How to Use Social Media for Healthcare in 2023: 6 Best Practices

If you’re anything like us, your screen time is through the roof lately. But hey, it’s not your fault — or ours. We’re all caught in the same trap, doom scrolling on social media without even realizing it.

We’re all at the mercy of Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. We consume our bite-sized content between bites of breakfast, then lock our phones and get to work … until the next time we have 3 minutes to scratch the social media itch.

We may be obsessed, but so is your target audience. It’s never been easier to connect with them online and provide value.

Take advantage of the times we’re in with a social strategy that keeps your followers engaged and coming back. Follow these healthcare social media best practices:

1. Make Every Post Valuable

Social media used to be a place where you could post your most recent blog and slap on a caption like, “Check it out!” Then low-rise jeans went out of style, Zac Efron got a “YOLO” tattoo, and Taylor Swift released the first version of her song about Jake Gyllenhaal.

In other words, it isn’t 2012 anymore. If you’re still using Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (aka X) as dumping grounds for blog posts, we aren’t judging — we know how busy things get — but let’s fix that.

Each of your posts should provide value to your audience. Remember that “value” comes in the form of both education and entertainment. Teaching readers something about their health is valuable, but so is:

• Making them laugh
• Telling them an inspirational patient story
• Engaging them with a fun pop quiz or medical mystery

Don’t overthink it when it comes to creating valuable content. You know your audience best!

2. Create Shareable Content

An important part of social media for healthcare is creating content that people want to share. When a reader shares your post, your message reaches more eyes … including new eyes (that you can win over). Shareable content improves your reach.

Social sharing also helps your online reputation and SEO. Search engines see shares as evidence that your web content is helpful. Social media shares make your site more authoritative, which is what the A in E-E-A-T stands for (an acronym for ranking factors).

Follow our creating valuable content checklist to make your content more shareable:

3. Be Relevant to Readers

This summer, we saw brands in every industry ride the Barbie wave for their marketing. It’s been fun to witness businesses “paint platforms pink” in their quest to stay relevant with their audience.

When it comes to social media in healthcare, though, you don’t need to tap into pop culture or current events if it isn’t on brand for your organization.

In healthcare social media, “being relevant” can be as simple as posting about things that affect your audience’s lives:

• Pediatric offices can post tips to keep your child healthy during flu season.
• Registered dietitians can share Reels about creating healthy recipes.
• Dermatologists can post advice for protecting your skin in the summer.

See NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital’s post about a highly relevant topic: dairy alternatives.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (@nyphospital)

Don’t worry about piggybacking on trends to stay current. Helpful health information is relevant to everyone.

4. Be Open to Experimenting

If things change in marketing every day, things in social media change by the hour. It’s impossible to predict what will throw a wrench in your strategy next:

• Algorithms get updated multiple times per day.
• New features are released often — sometimes without warning.
• No one can guess what the topic of the day will be on any platform.

If you’re using social media for your healthcare organization, be open to trying new things.

See how you can incorporate new topics in a way that makes sense for your brand. Experiment with different formats like Reels, Stories and live events. Above all, let the data speak for itself. What works for one brand on social may not work for yours and vice versa.

5. Get Comfortable Repeating Your Message

One of our best social media tips for healthcare marketers isn’t about creating original content for social media — it’s about getting more from the content you already have.

Repurposing existing content helps you fill your social media calendar and stretches your assets further:

• A graphic from a blog post can catch attention on Instagram.
• New research might make for an insightful LinkedIn post.
• Patient stories make great content for hospital social media pages, like the one below:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Boston Children’s Hospital (@bostonchildrens)

People may need to see a message at least 7 times for it to sink in. Keep exposing your audience to key elements of your messaging.

6. Document Your Social Media Workflow

When you’re strapped for time, documenting your workflow might not feel like the best use of it. We get it.

But think of it as slowing down to speed up. Documentation helps your team know exactly what to do, when to do it and why it’s important.

What parts of your social media process should you document? Write down and standardize everything your team needs to create a consistent online presence:

• Social media team roles and responsibilities (see example below)
• Voice and tone guidelines for social media
• Policies for responding to inappropriate comments
• Procedures for content requests and approvals
• Satellite page guidelines and requirements
• Checklists that keep content quality consistent

Start with a healthcare social media audit to see which workflows are working and create tools that can help.

Get More Social Media Tips for Healthcare

Learn more best practices for social media in healthcare and give your team the tools to create posts that perform. Look into booking a custom social media workshop for your team.

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