Why Social Media Advertising Is Important for Your Practice
With so much information readily available online, individuals have unconsciously raised the bar on what they expect from a doctor. As a result, brand awareness through social media has become an essential tool for determining which specialist gets their call. By properly harnessing the full power of your social media presence, your elective healthcare practice can connect with patients like never before and make profitable gains in the online marketplace.
We’ve previously discussed how improved social media engagement increases conversion, but this time we want to talk about the benefits of social media marketing that are traditionally harder to track (although we have our ways). Having a strong, carefully curated online presence gives patients peace of mind. “Carefully curated” are the key words here; too many posts (and accompanying calls to action) can appear overly promotional—no good—and too few raises red flags. As with all forms of reputation management, it’s important to thread the needle. And the best way to cultivate a respectable and recognizable brand is through advertising.
Many practices assume that by having a Facebook page, they can tick off the SMM (social media marketing) box and call it good. Once upon a time that was true, but today your social media strategy needs to be dynamic and synergistic—incorporating paid advertising efforts along with engaging posts, website content promotion, and consistent organic audience interaction.
Investment in paid social media advertising is a wise use of marketing funds due to the highly focused targeting capabilities and detailed analytics it provides. Facebook and Instagram allow you to target specific audiences based on several factors, including age, gender, location, and other increasingly specialized criteria. Our skilled team can help you customize your market so you can reach existing and prospective patients with expert accuracy. Determining the right budget for your Instagram and Facebook Ad spend is also critical, and our team can assist you in maximizing your advertising dollars. As one of our SMM Strategists explains, “With all these targeting capabilities, one can drill down to a particular audience subset. However, none of these targeting capabilities mean anything if you don’t support your efforts. A good social media marketing strategy includes a strong message with compelling visual content, a healthy ad budget, and well-tuned, layered targeting.”
Thanks to the robust analytics platforms that Google, Instagram, and Facebook provide, you don’t have to wonder about the success of your paid social media advertising efforts. Skillfully utilizing these tools and the rich data they collect can help your practice accurately monitor progress and fine tune future campaigns for greater ROI. RM’s social team demonstrates a high level of expertise in employing and evaluating social media analytics. You can rely on them to set benchmarks and evaluate performance to keep your campaigns continually evolving and trending toward success.
Once your message is out there and attracting eyeballs, you can focus on creating beautiful, engaging posts that establish who you are, what you do, and why people should choose you for their medical or dental needs. Social media offers a more lighthearted and playful platform, but never lose sight of the goal: to demonstrate your superior quality and unique approach to your field. Basically, social media marketing allows you to trumpet your office philosophy—so you should be certain what that is. Consistency is essential in building a positive brand reputation.
Social media marketing is a complex web, and each thread must be considered to achieve the intended outcome. If you have questions about how to enhance your practice’s presence online, or if you’re ready to take your advertising to the next level, contact our friendly and knowledgeable team today.
Editor’s note: The original version of this post was published on June 6, 2017.