by Donna Weinstock
Times have certainly changes and the technology is so much stronger that the way practices run their offices need to adapt to the changing ways. Social Networking such as Linked In, Facebook, Twitter and Blogs has become more popular for healthcare practices.
Clarifying your purpose of Social Networking is the first step in developing a plan. Have a goal in mind as to what you want the site to do for you and your practice. Be clear on whom you want your target market to be and what you want to achieve. Are you looking to connect with other healthcare practices, with patients or is your purpose to advertise? Your purpose may determine which sites you want to use for your social networking.
Social media marketing can be done in several ways. It is an opportunity to share your goals and your mission with others. It allows potential patients to get to know you and your practice. It also allows you to share new services and products that your practice will be carrying. It is a chance to educate patients that are already in your practice. Sharing ideas and suggestions allows you to get your message across, reach many more people in a more modern way.
You tube videos are a great way to educate on a particular subject. The presentations are short and informative and allow patients to view them on their own schedule. This has the potential to be a great learning tool for patients.
If done right, social media can be a great marketing tool. It is another way to “brand” your practice. Let others get to know who you are. Sharing ideas and thoughts can be valuable and less costly than sending out a mailing.
Man young adults are on facebook and twitter, but the older population may not be and this would not be an effective way to reach them. Keep in mind that the age population of your patients may affect how you market to them. Take into consideration the type of practice and age of the patients you have.
At the same time if you are looking to connect with other practices, your verbiage and entries may take a different form. The content of the site must relay the message you want to send.
Being more visible through social media can be a great opportunity for patients to learn more about your practice. Entries should be short and to the point. Often more entries are better as it keeps viewers coming back. Yet, not too often so patients don’t feel that they are being bombarded with contact. Know what you want to say and how you want it said. A practice should keep information general and not answer personal medical questions on-line.
Social Media is not always good for a practice. Posting that you were drinking (or drunk) or showing inappropriate pictures would not bode well for your practice. Keep your personal pages separate from practice pages. Your practice may want to connect to a patient via Facebook, but you most likely don’t want your patients connecting to your own personal page. There is so much information being passed that is inappropriate or meaningless that you don’t want that to be what your patients see. The posts should be a positive reflection on your practice using a careful thought process in choosing appropriate verbiage.
I have heard that on rare occasion a physician has connected to a patient via Facebook as a means to keep track of the patient. Having a policy on who you will accept into your sites will help to protect you. Be cautious to maintain confidentiality on your site.
Monitoring what your employees write on their own Social Media sites is another issue for practices. Have a policy in place that allows for what an employee can and can’t do with regards to your practice. There is nothing worse than an employee that says something negative about their work (which just happens to be your practice).
The policy should be clearly stated and include the consequences for disobeying the policy. We are hearing more and more from employees who have been fired or banned from premises for writing something inappropriate about their employers. Protecting your practice by having a policy is essential. Educating your employees about the policy and the consequences is vital to protecting your practice.
If you decide to use social media, it should be used and monitored on a regular basis. Make it work for you while keeping you and your practice protected. It is your reputation on the line
So stay professional, use common sense and maintain confidentiality.
