Social media can be a powerful tool for physicians.
It can help doctors to disseminate important medical information to patients.
It also can provide doctors with greater visibility, which can lead to a better
reputation and more business over time.
To get the most out of your social media experience
for doctors, try out some of our tips below.
#1
Don’t Communicate With Patients on Social Media
This of course is a gross HIPAA violation and is
courting disaster on many fronts. However, you can use social media to educate
your patients. They can follow your practice on social media to get more
information about medical conditions, office hours, etc.
#2
How to Use Twitter to Grow Professional Connections
Twitter can be used to get your practice better
known, and also to connect with other medical professionals. Patients also can
follow you on Twitter. Of course, providing medical information of any value is
difficult in a mere 140 characters J.
Next, choose your Twitter followers with caution.
Block people who engage in spam or trolling. Many Twitter users will try to
sell you products and services.
You can use Twitter to grow your network. Try to set
up a group of patients and/or medical professionals to whom you can tweet
regular, important messages. The idea is to provide them with useful content
that they will share with other users.
Be very mindful of your words on Twitter. A rude
post can be retweeted far and wide. Never lose your temper with anyone. If
someone is trolling your feed for a reaction, ignore them. Some medical
professionals actually will troll other doctors’ feeds, if you advocate
something that they disagree with. It is best to ignore them.
Be sure to retweet good articles from high profile
sources, such as CDC or WHO. This makes people see you as a trusted source of
information in time.
#3
Use Facebook to Deliver Patient Education
Because Facebook has no character or word limits, it
is a better social media platform for providing education to patients. Ask your
patients to follow you or to like your medical practice on FB.
Remember that you can create several pages on
Facebook under one account. You might have a personal FB page, but also have a
practice page and a personal professional FB page.
Also keep in mind that Facebook is VERY public.
Never post anything on Facebook that you would not want to be known by the
public. And Facebook posts live forever, so watch your words carefully.
#4
Linkedin Can Strengthen Career Connections
Linkedin is very good for building your career and
professional connections. Think of it as an online resume and professional
networking tool. Try to connect with other medical professionals in your area
on Linkedin, and share important medical information with them from trusted
sources.
Clearly, social media has many benefits for medical
professionals. Generally though, doctors really are not using social media to
their full advantage. By using the social media platforms above, you really can
build your brand, reputation and practice over the years.
MD Marketing Experts, the best medical
marketing agency offers Social Media for Doctors
to build online visibility and engage new patients/customers to services.