Social media is a great way to engage with patients and build relationships, but it’s not enough on its own. Healthcare organizations need to take a more strategic approach when using social media. Here are some ideas for how you can do that.

Introduction

Social media is the most effective way to reach patients, but it can also be a powerful tool for improving patient engagement levels. Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives, and as such, we spend more time on it than ever before. In fact, 70% of adults use a social network, like Facebook or Twitter, every single day!

Social media is a powerful tool that can be used to increase patient engagement. As a healthcare provider, you can use social media to communicate with your patients in a way that will keep them coming back for more. Engaging patients on social media is an effective way to increase patient interaction and build trust with your patients. Social media gives you the opportunity to reach out directly to your patients and engage them at their level.

By using social media as an outlet for communication, you can become more familiar with your patients’ concerns and ensure that you are providing the information they need. This will help build stronger relationships between you and your patients, which will lead to increased patient satisfaction and better outcomes for all involved.

Share relevant, timely, and valuable information

A great way to improve your patient engagement is by sharing relevant, timely, and valuable information.

• Relevant: Share only the information that your target audience needs at that specific time. For example, if you’re at a doctor’s office and you’re offering flu shots in February, don’t post about how excited you are about it because everyone else will see it anyway. If there’s something more important going on in the world—like an election or natural disaster—then share something else instead! Your goal should be building trust with those who follow you so they feel like they can rely on what comes from your account as being trustworthy and accurate.

• Timeliness: The best time to post is when people actually have questions about certain topics (such as “What should I eat?”). If someone asks this question today but doesn’t get an answer until tomorrow morning when they come into work/school/home again then chances are good that person won’t even bother checking back later today because why bother looking up info when I already know everything anyway? So make sure all posts are published before midnight Pacific Time every day so no one misses out on anything useful happening elsewhere online during those hours either!

Humanize your brand

Humanizing your brand is one of the most effective ways to improve patient engagement. The human element of healthcare can be seen in everything from how you treat patients, to how you communicate with them and even the way you present yourself online.

• Use videos, photos, and infographics to humanize your brand. Videos are often a good way for healthcare providers to express themselves authentically and relate their experiences as health professionals. They can also be used as educational tools for patients who may not have access or opportunity otherwise. Photos allow patients an opportunity not only to see a different side of their physicians but also to get insight into what goes on behind closed doors at workplaces like hospitals or clinics where there aren’t many opportunities for public interactions between doctors and patients alike. Humanize yourself through humor: Humor plays a vital role in making people feel comfortable around each other which ultimately leads them toward better relationships over time.

• Share stories about how things were done differently back then versus today so they understand why there are certain procedures now instead of then because these techniques helped save lives both times around!

Engage directly with patients

Engaging directly with patients is a great way to build your brand, engage with your audience, and create a social community around your brand. Here are some ways you can do it:

• Respond to patient questions and comments. You may have heard that responding promptly is the key to good customer service on social media—and the same holds true for engaging with patients on social media. If someone asks a question or comment, get back to them quickly so they know that you’re listening!

• Create an account where people can share their experiences with others (like Yelp). This could be as simple as creating a Facebook page dedicated solely to sharing patient reviews/experiences at each hospital or clinic location where they go regularly; however, having an official “patient experience” page allows this information (positive or negative) to be aggregated into one place where all stakeholders can find it easily—making it easier than ever before for employees in charge of promoting patient engagement initiatives within specific departments across multiple locations within an organization such as yours!

Listen to your audience and learn from them

When you listen, you’re able to identify what your audience is saying and make decisions based on that information. You will be able to see trends in their behavior, which can assist in improving your service or product offerings. As such, it’s critical that you pay attention not only when designing an experience for patients but also to ways for them to engage with the service (e.g., via social media).

It’s also important that healthcare organizations work with their clients and patients to create an experience they want, not just what they think is best. Streamline your processes, but don’t ignore the human element.

Encourage reviews on social media and third-party review sites

Reviews can help patients make decisions about where to go, and they can also help potential patients find you. Reviews are a great way for them to get feedback on their experience with your practice, which gives you an opportunity to learn what’s working well and what might need improvement.

If you want to get more reviews on your practice’s social media pages, here are a few tips.

– Promote the page on your website and in your office. -Have an easy way for patients to leave reviews, like an email address or phone number that they can reach you at. -Ask patients who are leaving reviews if there’s anything else they’d like you to know about their experience with your practice.

– Encourage patients to share their reviews on social media and other platforms. -Be proactive in asking patients if they had a good experience with you and what they think could be improved.

Integrate social media into your practice’s website

If you have a website, it is important to include links to your social media accounts on it. This will allow patients to easily share information with their friends and family, as well as make them aware of new developments in health care that can help them better understand their health concerns or remember to come back for follow-up appointments.

Social media for physicians is a great way to holistically improve your practice. You can also use this method as an opportunity to promote other aspects of your practice such as education programs or community outreach events that may not be directly related but could benefit from increased exposure through these channels.

Conclusion

Social media can be a powerful tool for effectively improving patient engagement levels. The key to effective use of social media is to share relevant, timely, and valuable information with your audience. This means that you should be humanizing your brand and engaging directly with patients on a one-on-one basis. Listening to what they have to say also helps you understand their needs better, which will help you create solutions that meet those needs as well as exceed expectations.

We’ve outlined seven ways to leverage social media to increase patient engagement, and hopefully, this article has given you some ideas on how to get started. Remember that while all of these strategies will work well with social media, they may not be as effective when compared to other marketing systems or programs. The key is finding what works best for your practice and patients based on their needs and preferences.

BraveLabs helps physicians and healthcare providers engage in highly effective social media campaigns. Contact us today to start social media marketing for healthcare at your practice.