Do you work in healthcare or marketing?
If so, take a moment to see how you can maximize your marketing efforts in healthcare or with your healthcare clients. This isn’t an “easy” industry to market on digital platforms, but IS an absolute game changer in regards to opportunity. There are about 22 million healthcare professionals in the U.S. alone. Also in the U.S., 8 in 10 Internet users search for health information online, and 74% of these people use social media.
Is there a market for healthcare? Absolutely. Here’s how you can be best prepared.
Learn how to utilize social platforms that healthcare professionals use most.
And what platforms are those? Many would say Facebook, however this isn’t the case with our experience. We’ve noticed that broad healthcare services and organizations utilize LinkedIn most, while niche organizations and professionals utilize Twitter most.
LinkedIn:
What’s unique about LinkedIn for Healthcare professionals? When you share content on behalf of yourself this adds value for both yourself and your organization. In essence, the content you share has a double impact. What content resonates the most for healthcare? Human content. With an industry as complex and intricate as healthcare, your audience needs to understand what human element your organization provides, or in other words they need to put a face to the organization.
What are examples of “Human Content”?
- Interviews with employees or partners regarding relevant content within the industry. (current events, common questions, company culture, etc) - Behind the scenes photo content from events, meetings, etc.
- How-To videos with products or services that your organization offers
As you can tell, the more you produce content with human beings the more people can relate.
Twitter:
How can you maximize the use of Twitter, especially with the character limitation? Twitter is resourceful. What does this mean? Links go a long way. Just like any social platform you need to provide a hook - something showing your viewers that what you’re providing is worth clicking on and looking into. Trying to squeeze complex and intricate information into 280 characters is pretty much asking twitter users to scroll even faster past your content. However, take the complex information and simplify it. You can do this by attaching a link to a blog or article and preface the link with 1-2 sentences or phrases to create a format that is a bit more appealing.
A picture is worth 1,000 words right? So, with a 280 character limitation pictures will maximize your message better than any amount of words. Remember, opposed to Instagram or Facebook where your content is a bit more artistic or loose, your photo or digital content on Twitter should be resourceful and provide value. Sports accounts apply this advice often by providing a picture of the player or organization with their message overlaid over the photo, that way you get the best of both worlds.
Communication, communication, communication.
If you work in marketing, remember that your expertise is in marketing a specific product or service while your client’s expertise IS the product or service. Be proactive in your communication. The best way to understand the specific organization you work with compared to the industry that they’re in is to communicate with their representatives directly. Our team has found that the most beneficial route to do this is by setting up bi-weekly or monthly meetings with our clients to remain up to date with company trends, news, changes, and important information that they want relayed with their audience. Meeting your client in the beginning and moving forward WITHOUT direct communication is an easy recipe for dissatisfaction. In a world as big as healthcare, you are ALWAYS a student and your actions need to show that.
Communication creates proper expectations. What’s the biggest killer of relationships? (this includes business relationships) Unmet expectations. Whether those expectations are yours for your client or your clients for you, consistent communication will allow everyone to have a clear understanding as to what responsibilities are taking place. Another form of communication that will go a LONG way is how often you speak to your audience. Think about this in terms of a hobby that you have. Take photography as an example; the more you take pictures and edit them the better you become and the more comfortable you feel. In comparison with healthcare, the more you speak to your audience the more refined your message will become and they’ll feel more comfortable looking into your products or services. You can’t share information once a month and expect someone to jump on board, especially if your brand is lesser known. Authentic and consistent communication is vital.
In conclusion
Just as useful as personal handouts, flyers, billboards, and newsletters were 20 years ago, social media is an incredible marketing opportunity for any, and every industry. Time isn’t always on your side, it’s difficult enough to complete your daily work in a reasonable
timeframe, let alone build your organization simultaneously. In understanding the pain point of TIME, Somnu Medias utilizes our time to fulfill those marketing needs so that you don’t have to. Want to learn more tips on marketing healthcare organizations on social media? Feel free to reach out to us!
Written by Spencer Cook, March 2, 2022