Although many businesses – including ones in healthcare and medicine – turn to their Facebook pages to promote their practices, getting noticed organically these days can be challenging. With Facebook’s new “Pay-to-Play” algorithm, you can have 20,000 fans and only 11 of them will actually see what you’ve shared.
That doesn’t mean you should disregard the world’s biggest social network. Facebook is still a great communications tool – your strategy just needs some fine-tuning.
Having prominent members of your facility such as doctors or nurses join Groups relating to their specialty or practice can help tremendously.
Facebook Groups were – and still are – intended largely as a way to connect with friends and others who are interested in a similar activity or cause. There are Groups on Facebook for just about any topic or interest, including pontoon boats and German Shepherds.
Because of this, Facebook Groups can be a very powerful way to reach your target audiences and bring them to your website.
For example: Why not have your top neurologist or someone on his or her staff join the Parkinson’s Disease Awareness Group? This particular group, which is comprised of over 5,100 members, is a great platform to show one’s expertise on the disease and participate in discussions.
Once the conversation gets going, the person representing the facility may then want to send a friend request to any interested parties and take the conversation further, possibly resulting in a new patient.
A few important things to keep in mind: You can’t post as a business on a Facebook Group, and you should refrain from blatantly promoting your services. If you try to use this part of Facebook as a sales tool, you will most likely get booted.
Sometimes, thinking “outside of the box” is all that it takes to get your message in front of the people who mean the most to you.
For additional healthcare social media tips, contact Wax Custom Communications at 305-350-5700 or visit waxcom.com.
