You don’t need social media to market your medical practice. You can build your practice and your web presence without Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. It is not necessary. Ignore the hype.
You can have a healthy, performing website and not know anything about Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.
If you don’t have a website, social platforms will not be necessary nor worthwhile. If you do have a website, these sites can help you and is simple to employ.
To market a medical practice, “social media” can drive traffic to your web site, but without a web site for patients to “land,” your efforts are wasted. These tools are only effective if you have a performing website.
Building a website must occur first and foremost before any other Internet endeavor.
Twitter has limited uses for a medical practice. It can enhance patient-practice relationships as it is a quick, and easy, conduit for practice news, appointments, blog articles, etc. By itself, however, it can not build your practice.
Facebook has great potential for informing your friends and family, those in your physical social circles, of what you do and in that way it can potentially grow your business.
LinkedIn, for medical practices, is a great place to tell your colleagues and potential employees of the great working atmosphere and technically modern practice you have developed. It will attract few direct patients, but is especially helpful in attracting quality staff.
The most important aspect of social media can be found in the power of a blog. For modern web users, a blog is the same as a website. Blogs were the first emergence of social media. They allow users to generate content in the form of comments and give the medical practice (you) a chance to start a conversation by replying.
Social media is confusing. Start with a blog. Once you’ve created a website that ranks well, add on social media…if you want.
To your success!