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Tips to Building Your Clinic on Social Media

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Tips to Building Your Clinic on Social Media

Tips to Building Your Clinic on Social Media

Key Takeaways:

  • Focus on the platforms relevant to your patients/customers
  • Organic and paid social media marketing matter
  • Conversation is key on social media
  • Setting goals allows you to evaluate your progress 

This month our Building your Clinic series is focused on social media. We want to give you the tools and understanding to lean into social media and grow your practice. First off, what is social media? It has become such an integral part of our lives, but the basic definition is “computer-based technology that facilitates the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information through virtual networks and communities”. It is no longer a new and flashy way to market, but a staple in the industry with many different platforms, components, and resources.  
 

Social Media and Your Clinic

Social Media Platforms

Types of Social Media Marketing

Evaluating Your Success

Simple Content Ideas with Purpose

Resources


Social Media and Your Clinic

A few key tips you should know about social media before you get started:

  1. You do not have to be on every social platform to be successful. Choose the platforms relevant to your patients and customers.
  2. Relationships are key on social media. Do not treat it like a billboard where you post information and hope your audience will see it. It is a conversation; you must engage and keep the communication going.
  3. Make sure you create the right type of profile and include all the necessary information. This includes your hours, address, phone number, services, keywords, hashtags, profile image, cover images, and links to book an appointment.
  4. Set the tone for how you want to communicate. It is recommended you are more conversational on social media than on your website. Determine the types of content you want to share. Gaining new patients and increasing sales are always a goal, but make sure to be educational, share your organizational culture, and be entertaining. We have created a list of content ideas below to help.
  5. Make sure your social media is a part of your bigger marketing plan. If you are sending emails, partner the messages to social media so your audience will see it more than once. If you sponsor an event, take some photos, and share them. If you write an article, create a post on social media and link to where you have published it on your website.

The different types of platforms on social media can be overwhelming. When you are deciding which ones to invest your time and budget into, there are several factors to consider. Who is the audience? How wide is the audience? How does the audience function? How does the social media content fit with your brand?

Social Media Platforms

Below is a brief outline of the top social media platforms to help you learn and decide what is right for your clinic.

 

  • Facebook: This is the largest social media platform and has more than two billion people using it each month. Facebook offers a variety of tools to help you connect with your patient whether it is images, videos, events, ads, or reviews. It is easy to get started and navigate. Facebook is a platform where people expect you to have a presence.
  • YouTube: If you use video to promote your clinic, you must be present on YouTube. It is the second largest social media platform and the second largest search engine after Google.
  • Instagram: This visual platform is a great way to showcase your clinic through videos and photos. There are many advertising options and tools built into the platform to help you create videos. Make sure to take advantage of Stories and Reels to reach a larger audience.
  • TikTok: This fast-growing platform has quickly become a user favorite. Short-form videos can help you connect with your patients, but make sure you teach, entertain and participate on the app. Lean into trends, challenges, and hashtags to increase your followers.
  • Pinterest: Do you have ideas, tips, and products to share? Pinterest is a great platform to drive traffic to your website. The content on Pinterest is also active longer than on other sites.
  • Twitter: For fast changing info that is easily communicated, look to Twitter. It is also great for customer service. You can post plain text content or use visuals to connect with patients.
  • LinkedIn: This platform is key for professionals and a great way to share your thought leadership while building a professional network. Make sure to create a page for your practice and a professional personal page to make the most of this platform.

Types of Social Media Marketing

Once you decide what platforms to invest your time in, then you need to decide how much budget to invest. In social media this is known as organic vs. paid marketing. To get the best results you will want to participate in both, as each can help you accomplish different goals.  
 
Infographic: Paid vs. Organic

Organic social media is the free content you share. When you post to your platform a percentage of your followers will see it, and if they interact on it then their followers can see it. In addition, if you incorporate hashtags, people that follow those hashtags have the possibility to see it. This all comes together in the platform’s algorithm. Unfortunately, there is not a map to show exactly how the algorithms work, and it is always changing. The best thing you can do to get as many users as possible to see your organic content is to build a connection with your followers. By building a connection, they will be more likely to comment, share, like, and engage with you.

Paid social media is how you advertise on the platforms. Each platform offers different advertising options, but you can pay to raise your brand awareness, attract new patients, promote an offer, generate new appointments, and drive conversions to your website. The best social media ads are the ones that don’t feel like an ad. When advertising, make sure you start with a goal in mind and then evaluate your ad once it is complete.

Evaluating Your Success

One of the best ways to evaluate if you are being successful on social media is to understand the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). KPIs are measurable metrics that will help you understand the performance of your content and the Return on Investment (ROI) it has had. When determining what KPIs you want to focus on, make sure they are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely.)

Here are a few of the most common social media KPIs and their meaning:

  • Reach: How many users saw your content.
  • Impressions: How many times your content was viewed. Many times, a user can see your post more than once, so impressions are typically higher than reach.
  • Follower Count: The number of people that follow your platform.
  • Audience Growth Rate: How your follower account is changing over time. Are you gaining or losing followers? To find this, take the number of new followers you have in a period and divide it by your total followers, and then times it by 100.
  • Frequency: The number of times a post was seen by a user on average.
  • Engagements: The actions a follower can take on your content. This includes likes, comments, shares, and saves. The higher your engagements are, the more people will see your content.

Simple Content Ideas with Purpose

Understanding your KPIs will help you know what purpose you want your content to achieve. Having a balance of promotion, education, and entertainment will help keep your audience engaged. Another helpful tip is to think, would I want to read this? Why does someone care? Make sure to post with purpose and think about your patients and what they ask you about.

Here is a short list of ideas to help you get started:

  • How to (blank): Use this with anything you are commonly asked by patients. For example: How to stretch before a run, or how to select the right pillow for a good night’s rest.
  • Clinic culture: Showcase who you are, your staff and why you do what you do. Do you have a mission statement? Are you celebrating your nurse's 15-year work anniversary? You may find these cultural moments are the ones that mean the most to your patients
  • Product highlights: Do you always recommend a specific product to your patients? Share it and tag the product’s page. We recommend sharing a Performance Health product!
  • Share a quote
  • Ask a question
  • Share a Health Awareness Day
  • Host a giveaway
  • Share a story
  • Remind people to connect with you via newsletter, email, phone calls, etc.
  • Post a trivia question
  • Thank your patients
  • Lean into trends like: Motivational Monday, Tuesday Tip, or Friday Fun
  • Share case studies
  • Showcase events you attended or tell people where you will be
  • Share positive reviews

Resources

Growing your practice through social media takes effort and understanding of the platforms. Make sure to start where you are comfortable and in a way you would want to be communicated with. There are many online resources to help you along the way and make the technical side easier. Check these out and make sure to bookmark them:

 

We hope you have learned a little about social media and have some new ideas to either get started or refresh your platforms. Make sure to follow Performance Health and our brands on social as well. We hope to see you liking, commenting, and sharing with us soon! 
 
Performance Health: 
Facebook: @performancehealthofficial 
LinkedIn: @performancehealth 
Instagram: @performancehealthofficial 
 
THERABAND: 
Facebook:  @THERABAND 
Instagram:  @THERABAND 
 
Cramer: 
Facebook: @cramerproducts 
Instagram: @cramersportsmedicine 
 
Medco: 
Facebook: @medcosupply 
LinkedIn: @medco-sports-medicine 
Instagram: @medcosupply 
Twitter: @MedcoSupply  
 

Medical Disclaimer: The information provided on this site, including text, graphics, images, and other material are for informational purposes only and are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other healthcare professional with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your condition. 

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