Five Social-Media Success Tips for Medical Practices

Recently I was quoted in an article in Inc. Magazine on how to be successful in a social media campaign spread out across different platforms. The point of the article was about customizing a social media program to a business's target audience and goals. The same lessons apply to the business of medicine as well. Here are five social-media tips that, when applied to your medical practice, will bring success.

1. Find the social media platform that best reaches your patients.

Find a platform or two and be really great there. Depending on your ideal patient, there are tons of social media platforms that aren't optimal for you to use because your patients aren't there, or they aren't there for the right reasons.

2. Use a professional designer to create your "page."

Have your page (no matter the platform) professionally designed. It doesn't cost much and makes all the difference in how your practice appears in the eyes of your patients and prospective patients. A poorly sized header image and profile picture just screams sloppy and unprofessional - that is not an image that you want to project for your practice.

3. Professionally manage your social media platforms.

Manage your social media platforms professionally. You don't have to hire it all out, but at the least, make sure your in-house person is trained or certified in inbound, online, social-media marketing.

4. Be patient centric.

Start with the patient in mind. You may really love your practice, and chances are your patients do too. However, they don't want to think about it all day, every day. Make sure your posts on whichever platform you choose are not 100 percent focused on you or your practice, but cumulatively on what a person in your community and a patient in your clinic wants to know about.

5. Create an active presence; post new content every day.

Be consistent. The only thing worse than not having a social media presence is not updating your page. Avoid having a "ghost town" social media profile by posting one to two times per day.

Happy Marketing!