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Should YOU have a Facebook Fan Page?
By Stewart Gandolf | March 20, 2010
Ironically, on “The Brady Bunch,” Jan’s most famous quote stems from a scene where she felt jealous that her older sister was getting all the positive attention. “Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!”
These days, more than a few people are saying in exasperation, “Facebook! Facebook! Facebook!”
At the same time, lots healthcare professionals and doctors are very interested in promoting their hospital, company or practice on the popular social network.
Before I give you some ideas on HOW to market with Facebook, this week I thought I should pose about a more fundamental question, i.e., “SHOULD you promote via Facebook?”
As you may remember from some of my previous posts, while I like Facebook a lot, I don’t think everyone should “try this at home.”
I know I am running against the herd here, but really, there are some questions that you should consider before plunging in.
1. Do you have consistent, high-quality outcomes and customer service? My last couple of posts were about Mayo Clinic’s use of social media, and they obviously feel very confident about their track record. Frankly, however, not everyone should feel so confident. (There, I said it, even if no one else will.)
2. Do you have any skeletons in the closet? This week, Nestle is grappling with a public relations debacle involving its Fan Page. Essentially, Greenpeace and other environmentalists are piling on Nestle’s Page to fight a very ugly and public war with the company over its use of palm oil, alleging that it contributes to the destruction of rain forests.
3. Do you have a marketing objective? Trust me on this, the fact that it is “free” is not an objective. Incidentally, if your objective is to achieve rapid gains in patients, look elsewhere. Even the biggest brands are having a hard time monetizing social media in the short term. If you need big results now, suck it up and spend some money on marketing strategies that can achieve trackable return-on-investment.
4. Have you considered who is going to do the work? As I said in a previous post, elves won’t post for you in the middle of the night. Someone has to do it. If you don’t have someone on staff, you’ll have to outsource it.
5. Is your company and/or personality engaging enough for others to follow? Think about it… how many of your own health care providers do YOU follow on Facebook?
6. Do you have the right kind of business? Some health care organizations and products generate wild enthusiasm (Mayo), while others (latex gloves) do not. Similarly, as you might expect, consumer-friendly specialists like OB-GYNs, veterinarians and pediatricians will generate more Facebook interest than colorectal surgeons and urologists.
7. Do you and/or your organization have the stomach for it? Can you handle the risk of someone going on your page and saying something that isn’t nice? Are you prepared?
8. Do you have the marketing basics in place first? Please, do not go headstrong into Facebook until you have a good website.
Conclusion
See, I told you I wasn’t like everyone else, blindly advising EVERYONE to do Facebook.
In spite of the potential speed bumps I have raised for you, there are a lot of benefits to consider.
Facebook can build loyalty, enhance your brand (reputation), drive traffic to your website, help with search engine optimization, give you a forum to interact with patients and the public, and more.
So if you decide to take the plunge and start a Facebook page, you’ll need to figure out how to market it.
I’ll cover that more on a post in the near future.
One more thing.
Coincidentally, my company Healthcare Success Strategies has a Facebook Fan Page.
Stop by, give your two cents on this article and become a fan if you like.
But given all that I have said above, please be gentle. 
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