users
- 51% of American teenagers between 13 and 17 years old use Facebook
With one billion monthly active users, Instagram allows businesses to be highly visible by offering numerous tools to attract patients, including pictures, videos, stories, and live streaming. Whether you have ‘before and after’ photos to share or a patient testimonial video, Instagram is a great platform for those who like to consume their content through images and videos.
When you create a business account on Instagram, you can access insights on both your business’s profile page and from each individual post. This is a great tool to utilize to understand your audience and identify which posts resonate with them the most so you can continue to provide the content your audience wants to see. Finally, this social media platform builds community and develops relationships. By having more connections online, your practice is building both authority and credibility.
Instagram demographics:
- 13.9% of global active Instagram users were women between the ages of 18 and 24
- 130 million Instagram users are from the U.S.
- 67% of U.S. adults ages 18-29 use Instagram in the U.S.
Twitter differs from other social media platforms as it’s not visual-based and is meant for short updates (240 characters or fewer). For the right practice, this can be a great tool for keeping patients updated and increasing engagement.
Twitter is most known for its use of hashtags (words, titles, or phrases that help send a powerful message). These tags are used to attract followers to a certain niche, increase engagement, and open new ways of communicating. By utilizing hashtags specific to your healthcare practice, you attract potential patients in search of your services directly to your practice.
Since Twitter is largely written content, it allows physicians to focus on engaging with their followers by liking, commenting, and retweeting. This helps build online recognition for your practice which paves the way for more appointments and higher patient satisfaction rates.
Twitter demographics:
- 28.9% of global Twitter users were aged between 25 and 34 years
- As of October 2020, 30% of Twitter users were female and 70% were male
Snapchat
Snapchat allows users to send photos and videos that disappear after a few seconds. Custom filters, contests, giveaways, and the Discover feature are great applications within the app that can be used in healthcare marketing.
The Discover feature on Snapchat is basically a news feed. A person can find content in the story format from different influencers and brands (in this case, medical practices). Similar to YouTube, Snapchatters can subscribe to a channel, watch Snapchat stories, and see recommended content that is curated by the app based on the user’s history.
Statistics show that 78% of 18-24 year-olds use Snapchat. While this demographic doesn’t fit every type of healthcare organization, it is important to note that these young adults are still visiting urgent care centers, gynecologists, primary care physicians, and other specialists. By expanding your audience to a younger demographic, you can build trust and loyalty with your audience. Medical practices can also creatively use this platform to help educate patients and market themselves.
Snapchat demographics:
- 30% of internet users aged 26-35 use Snapchat
- 69% of U.S. teens say they use Snapchat
- As of October 2020, 59% of Snapchat audiences were female and 39% were male
TikTok
TikTok is becoming one of the most popular apps with over 850 million unique monthly users. This video-sharing platform’s mission is to ‘inspire creativity and bring joy’. Statistics show that 32.5% of TikTok users are aged 10 to 19 years old and 29.5% aged 20 to 29 years old. With these statistics in mind, healthcare professionals can use this platform to make their practice seem fun, relatable, and personable by sharing videos on TikTok.
By creating health tips that are fun and engaging with the use of TikTok’s editing features, healthcare professionals can help push teens to take an active role in their health early. Utilizing TikTok to market your practice can help you build loyalty with your audience and allow it to grow with every TikTok you share.
LinkedIn is the preferred platform for B2B marketing and is widely used by businesses and professionals for networking. This platform is a great place to share informational content about your practice and engage in thoughtful discussions with professionals and patients alike.
Using LinkedIn to network, especially within industry-specific groups, builds brand authority by positioning you as an industry leader. For a medical practice, this can boost lead generation as you promote your practice while also increasing brand recognition.
LinkedIn demographics:
- 27% of LinkedIn users are 26-35 years old, 34% are 36-45 years old, 37% are 46-55 years old, and 29% are 56+ years old
- Within the U.S., 25% of US men and women say they use LinkedIn
HIPAA Compliance
While social media is a useful resource for advertising and patient engagement, it is important to ensure Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance in the social media age.
Some social media posts may violate HIPAA if you are not careful. Healthcare professionals should never post information about patients on social media. In limited circumstances, healthcare professionals may do so. However, valid patient authorization must be obtained and must clearly describe how the PHI (protected health information) will be used and disclosed. Posting of any PHI, without patient authorization, on social media may result in a HIPAA violation.
Contact Us
Creating a social media presence is one of the best things you can do for your practice. Whether you’re just starting out or need help leveraging your social media channels for the best results, get in touch with the experienced marketing team at LEVO Health. Contact us today by calling 855-234-0232 or visiting our contact page online. To learn more about what services we offer, please visit our website.
