Facebook is embedded in our daily routines; over two-thirds of U.S. adults, with the average Android user spending nearly 20 hours perusing their Facebook feed per month. Over 66% of UK residents check in with Facebook on a daily basis.
When you’re trying to market your healthcare business on Facebook, you face stiff competition. Over 90 million small businesses use Facebook to connect with customers, and two-thirds of Facebook users report visiting a local business’ [age at least once weekly.
To stand out and connect with prospective patients, you’ll need more than a Facebook business page. Let’s look at ways to expand your reach, attract new followers, and get patients.
5 Tricks for Optimise Your Facebook Feed
Connect via Facebook Groups
Facebook Groups help to build communities by grouping people with similar interests. Over 1.8 billion users engage in Facebook Groups every month. In these groups, you’ll see prospective patients asking questions, looking for answers, and finding resources.
As a healthcare provider, you can establish yourself as a helpful resource in appropriate groups. This helps you build connections within your local community — and they may evolve into patients. Comment when appropriate; provide information, don’t be sales-y. Instead, offer helpful information and serve as a resource; you will generate awareness of your practice and providers.
Provide timely & relevant content
As a healthcare provider, you can take advantage of the multiple events held throughout the year. Traditional holidays, seasons, even “Eat Your Veggies Day” can be fodder for appropriate Facebook memes.
With the advent of spring, you can post about seasonal allergies, or provide tips on adjusting sleep patterns to daylight savings time — or give advice for healthy eating during the holidays. Very soon, you will see opportunities everywhere for engaging, useful, interesting content for your Facebook feed. You can easily keep your followers engaged all year long with a series of blogs or memes related to your healthcare specialty.
Add some personality
You can’t post boring content on Facebook; your followers will simply ignore it. Try infusing some personality into your posts. Make sure the images are interesting. Keep the messages brief and compelling.
If your business is a clinic, share photos of your team at work having fun together. The holiday potluck or birthday party or holiday decorating — these are all good fodder for Facebook posts. If your team occasionally has an outing, like a hike, post those pics as well. Your followers will get a personal glimpse of your team — which will certainly strengthen the patient-provider relationship.
Share links
Facebook users expect to see interesting articles posted by friends and businesses they follow. Why not share links to your blog posts or a compelling web page? You can also share links to reputable healthcare sources like WebMD, Mayo Clinic, Harvard Health and others. Find relevant healthcare news content — or recently published research — related to your specialty; share the link with your followers. You will increase your reputation as a thought leader in your specialty.
Follow the conversation
You need response from your Facebook followers — comments, conversations, reviews. When followers comment on your posts, keep the conversation going with a response.
Also, make sure the comments and Facebook reviews help you maintain a positive online reputation. If you receive negative feedback, respond quickly and offer to resolve the conflict offline. It’s important to follow up, as 70 percent of patients want to see how you respond. You can keep the situation from escalating and reassure prospective patients. Let followers know you’re dedicated to providing the best experience, and that all feedback is taken seriously.
Link to your website-- occasionally
Facebook and other social media help connect with patients and keep your practice top-of-mind. While you don’t want to “hard-sell” your business, it’s perfectly acceptable to link to your website, blog or online scheduling page occasionally. These practices will help nurture your company’s growth — improving conversion rates.
