Social Media for Your Practice: 4 Steps to a Patient-Friendly Facebook Page

Did you know that 72% of adults with internet access have a Facebook account? In addition, recent studies have shown 70% of those users are logging into the site daily. This means that every single day there are upwards of 1 billion people logging into a database that offers your practice free marketing.

Tapping into this monumental traffic is a great way to connect with your current and future patients. Because the site and traffic are already provided, it would be almost reckless not to use it to your advantage. So, what are you waiting for?

The key to a great medical practice Facebook page is accurate, easy-to-find information about the practice itself as well as helpful and personable content that’s relevant to your patients.

Let’s discuss a few ways you can achieve a business page with all these qualities so you can tap into all the potential Facebook has waiting for you!

Tell Them Everything They Need to Know  

For many people, Facebook serves as a digital phone book. Take advantage of this by creating and maintaining an easy to find Facebook page.

Make it easy for patients to contact you by adding vital information such as:

• Phone number
• Website
• Doctor's name(s)
• Who you treat
• Conditions you treat

Consider adding a call to action button at the top of your page, making it simpler for patients to reach you. Facebook has several practice-friendly options including a “book now” and “message” button, as well as easy-to-follow setup instructions.

In addition, have a nice photo taken of your office or complex and use it as your cover photo so people know what building to look for. Be sure to add any other necessary details they may need, such as where to park, office hours, or how to contact you outside of standard office hours.

You also have the ability to create what’s best described as a mini website right on your Facebook page. Take a look at the settings of your page, you can “add a tab” such as offers, services and more. This would be a great place to link to a newsletter sign-up, provide information about your patient portal, or even direct patients to printable forms they can fill out at home and bring in with them.

Share Educational Information With Your Patients

Facebook posts are the perfect way to provide an added value for your patients. Take the time to curate helpful content that would resonate with your patients.

There are many ways to curate content to share later. Here are a few examples:

• Build a Feedly feed that includes trusted websites you feel share quality content

• Create secret boards on your Pinterest account and save quality articles there

• Set up Google keyword alerts

However you do it, just do your best to store the content in one place, so it is easy to grab when you sit down to add it to your page.

For example, if you're an OBGYN, sharing helpful articles about pregnancy, postpartum, and general women's health will help your patients gather useful info while they are scrolling through their feeds.

You could even set up “theme days” so that your audience gets used to what you will be sharing. One example would be “Clean Eating Wednesday” or something similar where you post a high-quality recipe that would be good for your patients.

Do you see several patients with heart conditions? Post heart-healthy recipes for them.

If you get in the habit of curating content as you come across it, then sit down once a week to schedule it out, sharing quality information on social media becomes much less overwhelming.

Announce Useful Community Events Taking Place

There are many useful health-related events happening in our communities on any given day.

However, many people are missing out because they don’t know they’re happening, or even where to look for them. Keep an eye out for health events that make sense for your patients and share via your Facebook page. Not only is this helpful for your patients, but if they attend, their health may improve, which is a win/win.

You can even share events that aren’t necessarily health related. For example, if you have kids on your patient list, maybe share some local Easter Egg hunts, or safe Trick-or-Treating opportunities in your community. Parents are always on the lookout for safe, family-friendly events to take their kids to!

Share Information Directly From You

Does your practice have blog or have you thought of starting one? Studies show that blogging increases traffic to websites and helps boost the “like, know, and trust” factor of the company. If you want to share information that comes directly from you, sharing blog posts directly to your Facebook page is a great way to spread the word!

If you don’t want to start or maintain a blog, you can still create a few longer posts on practice relevant topics that act as mini blog posts for your patients. Regardless of which content path you choose to take, patients enjoy seeing content directly from the doctors they know and trust.

Having a well-curated and polished Facebook page is a great step towards increasing the visibility of your medical practice. By sharing helpful information for your current and future patients your practice will stand out in the crowd.