Social Distancing: Using Social Media For Your Practice

Looking to increase awareness and traffic to your practice’s website? Now, more than ever, your practice should be active on social media. With many people locked inside, social media usage is rising and your patients are scrolling through their social media pages more frequently. 

Social media users are spending 20% more time in apps during COVID-19,  According to Social Media Today

As a healthcare provider, take advantage of social media and stay socially connected with your patients during these unprecedented times. 

By utilizing social media all while social distancing, your practice will promote support, build trust, and keep your patients updated in a time of need. Are you ready to increase awareness and drive traffic to your practice all while social distancing? Let’s dive in! 

4 Tips to Stay Socially Connected During Times of Social Distancing 

With governments implementing strict policies to maintain social distancing due to COVID-19, most of us don’t have a choice but to abide by these self-isolation regulations in order to minimize the spread of this virus.
Thankfully, because of the internet, we are able to communicate with our friends, family, colleagues, and most importantly, your patients.

One thing to note is that not all patients use the same communication channels, which is why your practice should share social posts across multiple channels to reach potential and current patients. Start strengthening your patient engagement with these 4 tips. 

1. Refine Your Social Media Message 

Navigating through social media may be quite a challenge during COVID-19. You might be asking, “What should I be posting on social media right now?”  

One thing is for certain, you must listen to and acknowledge your followers. Ignoring this global pandemic or pretending everything is normal can come across as inauthentic or insensitive. Let your patients on social media know that you’re listening and acknowledging the current state of things. 

Communicate openly with your patients on social media and keep a positive, inspirational, and helpful tone. Be upfront about any changes to your practice hours, offerings, or services through social media.  

It’s important to provide your patients or clients with as much information as possible in your social posts without adding any panic. Your social post should educate and guide your patients on preventive measures against COVID-19. 

2. Maximize Your Patient Engagement 

In order to strengthen your patient engagement and increase awareness, you need to develop a sense of community on social media. By connecting with your patients and sharing content that is relevant to COVID-19, you’ll build trust and increase your interaction with your followers. 

Learn More: 5 Ways to Boost Your Brand on Social Media

Right now your patients are urgently searching the web for answers on COVID-19. Let your social media posts answer their questions. Here are some questions your patients may want answers to: 

• “Can my pet get COVID-19?”
• “Is pink eye a symptom of COVID-19?”
• “Are contact lenses safe to wear during COVID-19?”
• “Do I have to cancel my chiropractic appointment?”

Another tip is to share articles that provide valuable insights to your followers on Facebook and other social platforms. Make sure those articles are reliable and credible. Your patients are looking for high-quality content that they can trust. 
Check out these authoritative sources: 

• American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) – “Coronavirus Eye Safety”
• American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) – “Symptoms and transmission”
• American Chiropractic Association (ACA) – “Chiropractic Care is Essential”
• American Optometric Associations – “Contact lens wear during COVID-19”
• WebMD- “Coronavirus: Can I Still Go To The Chiropractor While Social Distancing?”
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – “CDC’s Guidance on COVID-19”

If you decide to share these articles on your social media account be sure to tag the association and include a hyperlink to the original post. Another effective way to stay socially connected and boost engagement while social distancing is by asking questions. When you ask questions to your followers you jumpstart a conversation and create a sense of community with your followers. 

3. Include COVID-19 Hashtags 

Since mid-March, you’ve probably seen a ton of new hashtag challenges that relate to COVID-19. With every social post, be sure to add relevant hashtags that relate to social distancing and COVID-19. Here are some popular hashtags that your practice can use to stay socially connected and boost engagement: 

• #stayhomechallenge

Social media users showcase their most imaginative ways to pass time while hanging out at home. Show your patients on social media what you’re up to at home or in the office. 

• #safehands 

The #safehands hashtag has people challenging their friends to demo the right way to wash hands. Participate in this challenge by demonstrating how your practice is properly disinfecting and sterilizing the office.

• #seeapupsendapup

Another social media challenge is sharing your dog with your followers. This is a great challenge for veterinarians because you can challenge your clients to share their pups!
But wait, there’s more! Check out Hashtagify for additional trending hashtags and to see how well each hashtag is performing so you can join in and boost engagement. 
Learn More: Using Hashtag Marketing to Boost Your Business

4. Go live

As you socially distance yourself from people physically, you can use social media to interact with your patient’s live! According to TechCrunch, Facebook and Instagram have seen a 40% increase in usage due to COVID-19, with views for Instagram Live and Facebook Live doubling in one week.  

Keep in mind as you go live on social media that you want to provide a unique and educational experience to your followers. You can do this by showing what your practice is doing to flatten the curve or what you recommend your followers should do in order to keep their eye, nervous system, or pets health in tip-top shape. 

You can also create a live Q&A on Instagram and Facebook where your followers express their concerns about the virus and get real-time answers.
Going live with your followers and answering questions that cause fear will show that you’re listening and acknowledging them. It will also promote support, build trust, and keep your patients updated during a time of uncertainty.

What are you waiting for? Get socially connected with your followers!

Most of your patients are most likely already active on social media and that means you should be too. Start taking action and implement these social media techniques you’ve learned in order to effectively market your practice during COVID-19. 

Have more questions about staying connected while social distancing?  

Give us a call at  800.792.8384 or click here to schedule a consultation to talk about your marketing goals so we can create a custom strategy for your practice.