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Social Media in Healthcare: Three Ways to Increase Engagement

So, you made a social media account for your practice. Now what?

Sure, you can talk about your practice’s revolutionary laser technology. You can brag about your staff, your bedside manner, and – of course – your results. But sending promotional posts into the void will only get you so far.

How can you make sure patients pay attention to your social media? What’s the best way to make them engage?

What is engagement, anyway?

Social media engagement is defined as whenever someone interacts with something you’ve posted on your account. Engagement includes likes, follows, shares, comments, retweets, click-throughs, and more.

When people engage with your social media account, it tells the algorithm that your content is interesting, making it more likely to be seen. A practice with good social media engagement will attract more eyes than a practice with poor social media engagement.

Below, we’ve listed three ways in which you can increase your practice’s social media engagement.

1. Be authentic

People don’t visit social media because they want to see beautifully designed graphics, ads, or promotions. They visit social media because they want to see real stories about real people. (And sometimes they visit social media for the cat pictures.)

If you want people to pay attention to your practice’s social media, you need to be authentic. Share goofy pictures of your office Halloween party, show off your patients’ stories (with permission!), and celebrate milestones.

“We ask our customers to send us pictures from their practice so that we can post them on Facebook,” says Sarah Moon, Marketing Account Manager at Sightpath Creative. “People don’t want to interact with a faceless business. They want to interact with other people.”

2. Post videos

Did you know that on social media, videos tend to get more views than other content? According to BuzzSumo, videos generate 59% more engagement than other post types. A Renderforest survey found that 80% of users recall a video they viewed online in the past month, and 40% of users take some kind of action after watching a video ad.

Thankfully, you don’t need any special tools to post a video on social media – all you need is a smartphone and a little bit of time. Consider asking your patients for video testimonials, or host a Facebook Live Q&A session with your surgeon.

3. Host contests and giveaways

Everyone loves a contest!

“We’ve had good luck with LASIK giveaway contests and LASIK alumni contests,” said Kim Bradley, Senior Marketing Account Manager with Sightpath Creative. “They’re a great way to get patients and prospective patients to engage with your content.”

Contests provide users with relevant, interactive content, making them an excellent addition to your social media strategy.

Engaging your audience

If you want to grow your LASIK business, social media is a great starting point – but you need to put in the effort. Generic, impersonal posts won’t get you very far. We’re not saying you need to be the next Denny’s, but you do need to give your audience something to engage with.

Hopefully, this post will provide a great starting point!

Sightpath Creative has helped ophthalmology practices across the country analyze their market, build their digital presence, and bring in more patients. For more information and how we can help market your practice, check out our list of popular services.