How To Use Social Media To Engage With Your Community
Dancing Doctors on TikTok, Dr. Oz on Twitter, even the Dr. Pimple Popper Instagram feed has attracted an almost cult-like following in recent years. During the Pandemic, dance challenges and reels of people clapping for healthcare workers dominated social media, bringing both appreciation and a bit of humanity to a morale-strapped healthcare system. For years, Dr. Mehmet Oz’s musings on Twitter offered a wide commentary echoing his time on The Oprah Winfrey Show and later, his own. “Popaholics” flock to Dr. Pimple Popper’s Instagram feed, and she’s been hailed as the “dermatologist for the social-media age”, parlaying her online popularity into an equally popular television series.
Adapting to changes in the social media landscape, each of these examples have cultivated a following (and patient base) by engaging with the public in an online forum. In each instance, they are both gaining and engaging patients through social media use.
So how did they get started? For each, their rise to viral popularity was the likely result of a happy accident rather than a carefully developed marketing plan, but they’ve managed to stay at the top of their game by delivering engaging content and by responding to the public. Both of these things you can do to increase interaction with your community of followers.
How To Keep Patients Engaged
Delivering
Once you’ve got ‘em, now you’ve got to keep ‘em. Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, Gen Z, each of these core patient demographics all use social media differently, but they all agree on one thing: variety is key. When it comes to ads, promotions, and social media posts, 66% of consumers feel that there is too much repetition in digital marketing.
Responding
Again, no one wants to see the same content delivered day after day. Keeping your finger on the pulse of your patient’s needs, your posts should respond to changing trends, healthcare advancements, and other content that evokes an emotional connection with your patients.
When engaging patients through social media, it is important to create a community of patients, staff, caregivers, and advocates. Create an active online presence that is an extension of the care and compassion they receive at your Federally Qualified Health Center. At Firefly Marketing, we are your social media partner to help you do just that! Let’s Talk!
About the Author: Laura Williams
