Tips for Using Facebook in Your Medical Marketing Campaign

Social media is a hot topic right now in the medical marketing world. And when it comes to social media networking, Facebook is certainly one of the big players that come to mind. Although Facebook is frequently recommended as a way to promote a medical practice, actually understanding how to use it as a medical marketing tool can be a daunting task. Once you can figure out how to take advantage of Facebook’s powerful social networking abilities, however, you will be able to experience several benefits.

The Challenge of Medical Marketing via Social Media
Social media is still new territory for most medical professionals. The methods of effectively using Facebook and other social media sites as a promotional tool are vague at best since social media was not conceived for the purpose of commercial marketing. Since there are no universally accepted best practices established for marketing via social media and measuring the results, skeptics and traditionalists claim that there are no effective ways to use social media for marketing purposes, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Currently, 59 percent of brand marketing professionals are using social media in some way. However, a large percentage of marketing professionals are reluctant to use social media because they are unsure of how to do it effectively. Other marketers don’t use social media marketing at all because there are no clear-cut methods for measuring the results of social media marketing campaigns.

Facebook as a Social Media Marketing Tool for Medical Professionals
Twitter, although it has substantially fewer users than Facebook, is more popular as a marketing tool. This probably stems from the fact that most people’s Twitter profiles and updates are public whereas the vast majority of Facebook users have private profiles, making it more difficult to interact and connect on a personal level. However, Facebook has unique tools such as fan pages and groups, which enable businesses to promote themselves and build a following.

The first step in developing a medical marketing strategy on Facebook should be to create a Facebook fan page, which has a custom URL. Fan pages are free and easy to set up, enabling you to create a custom “home page” of sorts on Facebook. There are multimedia components and social networking tools on Facebook fan pages that make it easier for you to connect with others and build a branded presence. For example, you can add videos and images, fans can comment on photos, and you can announce events and let people RSVP on the site. Any Facebook users can join/subscribe to your fan page.

A sustainable, effective medical marketing strategy must be diversified. Direct returns on investment are typically minimal when it comes to social media marketing. This explains why most doctors and hospitals are hesitant to embark on a social media medical marketing campaign. However, medical marketing through social media outlets should not be viewed as one-way channel for spreading marketing messages. This is where many businesses fail. A social media network like Facebook is supposed to help you engage with your customers and interact with them on a personal level. Facebook can also be used to generated leads, build your brand, and drive traffic to your main website. Ultimately the aim is to increase conversions on your main website.

You can also connect your content across different social networks. For example, if you have a Twitter account and post updates on it, you can add the #fb hashtag to your updates to automatically connect your Twitter account to your Facebook fan page. Your Facebook fans that don’t use Twitter can still keep up with and respond to your messages.

In many medical practices, browsing Facebook and other social media networks is against their policies. It is seen as wasting time and being counter-productive. However, medical practices may want to consider altering their policies and allowing the use of social media networks in order to reach out to prospects and patients. Your Facebook page can be as basic as simply posting your address, phone number, and operating hours or it can go deeper by sharing photos, patient stories, videos, podcasts, press releases, and much more.

Tips for Increasing Facebook Fans
You probably won’t be able to accumulate a ton of Facebook fans overnight but don’t fret – your efforts will eventually pay off. After all, it’s more valuable to have just a few fans who you engage with regular basis rather than fans you never connect with at all. In order to increase your Facebook fans, include a link to your Facebook fan page in your email signature so your patients will see it. Make the URL to your Facebook fan page easy to remember and put the URL on magnets, business cards, and other marketing materials. You can also use Facebook ads to advertise your Facebook fan page on Facebook itself. Only three ads are shown at a time on Facebook and you can target the ads to the desired audience. You only have to pay per click or impression so it’s a very cost-effective way to advertise.

Although your website is the nucleus of your online marketing efforts, your Facebook fan page, group, and presence on other social media networks will help you maintain and expand the dissemination and sharing of information about your medical practice. Once you establish a social media medical marketing strategy and determine some practical marketing methods, your network will expand and your messages will become viral, enabling your medical practice to fully experience the benefits of social media marketing.