Attract and Convert New Patients through Social Media Marketing

We know social media has drastically changed the way we communicate, but just how important is social media marketing for healthcare organizations?

Social media has become an increasingly important channel for the healthcare marketers to attract and retain patients.  It is an integral tool for marketing and customer service relations. In fact, 41 percent of people said social media would affect their choice of a specific doctor, hospital, or medical facility. Read below to discover our post webinar summary.

The Big Shift in Medical Marketing: Social Media

So, what exactly is driving the appetite for social? One of the main reasons social media is an effective means of outreach for healthcare organizations is that patients (consumers) trust healthcare organizations and the information they provide. In fact, 60 percent of social media users are the most likely to trust social media posts and activity by doctors over any other group.

Social media key objectives for healthcare marketers include:

• Brand Awareness: 94%
• Lead Generation: 69%
• Engagement: 67%

During one of our live webinar polls we asked attendees: “How far along are you in terms of developing a documented social media strategy?”

• 24% of attendees said “well along”
• 57% “just started”
• 19% “haven’t started”

Social Media Marketing Strategy

We see this with our clients all the time! If you want to be more effective at social media marketing, create a documented strategy. Having a social media strategy is key for success. Once everyone in your organization understands and agrees on a strategy it is much easier to stay on track.

Treat your social media marketing strategy like a report card, this way it will help you monitor your effectiveness. Otherwise you’re just wandering.

Client Successes

At AIS Media, we have demonstrated clear ROI from social media marketing for smaller medical practices, hospitals and large, regional organizations.

In collaboration with one of our clients, a publicly traded urgent care company, we used social strategy and survey cards to determine how patients were finding their centers. Our survey results showed within the first 45 days of engagement with AIS Media, the urgent care company got 2 percent of their new patients from social.

Another recent client success involves a very well-known aesthetics center. When AIS Media first engaged with this medical center they already had Facebook, Twitter and a brand new Pinterest page.  The action plan consisted of:

• Comprehensive audit of all existing social media channels
• New social media / content strategy to increase brand awareness, website traffic and demand for specified services
• Monthly social media consulting, content recommendations, and posting to each social media channel
• Monthly performance analysis and reporting

Within six months, new sessions on their website were up 21.43%, the period of time a user is actively engaged on the site went up 84.02%, and the number of first time users increased by 124%.

Healthcare organizations need to think of social media as an open dialogue. It would be a missed opportunity not to tune in and engage with your patients to discuss their lives and health.

Social and Search Blurred Lines

88% of those looking for health information start with search engines.

Social and search go hand in hand. Google recognizes organization’s social sharing and this in turn propels organic search rankings. If your social media strategy isn’t working, your search marketing is probably broken.

Main takeaway: Social media is becoming increasingly effective at lead generation and new patient acquisition. Ready to get started? Let the experts at AIS Media help craft a social media strategy that can produce a healthy stream of new patients.

Contact us today by filling out our contact form, or giving us a call at 404.751.1043.