There are many reasons why doctors should be on social media. For some doctors, the reasons are obvious; for others, not so much. And I get it.
Doctors are busy and don’t have time to learn how to market correctly or do it; that’s why most doctors outsource their social media marketing.
But unconsciously, these doctors are making 7 big mistakes.
- Outsource their social media posts to “content factories.”
- They are posting on social media without a clear plan with the type of patient they want to attract.
- They are not responding to social media comments fast.
- Deleting negative comments or arguing with upset people publicly.
- Talking and not listening to their fans and followers.
- Asking staff or untrained people to post for them on social media.
- They are not meeting with their marketing person frequently to find what works and what didn’t work.
Don’t ignore these mistakes.
Yes, doctors need to pay their bills, staff, and themselves, but the point is to help more people live healthier lives, right?
One doctor told me, “Angel burger King sells the most hamburgers in town, but is not necessarily selling the best hamburgers in town.”
What that means is that you could be the best doctor in town, but if you’re not promoting yourself where your dream patients are hanging out online, you are not going to increase your patient base. You won’t be able to help more people live healthier lives.
COVID presented a challenge for those doctors relying on local networking events and referrals that didn’t have a solid social media presence.
Unlike local networking events, social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram are not going anywhere, and they can help you reach people that otherwise are outside your reach organically.
One way doctors can reach more patients on social media is when they share educational content. People like to consume news, positive information, and helpful information. And when something is useful, they share it with their friends.
So when someone in your network, someone following you, your page, shares your post to a friend, that person helps you reach somebody that otherwise, you won’t be able to reach without using paid advertising.
But I am not saying you shouldn’t use pay advertise.
Actually, I encourage doctors to use Facebook ads, YouTube ads, LinkedIn, etc. The reason is that pay advertising scales your reach. When you create the right campaigns, it helps you reach people you can’t reach organically. Even if they share all your posts with their friends and groups, they belong to.
Paid ads help you reach people outside your network. So, definitely, 100% use paid advertising.
Another reason why doctors should be on social media is to become a thought leader. Many missed this opportunity when COVID started.
When you become a thought leader, more eyes are on you. And you can help more people, more patients, live healthier lives.
Another reason is to provide better customer service. One of the constant complaints I hear about medical practices is, “the doctor is great, but their staff sucks.”
I’m not saying fire everybody and delegated everything social media because that’s not the case. But you can improve customer service by levering each social media platform.
Make peoples live easier.
- Allow people to book appointments online without having to talk to a staff member
- Answer their questions on social media
- Free resources in your office, so they can do work that technology can’t.
- Save people’s time, reducing face-to-face appointments.
- Schedule more virtual meetings.
The one last point is increasing your bookings, increasing your scheduling, using online services. The days’ people needed to call and wait on the phone and ask a bunch of questions or send a message and wait for somebody from the staff to reply are long gone. And if you are still doing this, you need to rethink how you are using your tools.
Not just see people in your office, increase your virtual appointments. Because 9 times out of 10, you know, as a doctor, you don’t need to be in front of your patient to read the results and tell them, “Hey, come back in two weeks.”
You can do this via a zoom meeting.
Tip: Use Calendly and zoom to let patients schedule appointments without the need of your staff. Hey, we are in the year to make this change.
When I bring the use of scheduling software, I get a lot of push back at first. But the benefits are clear.
Typically what I hear from the staff, not the doctor, is that “we can’t do that because they end up booking the appointment whenever they want to.”
Or that “we need to ask them a few questions before they book the appointment.”
Well, guess what? The software allows patients to book appointments only when they are available based on what you decided. The software can ask questions, collect documentation, and payment if necessary.
If you say, patients can only book an appointment between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM. Guess what? That’s the only available slot. And if Angel goes and books an appointment at 10:00 AM, Jose cannot put another appointment at 10:00 AM, unless you decide that people can overbook people at the same time slot.
In addition to that, you can prescreen them, collect all the necessary information, booked appointment, collect a payment, if necessary, send you that information via email and keep the electronic records organized in a central location for easy management.
It’s a more efficient way to use your resources. Think, task management.
Rethink how you’re using your scheduling software because you may be using it the wrong way.
To recap.
- The content that is posted on your social media profiles needs to come from your insights. The doctors, insights. Not a “content factory.”
- Have a clear plan with the type of patient you want to attract before posting on social media.
- Respond to social media comments fast.
- Don’t delete negative comments or arguing with upset people publicly.
- Share more educational content, help people avoid pain. Avoid sharing what you want. Talk less and listen more.
- Hire a world-class marketer. Don’t waste your time and money asking friends or untrained staff to post on social media for you.
- Meet with your marketing person at least once per month to find what works and what didn’t work.
If you will like to talk about this further, use this link to schedule a video zoom meeting https://calendly.com/angelfanderson/video-meeting
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