Running a practice has never been easy, but the ever-increasing use of social media for businesses has added an additional area that needs to be on your active radar. Facebook recently touted that it now has over 50 million small business pages. To celebrate that milepost, Facebook released a bunch of new tools to help page managers interact with customers.
But Facebook usage by your current and potential patients isn’t a given. If you don’t value the time of your Facebook followers, chances are their engagement with your page will decrease.
What you want are active, engaged Facebook followers. You want them checking in with your page because they know your content is interesting. You want them to know that your practice (as illustrated by your Facebook page) values their time and rewards their interest.
Here are some tips to remember when making your Facebook posts. And, best of all, they won’t cost your practice a penny!
- Post photos
These can be related to your practice or something totally different. For instance, a dentist could show a before and after from a tooth whitening procedure. A renowned plastic surgeon dressed up for Halloween isn’t something your patients will see every day. Or, it can be something totally outside your practice, as long as it’s interesting!
It’s worth putting a little thought into these posts — photos in posts that elicit positive emotions receive 39% more engagement over a regular post!
- Content should be engaging
Beyond simply posting photos, your content needs to be interesting to your Facebook users. It can be fun or enlightening, but it should always be interesting. Overly promotional is not a good play. You want people to share and interact with it. For instance, a photo caption contest engages your Facebook users.
You have to remember that your Facebook page isn’t necessarily supposed to lead directly to a person booking a procedure. Your Facebook page should be the place the potential patient/customer can relate to your practice and engage with it. They can get a sense of the personality of the practice and its staff from your Facebook page.
- Use your posts to let satisfied patients have their say
If you have certain patients with great stories, make a little video with your phone and post it. Or you can repost something (with their approval) they have put on their own personal Facebook page. It’s not overly promotional; it’s simply one person talking to others. Don’t make the video about how great the doctor is or anything, but keep it about how the patient’s life changed or something that others will want to watch. Ask yourself — would you want to watch this? And keep it around one-and-a-half minutes or less, if possible.
- Posts should be entertaining or enlightening
Remember that everyone is trying to grab the attention of your Facebook followers. Respect that and make each piece of content either entertaining or enlightening. If your posts are “meh” your Facebook engagement will drop, and it deserves to drop.
- Provide value for your users
Have 100 free samples of a new skin care product? Do you want to increase usage of a new laser for skin tightening, so you want to discount procedures that use it for a period of time? Have a holiday special? Post it. These kinds of posts, beyond providing value to your customers, also increase your Facebook engagement.
- And don’t forget your customer interaction
This blog is all about your Facebook posts, but remember your Facebook page is also the portal where customers interact with your practice. They may use Messenger to have a conversation about potential scarring from a plastic surgery procedure, or to verify recovery instructions. Be sure to pay attention and respond to each and every interaction that comes in.
While Facebook has added a level of complication to running your practice, it also provides a very effective tool for establishing deeper relationships with your patients and potential patients. Make sure your posts and interactions have the goal of engaging with your Facebook followers.
If you have questions about how best to use your Facebook page, don’t hesitate to ask your MyAdvice representative.
