Just as the healthcare industry is drastically different than the regular ‘business world’ out there, so are its marketing needs and the tools to reach out to its specific audience.
This audience is unique, with a specialized set of skills and education, needs and problems that one needs to understand completely, to market to it successfully.
The most effective social media healthcare marketing plan is one that approaches this audience right where they are and at the right time that they are online.
Many think that having a Social Media presence is having one of the staffers take out a couple of hours a week to manage your business Facebook page. Maybe promote your services, reply to comments and share content they think the viewers might like.
Though this may be a good place to start, it’s not really enough to engage your customers effectively. You will have to create, and stick to, a full-fledged social media marketing plan to generate more than just a dozen likes and shares. This will include more than just managing the Facebook page once in a while.
Do you also think, “No one is going to check out my Facebook post” or “Twitter can be so overwhelming” or that “LinkedIn is just for people looking for jobs”?
Well, there might be some truth to these statements but it does not mean that you cannot consider social media for B2B promotions.
FACEBOOK FOR B2B HEALTHCARE MARKETING
Facebook sometimes seems limiting as mostly only people who know your business or are already your customers will like your page. But that does not mean you can’t have an active Facebook presence.
Facebook is a relatively low cost ad platform and we recommend you make the most of it by either boosting a post, or creating a separate ad which gives you a few more options for presenting information. By paying for some ad space, more people that are interested in the product or service you are selling, will notice your page and in turn, your business!
This works pretty well, because you’re marketing to people who are increasingly mixing their work and personal life. By setting up an appropriate target audience on Facebook, you reach out to the right group of people with your message.
TWITTER FOR B2B HEALTHCARE SALES
Twitter is a great platform to interact with people who don’t know about you or your business, as of now. We understand that sometimes, it can be overwhelming to look at the stuff posted by the accounts you follow. Sift through content by hashtag to stay focused on what you’re looking for.
We suggest that you do a little research on hashtags before you post your message on Twitter and then use at least one relevant hashtag in each tweet. But do not hashtag something that is not related to your message or you’ll lose credibility.
GET YOUR BUSINESS NOTICED ON LINKEDIN
There’s a lot more to LinkedIn than just the newsfeed and profile. You can use it to research a person or company that you’re considering as a vendor, or look for interesting articles related to your field and in the process, you’ll find groups of people with similar interests.
To gain followers, groups can be a great way to make an entrance on the LinkedIn scene. But we suggest not to post an ad for your product or service in a LinkedIn group. That may be a big turn off for most members and can be perceived as inappropriate.
You can still do a lot of selling in LinkedIn groups. You can post content that is relevant to them and will interest that group’s members and start up a conversation from there. This will depict that you have their interest in mind and you know what you’re talking about. And that will be a good start of a potential future association.
Basically, when it comes to social media, just put yourself out there, and try to increase your company’s social presence on all platforms and truly be conversational with all potential clients and customers.