Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook
Rss
Feed« Use Video To Build Relationships With Referring Doctors – Cheap | Main | Young Professional Standing on the Street With a Sign – Looking for Job »
Facebook for Medical Practices and Hospitals
By Stewart Gandolf | February 22, 2010
I will write more in depth on the topic of Facebook for providers, but for now some of my quick answers may surprise you.
1. Not everyone should try to have a Facebook Page – even though almost every marketer on the planet says they should
2. Don’t do it if you are solely doing it because it is “free”
3. Someone (good) has to update and promote your Facebook page – unless you have elves who can do it for you in the night. Facebook pages which do not have anyone good managing them will at best linger vacant, and at worst cause reputation damage.
4. Don’t even think about getting into social media before you have a good compelling website and the basics covered. (Walk before you run)
5. Blowback could be a real problem. Everyone posts happy thoughts, until just one patient isn’t happy. Have a good contingency plans in place.
6. Some practices have a personality suitable for social media to catch on – but a lot don’t. Still, conservative organizations like the AMA do.
7. Some specialties and professions work better than others. Obvious examples include female friendly, high involvement specialties like ob/gyns, plastic surgery and pediatrics. It will be hard to to get senior men to post about their urologist. (Forgive the puns – there were many others I could have said which were worse.)
8. All that said, Social media offer all kinds of benefits for organized, smart hospitals and practices. Search engine optimization, a way to build buzz, communicate with patients, etc. BUT take the effort very seriously.
Also, thanks to Ragan’s Healthcare Marketing News for this heads up about this social media blogger’s take on 5 Facebook Pages from Medical Practices.
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.