Number one and foremost in being successful on social media is that you are invested and have a plan and budget.
Social Media Platforms:
Generally, in Healthcare, the two primary social media interfaces are FaceBook, (Gen X) and Instagram (Millennials).
Tic Tok is an upcoming platform for Gen Z.
YouTube is a great platform to use for giving video instructions
Who will do your social media, and what needs to be set up?
You must decide if you will use a staff member or engage a person from outside your practice. Outsourcing this may be better initially to get it established correctly.
Arrange a graphic designer to set up basic templates for posts, headers and highlights for Instagram and FaceBook. Remember to use your practice livery, including your logo in these templates.
I recommend using Canva as the platform to load templates for posting as it is user-friendly. (Team members can then access these easily).
Set up a social media platform for posting — like Planoly, which is free
Social Media Calendar:
Think about the content you would like to post.
This is all about engaging and telling your story — not selling!
During the year in any industry, certain weeks build awareness. Examples of this are Dental Health Week, Mental Health Week, Movember etc. Use these as part of your calendar.
A Social Media Calendar provides a clear picture of what is being posted and when. If your target market is kids, mums and dads, ensure you do a Father's day, Mother’s day post etc. Christmas shutdown is big in this sector, so think about posting in early December about shutting down so patients are given the heads up early.
What to post? Popular content in healthcare are:
Pictures of staff at work and functions.
Videos of staff introducing who they are.
Images of Celebration for team birthdays, work anniversaries etc.
Pictures with patients.
Videos of patients and staff interacting — maybe dancing?
A video of a patient's journey.
Before and after photos.
Doctor stories.
Fun facts.
What to do in certain emergencies?
Post facts about the treatment you offer.
Understand pain points of a patient and post on these points.
Explanation of products or services offered.
Inspirational quotes that apply to your practice — eg dental - Smile quote
Hashtags:
Gather a list of hashtags and save these depending on what you are posting - Go to competitor sites for ideas.
Authorising posts:
I recommend the Practice Manager and social media person sit down with the calendar six months ahead, to decide on how often to post. The outsourced person would take photos and videos and get content ready on Planoly or Buffer or chosen posting platform for the Practice Manager to read and approve. (This could be a week in advance).
Ensure posts are scheduled at popular times when your market is active. (Many platforms can automatically do this for you)
What else?
Videos and photos - these need to be high quality. New iPhones are good, but ensure lighting is also good.
Use time-lapse and boomerang on Instagram and Facebook to add interest and engage your market. Videos generally have a higher reach.
Vimeo and Canva are video interfaces that are easy and cheap to use. Outside specialists can also set up multiple videos that can be repurposed.
A high-quality video and photos are recommended for your website, so outsourcing this is a good idea.
Ensure all posts are kept in the branding of your practice - that is colours, values etc.
Google Business Profile:
For the promotion, as in selling your business services, I recommend the Practice Manager set up a Google Business Profile account and post weekly. If you use platforms like Buffer, Recurpost or SocialBee, posting to Google Business is easy.
I can assist with all the basics of setting this up and refer you to a network of people I recommend to assist with establishing the graphics, ongoing assistance etc.
To learn more about how I can help your health care practice, visit my services.
This is a personal blog. Any views or opinions represented in this blog are personal and belong solely to the blog owner and do not represent those of people, institutions or organisations that the owner may or may not be associated with in a professional or personal capacity unless explicitly stated. Any views or opinions are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club organisation, company, or individual.
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