Having social media networking accounts for your medical or dental practice is a great healthcare marketing strategy, but in order for it to be effective, you need to ensure that you have an audience.
It can sometimes feel like an Everest climb trying to get your Twitter or Facebook follower numbers to increase. So we’ve put together a list of do’s and don’ts to help you gain more social media followers, connect with a wider audience and gain new patients and referrals.
Do: Promote your accounts to your patients
Your first step should be promoting your social media accounts to your current patients. Since almost all of them probably already have social media accounts of their own, it’s a quick and easy way to gain followers and offer your patients information about your practice and your healthcare specialty in an easily accessible format.
Don’t: Pay to increase your followers
There are a lot of services online that offer to increase the number of followers for your social media page for a fee. While this can make your social media account appear popular, it can also be obvious that the accounts are fake. While it’s tempting, it’s best to grow your followers organically to ensure that your practice’s accounts stay authentic.
Do: Share information and articles
Following other experts in your field and sharing or retweeting their information not only helps increase the content on your page, it can also help you reach a wider audience and gain more followers.
Don’t: Forget to include your own content
It’s also important to ensure that your social media accounts stay unique, so you can find your own audience. Be sure to include your own exclusive content on your social media pages, as well.
Do: Update regularly
Updating regularly will show that your page is active and will also give your audience something to look for. The more you post, the more likely you are to find an audience.
Don’t: Overwhelm your audience
While it’s important to update regularly, too much information in a day can have the opposite effect. If you overwhelm your audience, you risk annoying them into unfollowing your social media pages. Keep your posts to a few times a week to connect with your audience without alienating them.
If you want to ramp up your social media strategies to gain more followers, our healthcare marketing consultants are ready to help. Contact us at 800.679.1200 or at info@practicebuilders.com for more information.