Overview
Social media has become an integral part of numerous healthcare organizations’ communication and marketing strategies. Almost 99% of hospitals in the United States have an active FB page and accounts on other social media platforms. Here in this blog, we will share some interesting insights on the importance and benefits of social media in healthcare.
Summary
- Healthcare and social media are a powerful combination and are considered potent tools to raise awareness and spread valuable medical information.
- With the latest medical industry boom, social media strategy becomes an essential requirement for building your healthcare brand.
- It is crucial to understand that healthcare is not just a follower-count. Instead, it put specific responsibilities on healthcare providers, and they need to follow all relevant healthcare industry rules and regulations.
- Through social networks, information spreads quickly and influences a number of people. But sometimes, people are misguided by false information.
- According to several studies, social media sites significantly affect a medical organization or hospital’s image and visibility. Patients choose hospitals with a strong social media presence to avail health care services.
- In the pandemic situation due to COVID_19, people rely on the latest information and guidelines on social media platforms.
Importance of Social Media in Healthcare
Healthcare and social media are a powerful combination together and go hand in hand nowadays. The public increasingly looks to social media for medical news and resources; hence healthcare providers and organizations should follow their lead.
The boom in the medical industry has automatically paved the way for adopting healthcare marketing measures. The healthcare social media strategy is no longer optional; it is now an essential requirement. It is noted that with the rapid growth of this industry, healthcare accounts have some of the most followed and engaged audiences. By following the right approach, you can reach more patients and build trust. Social media can be a powerful tool to keep people aware and for spreading valuable medical information.
You may face some of the challenges for navigation and implementation of social media strategy in healthcare. Providers need to create engaging, informative, timely, and accurate social content. It is essential to understand here that healthcare brands share much more than a follower-count. You have certain responsibilities including, keeping the people informed on treatments and procedures and reassuring patients. You need to follow all relevant healthcare industry rules and regulations.
What Is the Role of Social Media and Healthcare?
Healthcare providers have a massive responsibility as it contains many associated pros and cons. Providers need to understand their accounts’ roles and responsibilities in the big picture, as they are marketing a human necessity, not a traditional product or impulse buy just for the sake of promoting content.
From your content strategy to the interaction with the followers, you need to have a clear-cut picture of the priorities while dealing with healthcare and social media platforms.
Benefits of Social Media in Healthcare Marketing
1. Raise Awareness
With the rapid growth of the digital world, social media is one of the primary tools for raising public awareness and educating them about new, emerging, and annual healthcare concerns. Here you need to ensure that the post you are sharing should be accurate and contain trusted information as thousands of people follow you.
The process of raising awareness includes friendly reminders regarding simple and common-sense healthcare practices or addressing general healthy living concerns. You also have to make sure that the public should be aware of the latest problems, guidelines, and treatments.
Information coming from reliable sources makes it easier for your followers to counter inappropriate and wrong healthcare social media cases they see in posts from their social connections.
2. Combat Misinformation
Through social networks, information spreads quickly and influences a number of people. It is an exceptional way when the data gathered is fact-based, clear, and helpful. But unfortunately, there is plenty of health misinformation over social media platforms.
People are misguided with false information. You should cite published research or the latest news from a reliable health source such as the WHO or CDC.
In some cases, the misinformation creators use a reputable institution’s name to give their statements credibility. In this case, it’s crucial for the institution named as a reference to clarify that they are not the source.
3. Cost-Effective Management Of Services
With the utilization of the right strategy, social media platforms can be effectively used for medical marketing and as a promotional platform at less expense than other media forms. They give a healthy chance to healthcare providers to monitor and manage healthcare services.
Several studies suggested that social media sites significantly affect a medical organization or hospital’s image and visibility. According to one study, 57% of patients were influenced by their social media presence and chose those hospitals to get healthcare services with an already built audience. The hospital’s strong social media presence appealed to 81% of consumers as an organization that offers cutting-edge technologies.
4. Advanced Patient Care
Social media plays a vital role in healthcare and effectively helps providers develop positive relationships with patients. In the current era, patients do not wait in line for hours to consult with their doctors. They go on their respective social media platform, send queries or book an appointment online and get updates. It, in turn, increases the trust between them and enhances the patient experience.
5. Crisis Communication
Nowadays, people prefer to get news via social media rather than the newspaper. It makes social a pivotal place for sharing breaking news and information. With the development of the pandemic situation due to COVID-19, people look at government health officials. They are curious about the latest information and guidelines. Health officers have effectively used healthcare communication and social media sites for spreading the word widely. They are regularly sharing official status updates and restrictions with the general public during this time of crisis.
Social media’s importance is increasing rapidly, and healthcare organizations or the general public are now engaging at social media platforms for medical-related news. Though there are several challenges associated with it, including maintaining privacy, confidentiality, and the reliability of the information exchanged on the web, the benefits to the general public and healthcare organizations outweigh its limitations.
Request a free consultation today if you are interested in availing of our healthcare marketing services from our experts’ team. Our digital marketing specialist team will help you achieve high traffic and visitor engagement for your healthcare website.