How to Use Social Media to Improve Your Healthcare Presence
Understanding the Changing Demographics
Did you know that most clinic and business owners overlook a crucial fact about their customers: Gen Z is turning 30…
I remember what seemed like a few short years ago: Every business owner I knew dismissed TikTok because it was a dancing platform for kids. Now, TikTok is the #1 search engine for Gen Z.
Gen Z’s Growing Buying Power
And they’re only getting older, which means their buying power in the entire market is increasing while older generations, like Boomers, are retiring and spending less money. This means businesses, including healthcare clinics, need to adopt new strategies for communicating with potential patients.
Yes, that means social media…
[If you haven’t started your clinic yet, this Newsletter still applies to you. You don’t need a clinic to start building your brand, and the sooner you do, the better off you’ll be when you open.]
The Importance of Social Media for Clinics
While starting and growing a business without social media is still technically possible, it would make life infinitely more difficult. Social media platforms are incredibly powerful tools for reaching your audience for free.
Now, before I get any hate mail about Zuck’s pay-to-play business account stuff, I’ve got some bad news for you…
Building Your Brand Early
It’s not Zuck or the algorithms’ fault most business posts only get 10-100 views. It’s because they’re posting the wrong content. No one opens their favorite social media app hoping to see the latest update from a business they’ve never been to. And why would they?
Think about your own content consumption. Are you seeking out random businesses to see what’s new with them? Too many local clinics and businesses are stuck in TV advertising (where audiences have to sit through the commercials).
But today, if we’re not immediately hooked, we can just keep scrolling. And it’s not because people’s attention spans are shorter… How often do you hear people talking about streaming a TV show for 8 hours straight over the weekend?
Today, we’re not competing for people’s wallets against the clinic down the street. We’re competing for people’s attention; our competition is everything else they could be doing now.
This sounds like a daunting task, but it’s actually pretty simple and not that hard.
Practical Tips for Starting and Growing Your Clinic with Social Media
Do you know why reality TV exploded in the early 2000s? It’s because people love seeing how other people live. And, of course, the drama, but that’s a topic for a psychiatrist.
What Type of Content Works Best?
Social media is the next evolution of reality TV, but it’s personal, so we can replace drama with whatever we want. The scary part is that we have to show a little bit of our weirdness to the world.
Weirdness? What? It’s your interests, hobbies, or quirks that make you unique. That doesn’t mean you should share all of your secrets and live your entire life online; boundaries and guardrails are important.
We’re talking about dropping the professional facade that everyone hates pretending to be and being a human, sharing something they’re deeply passionate about. Because that’s all you have to do these days…
The Power of Authenticity in Content
People don’t want highly produced and edited videos with someone reading a script and sounding perfect with just the right lighting. People want the selfie style, unpolished, unscripted version of what you do.
Leveraging Personal Stories and Experiences
Think about your own content consumption. What type of content do you like to watch? Who do you like to watch, and how do they act on video? Are there any businesses that create content you actually like consuming?
If you like “watch me get ready” style videos then create videos like that about prepping for different procedures or services you offer. Explain what you do, how it’s beneficial, and the steps involved as you set up for a patient.
If you have stories from school, clinicals, or past jobs related to healthcare, tell them. Obviously, stay compliant, but people love hearing real-life stories they’ll likely never get to experience.
You can teach people about your part of healthcare and the procedures or services you offer. Look at people like Andrew Huberman, Dr. Paul Saladino, Dr Oz, and other “celebrity” healthcare professionals or influencers. There are so many different teaching styles that resonate with people today.
The Key to Consistent Content Creation
The key here is to be yourself. You decided to take the risk to become a healthcare entrepreneur for a reason, and I bet it’s one you’re passionate about. Start there and keep talking about that passion and mission.
Content isn’t really something you can plan out with a content calendar like so many agencies forced us to believe. It should be more organic and in the moment, whether that’s because the patient made you think of something you wanted to share…
Behind-the-Scenes Content
It gives people a behind-the-scenes look at something they don’t often get to see or reveals an interesting little-known healthcare fact.
It’s not about being perfect or polished; people don’t want that on social media. It’s about showing up because there are people out there who hear your unique insights and thoughts about the world.
Every video piece of content or conversation you have with someone is practice for the next one. If your video only gets 200 views, that’s not a failure. Imagine having 200 people in your clinic right now listening to your words.
I bet 50 or even 20 people would feel like a lot if you stood before them.
The goal isn’t to go viral. It’s to keep showing up. If you do that, you will get better, your videos will get more views, and people will start seeking you out as their go-to provider. But it does take time, and most people try to rush it.
The only way to go faster is to make more content. Whatever that means to you, with the time and energy you have, you have to create it. But that’s the beautiful thing about social media: any interesting or odd part of your day can be something you talk about…
Every time you show up, a little more trust is built. All you have to do is keep going.
Daily Content Creation Challenge
If you’re wondering what the tactical takeaway is, it’s simple. Record and post one video every day. Start with sharing your passion for healthcare, why you started your clinic, and how you want to help and serve your local community.
And to make it even easier on yourself, only talk about those things for the first 30 days. Most people won’t see two of your videos in a row, and they’ll probably have forgotten, so don’t worry about that. But the improvements and confidence you’ll gain from only talking about those three topics will be incredible.
But here’s the secret trick…
Throughout the next 30 days, keep a notebook or a note on your phone with you and keep track of all the other video ideas that start popping into your head. After that first 30 days, go back to that list and make videos about those ideas.
Thanks for reading!
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