The Role of Social Media in Medical Marketing

In most industries, overcoming objections to social media can be a daunting task. Not only is social media marketing difficult to measure, it is relatively new and many people are still not so sure how it works. Social media also plays an important role in medical marketing, but physicians face a number of challenges when it comes to making the case for social media in the promotion of their practice.
Physicians have to deal with numerous obstacles, including privacy regulations, staff shortages, and an increasing amount of demand for their services, thanks to the Baby Boomers who are hitting retirement age. Although social media medical marketing does not require a significant financial investment, it does require an investment of time, something which most doctors have very little of.

Although, social media has taken a while to catch on in the medical marketing arena, physicians and hospitals are slowly but surely jumping onto the social media bandwagon. The following are a few reasons why investing time and resources into social media is well worth it for medical professionals.

The Movement is Growing… and Succeeding
Although doctors have been slow to adopt social media marketing, there are an increasing number of medical professionals and hospitals that are using social media to promote themselves and connect with patients and potential patients. According to a recent survey, 367 US hospitals are using social media outlets, including Twitter. For example, the Henry Ford Hospital performed a live brain surgery on Twitter while taking questions from other users. Other hospitals use Twitter to answer patient questions as well as provide customer service. There are also community websites dedicated specifically to the discussion of healthcare, disease, and other relevant topics, for both patients and doctors.

According to a March 2009 Nielsen Report, 67% of the global population uses social media. That percentage is likely to continue growing. Clearly, many patients and potential patients are using social media. Doctors and hospitals can promote themselves on social media sites by answering questions about illnesses and healthcare or providing general medical information.

Many patients use social media sites to get information about different doctors and hospitals in order to comparison shop. By building a presence on social media sites and connecting with patients and potential patients, doctors and hospitals can build a stronger reputation online and attract more patients to their practice. Social media gives doctors greater visibility. Even if you are an amazing doctor, no one will think to go to your practice if they have never heard of you. If a potential patient has seen you on social media, it is often enough to sway his decision to your advantage when he has to choose between your practice and that of a competing doctor with no social media presence.

Patients aren’t the only ones using social media. Doctors are too. According to statistics from Manhattan Research, 89% of physicians rely on the internet and use it in their professional practice. 41% of all research that physicians do takes place online. Around 64% of doctors use smartphones. Simply put, doctors are already online so it only makes sense for them to plunge into the social media world, given the many benefits it can provide doctors with in promoting their practices. When doctors allow their employees to share information via social media networks with other medical professionals, it helps to create an exchange of information about best practices and more. Furthermore, when a doctor’s employees are involved in social networks, it can make recruiting new employees easier because it gives you access to a network of people in the same field.

Not only is social media usage for medical marketing a highly efficient promotional method, it is also very cost-effective. Social media medical marketing does not require a significant investment. Since budget cuts are very common in healthcare these days, it certainly is beneficial to have access to a low cost method for marketing and advertising.

If you want to determine whether it is worthwhile for your hospital or medical practice to pursue social media medical marketing, it’s essential to clarify exactly what it is you would like to accomplish and if the goals you have set forth are realistic. Your medical organization must also be comfortable with the idea of openness and transparency, both of which are inevitable in social media involvement.

If your patients are happy with the services you provide and your employees are content with working for your organization, launching a social media campaign would probably help to further your achievements. However, if you are having problems with current employees or your patients are dissatisfied for whatever reason, it’s advisable to address these issues prior to launching a social media campaign. Whether you build a social media presence or not, your patients will be talking about you online, but if you want to ensure that your social media campaign promotes positive talk rather than criticism, you’ll want to sort out any issues prior to a campaign launch.