12 Tips For Effectively Using Social Media in Healthcare

Did you know that over 90% of consumers use social media to help make health-related decisions? 

In today's digital age, social media in healthcare has become a powerful tool for professionals to connect with patients, share valuable information, and build trust. However, navigating the social media landscape in the healthcare industry requires a strategic approach to ensure compliance with regulations and to maintain professionalism.

As a healthcare professional, navigating social media in healthcare can feel daunting. These 12 healthcare social media tips can help you create a strong online presence, educate patients, and enhance their care.

Resource: Why Use Social Media for Your Practice? Healthcare organizations can leverage social media to expand their patient base and enhance their marketing efforts. Learn 3 benefits of using social media in healthcare marketing:

1. Choose Your Platforms Wisely 

Not all social media platforms are created equal. Focus on the ones where your target audience spends their time. Pediatricians can do well on Instagram with pictures, while cardiologists may prefer connecting with colleagues on LinkedIn.

Consider platforms like:

• Facebook: A broad platform for sharing educational content and news.

• Twitter: Great for quick updates, breaking health news, and conversing with colleagues and patients (be mindful of character limitations!).

• LinkedIn: Ideal for professional networking and sharing research or industry insights.

• Instagram: Perfect for sharing visually engaging content like infographics, healthy recipe demos, or behind-the-scenes glimpses of your practice.

• YouTube: Utilize video content for patient education, exercise demonstrations, or virtual tours of your practice.

2. Develop an Online Personality for Your Practice

How you choose to portray yourself on your social media accounts is crucial. Should your persona focus on cold, hard facts or does a more playful, but professional voice suit your practice the best? 

Deciding how you want to sound on social media is the first step in using it for marketing. This will help you stand out among other healthcare accounts.

3. Prioritize Patient Education

Social media is a powerful tool for educating patients on various health topics. Share informative content in an easily digestible format. Break down complex medical terms, offer healthy living tips, and promote preventative care.

Patients turn to healthcare professionals for reliable information so make sure what you share on social media is accurate! A recent study found that 88% of posts on stroke posted to Instagram were factually accurate. Sharing accurate information can save lives!

Share educational content in easily digestible formats — think infographics, short videos, or blog post summaries. Partner with reputable health organizations to ensure the accuracy of your content.

Sharing educational multimedia content is a great way to engage viewers and help combat the self-diagnosis epidemic. Sharing your expertise on a current event can help correct misunderstandings and attract new patients to your practice.

4. Humanize Your Practice

Social media allows you to showcase the human side of healthcare. Introduce your team members, highlight staff achievements, share patient success stories (with permission!), or provide a glimpse into a day in the life at your practice.

Doctors’ offices can sometimes feel mysterious. Most people have no idea what happens outside the exam room. Sharing behind-the-scenes info can help patients feel more comfortable with your practice.

Be careful that what you share doesn’t violate HIPAA regulations, which is next on our list!

5. Maintain HIPAA Regulations

When managing social media for healthcare, always follow HIPAA guidelines. These rules are non-negotiable. Violating these guidelines could mean heavy fines or the end of your practice!

Medical professionals must protect patient confidentiality by not sharing certain information. Ensure that anyone with access to your practice's social media accounts understands this rule. 

Resource: Need help with hipaa compliance? There's a lot to keep track of when it comes to HIPAA compliance. Breaching HIPAA can lead to substantial financial and legal consequences, as well as reputational harm. Learn how to avoid common HIPAA violations on social media:

6. Focus on Engagement

Social media is a two-way street. Respond to comments and questions promptly. Host live Q&A sessions or polls to spark conversations and gather valuable patient feedback.

Fostering engagement helps build a loyal online community and enhances the trust patients have in your practice. Encourage discussions by asking open-ended questions related to health topics or recent posts. Consider sharing user-generated content that reflects your practice's values. And, don’t forget to reply to comments and messages promptly. 

By prioritizing genuine interactions, you can create a welcoming online environment that resonates with current and potential patients alike.

7. Advertise!

Your practice is a business, just like any other. You’re trying to sell a service, and to do that as efficiently as possible, you have to advertise.

A social media account is (usually) a free way to promote your brand to potential patients! While you shouldn’t only post about people coming to your clinic, it is perfectly okay — and even encouraged — to advertise your services on your account.

Social media platforms offer targeted advertising options. Use paid advertising strategically to reach a wider audience or promote specific health initiatives.

8. Engage with Relevant Accounts

Engaging with other relevant accounts is one of the easiest ways to amass a larger following. This could mean other practices in your health network, or even outside it. Physicians’ professional social media accounts could be another source for new followers. 

Are you looking for relevant accounts to follow? Try checking the followers of those types of accounts we covered before! They likely have connections with accounts that could help increase your following.  

After getting important content from relevant accounts, share their posts or engage by liking or commenting on them. Cross-promotion and co-created content can expand your reach and diversify your content library.

(While you’re at it, give us a follow! We’re on Facebook and LinkedIn.)

9. Share Practice Updates

As we shared above, most people look to social media for health-related information. As such, it makes sense for practices to use their social accounts to share information about their business.

For example, if for some reason your practice is going to be closed early one day, it’s fast and easy to share on social media. Or, your practice might offer a new patient portal or billing system. These are great things to share on social media. Your followers will appreciate that they are getting the most up-to-date information.

10. Consider a Social Media Management System

Operating a healthcare practice involves a significant amount of effort! Between all the records, forms, and patients, it’s hard to find time to run a truly active social media account, let alone multiple. One easy (and potentially free) way to do that is to use a social media management system. 

Platforms like Hootsuite, Buffer, and Tweetdeck can make planning and scheduling social media posts way easier. These tools allow you to schedule posts in advance across multiple platforms, all from one place!

Social media management tools save you time and help you stay organized. They bring all your social accounts together in one place so you don't have to use each platform separately.

11. Schedule and Be Consistent

Developing a content calendar helps ensure regular posting. A social media management system, like those mentioned above, can be a huge help here! 

However, avoid inundating your audience and stretching your staff’s capacity. Aim for a consistent posting schedule that fits your resources. You don’t need to post three times a day when three times a week could be more effective and less stressful for everyone involved. 

12.  Track Your Results

How do you know if your work on social media is making a difference? What can you improve? What should you do more?

Utilize social media analytics tools to track your progress. Analyze what content resonates best with your audience, and adjust your strategy accordingly. Each social media platform has tracking tools you can review to see how well your posts perform. Additionally, you can utilize Google Analytics to track website traffic and conversions from your social media efforts.

Building a Thriving Online Presence With Effective Healthcare Social Media Management

By implementing these best practices for social media in healthcare, you can effectively connect with existing and potential patients, while enhancing their online presence.

Ready to take your social media strategy to the next level? Contact 99 Healthcare Management to learn how we can help your practice thrive in the digital space.

(Editor's note: This article was originally published in November 2017 and was last updated in August 2024.)