Social media is an online tool that is often underused by many healthcare professionals. Whether we are talking about Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Yelp or other online spaces with household names, doctors and other medical professionals can greatly benefit from building a social media strategy. If you are a local business owner, read on for some worthy tips.
Keep up an active Twitter account
You may or may not be a devotee of Twitter. Your practice should definitely have an account from which engaging posts are send out regularly. Twitter is its own universe and your local business should have a presence there. The best advice for a local business who tweets is to remember that you are speaking to members of your community. If there is an exciting event about to happen in your town, like a giant pumpkin growing contest, give it a shout out. Your followers will appreciate your local spirit.
Yes, You Need to be on Facebook
Facebook is kind of popular. We have all noticed this. Doctors, Dentists, and others in the industry need to build up a presence on Facebook. And, just as in the Twitter sphere, you should keep your content positive and locally focused. Create interesting posts about your business and your community will, over time, build up your fan base. At that point, social media will become a steady tool for your targeted promotion.
Remember that Facebook’s “Nearby” feature, for smart phones, lists local businesses that have been “liked” by a user’s friends. This method of presenting people with recommendations targeted specifically toward them is becoming popular, and is expected to grow.
Yelp
Yelp is a space where local businesses can find new customers. If a young woman moves to a new town, the likelihood is that she will check out Yelp before heading out for a cut and dye. Sure, there is the chance that you will get some bad reviews, but not if you are on top of your game. You should consider any negative Yelp comments as constructive feedback.
I mentioned three social media spaces that all local businesses should use as part of their overall online marketing strategy. And there are many more. A smart way to move forward is to speak with other local business owners in your community about the social media spaces that have worked well for them. Collaboration helps everyone, after all. Happy tweeting.
It may make sense for you to have a company manage your social media campaigns. If so, get in touch with me and we can determine a good course of action.