Generalizations about healthcare providers are common in 2022.
The cause?
A general breakdown in communication between those who disagree on health topics. And this isn’t specific to healthcare, it’s actually a societal issue.
There may not be a simple solution, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. In this spirit, I present social media as a medium for change.
Continue reading on ways to reopen lines of communication with your patients.
How Does Social Media Influence Healthcare?
Federal mandates and healthcare social media advertising campaigns around vaccines appear to have the overall backing of the industry.
Of course it isn’t true, but many patients are under this impression.
So, we have the first way it influences us. And I suggest it’s not a positive one.
However, my goal is to shed light on the beneficial aspects for both you and your patients. If that statement seems far fetched, just stick with me.
Social Media Marketing for Healthcare
There’s recently been a rise in the popularity and desire for two medical methods:
- Telehealth
- Combined services
Direct Primary Care (DPC) patients are already enjoying the convenience of “packaged services.”
The doctor visits with them, he prescribes medication, it’s filled down the hall at the pharmacy, and the visit is complete. No need for an extra trip to an off-site location.
Just home to begin treatment. Talk about this when you post on your practice social pages.
Larger hospital systems are more rigid in policies and procedures. Changes happen slowly with many decision makers having a say. This inflexibility to changing patient behavior boosts smaller, solo practices.
Now we can talk about other positive features of social media in the medical world.
Highlighting the Personalized Care From Holistic Practitioners
Private practices like yours were affected by the Coronavirus just the same as the rest. But hopefully you’re rebounding beautifully.
Help this process along by emphasizing what sets you apart:
- Works on the cash system
- Lower cost for surgeries (outpatient centers)
- Agile decision making on industry news and trends
- Quicker adoption of new techniques and technologies
You can probably come up with many more, but just to get the ideas rolling!
Role of Social Media in Healthcare
Wanting to keep marketing costs low, the best strategy is posting regularly on social media platforms. But which one or two should you invest time and resources on?
Let’s start with the obvious ones.
Doximity
According to their site, more than 80% of doctors and 50% of all NP’s and PA’s in the United States are members.
But after a bit of digging, I found a couple red flags for your holistic medicine services.
Their community guidelines state:
While most comments are posted, if they are appropriate and on-topic, Doximity moderators will remove disruptive comments at our discretion.
And regarding health products or recommendations you are giving current patients?
They will remove any post that:
Claims unverified treatments are curative or viable alternatives to vaccination.
If you’re using it more for networking purposes by all means continue doing so. But just be aware certain posts/comments may get flagged or removed.
Prospective patients do occasionally use Facebook almost as a search engine when researching healthcare.
Having an optimized profile as a “placeholder” isn’t a bad idea. It allows people to learn more and reach out for more information. Additionally it is a portal or sorts to drive traffic to your medical website.
But similar to Doximity, it isn’t completely friendly to your niche within the health community.
Moderators more than likely will flag some of your content, especially as it relates to patient choice surrounding the Coronavirus. Once again, this is only meant to make you aware.
What you choose to do is up to your own discretion.
So is there a more viable alternative?
Gab Opening Its Arms to the Industry
Driven to improve patient-provider relations, my wife and I have been managing a healthcare group.
All voices are represented:
- Doctors
- NP’s and PA’s
- Nurses
- Patients
- Marketers
One consistent word from members is “disillusionment,” but healing is beginning through real and open conversations.
Despite some hurdles, savvy professionals are still finding success on the platform via their ads, marketplace, groups, and video options.
Gab also recently announced they are willing to financially invest in alternative health solutions.
Holistic practitioners are already networking and posting on this relatively young platform, maybe it’s time to join them?
Healthcare Social Media and Elijah Wordsmith
Hopefully you now understand social media should be a regular part of your digital marketing strategy. Another piece is your company blog.
One caveat is that this type of healthcare content marketing doesn’t yield instantaneous results. However, with a low up front financial investment and compounding once it’s been running for a while, it’ll reward you in time.
This concept shouldn’t be new to you. After all, as a holistic practitioner you know there aren’t always quick fixes to turn a patient’s health around.
Rather, small informed habits produce lasting results when stacked on top of one another.
My freelance writing business is backed by over 13 years of industry experience between healthcare and digital marketing. Combining the two allows each original blog or social media post to resonate with your target audience.
Elijah Wordsmith content writing “verbalizes” the more individualized care current and prospective patients receive from your practice.
Bring the human side back by sharing stories online that impacted you or your staff. And enjoy a boost in patient retention and new referrals for a “practice that truly cares.”
Take the first step towards standing out online and schedule a discovery call today!