It’s funny when we hear a healthcare client say. “Social isn’t important in my marketing.” You may think because you are in healthcare, a segment that is generally considered more serious and straight-laced, that social media, a place reserved for fun and entertainment, is not important, serious, or valid enough to be part of your marketing strategy. We’re here to tell you that that is exactly why you should be using social media to market your practice.
Use Social Media to Humanize Your Brand
Medicine is a serious field. People take their health seriously. But people are also, just that … people. They have emotions which include fear and distrust. Of all the places you can market your practice, clinic, hospital, etc., social media is the only one that provides the playground for healthcare companies to build familiarity, trust, and confidence within your prospective patients. No other channel or medium allows content that is quite as casual, genuine, or organic. That is an opportunity to create a personality for your brand and to really connect with your audience. Showing personality makes prospective patients more likely to trust you and to choose you. People make decisions based on emotion.
Social Media Isn’t Just for the Young People
You might be tempted to think just the younger people use social media, but according to a report by Oberlo, social media use is significant among all age ranges:
84% Age 18-29
81% Age 30-49
73% Age 50-64
45% Age 65 and up
You can see that almost half of the 65 and older population uses social media, so even though they are the lightest users, that’s still a significant amount in that range. Almost three quarters or more of people under 65 use social media. That’s a huge audience. Add to that the fact that an average of two hours and 25 minutes are spent per day per person on social media. Bottom line – many of your prospective patients of all ages spend their free time on social media, so that’s exactly where you should be marketing.
Doctors Are Simply People We Choose to Trust with our Health
The biggest advantage to social media for healthcare advertisers is that you can show your human side. People relate to people. We’re all humans! Instead of being some stiff, stuffy, boring medical practice, you can have some fun and break down the barriers of fear and doubt between you and your patients. You can hit them in the heart instead of the head and make your practice feel more human, caring, and approachable. Just being active on both Facebook and Instagram shows you care about their comfort by providing information in more areas than just your website.
Social Will Lead Patients to Your Website
And don’t forget, every social media platform allows you to link to your website – so being active on social positively correlates to your website traffic. If you pique someone’s curiosity about your practice or your services, they can easily visit your website for more information. There, they’ll find your more professional and buttoned-up side, where they can access answers to their medical questions and, ideally, make an appointment.
Social media provides an opportunity to stand out, be human, and attract new patients. Social media is where your target is!!!
If you’re looking for new patients, we’ve got plenty of ways to help you find them. Social media is just one tool. If you’d like to learn more about social media or need help with your social media marketing strategy, give us a call at (913) 649-4040 or 
