Social media is in a constant state of growth and evolution. The unprecedented technological boom that took place over the past two decades served as a revolutionary resource for businesses, both corporate and local, to grow their image. Media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have given businesses the ability to establish an industrial footprint that can reach billions of users worldwide. As social media platforms experienced exponential growth, it became more than just a spot to share photos, videos, and life updates. Businesses discovered an untapped goldmine within these media markets: targeted ads. Targeted posts and advertisements have the potential to reach billions of people online. However, paying for promoted posts isn’t going to do any good if it isn’t reaching the right audience. Curating content to specifically reach a desired demographic is the first step in growing a business. To see how you can optimize your social media presence with the right kinds of ads, keep scrolling.
Targeted ads are a great way to attract potential new clients. The first, and perhaps most important, step is narrowing down a demographic audience. Knowing who is most likely to need the services your practice can provide helps to pinpoint where exactly you want your targeted ads to go. Understanding user statistics can also be extremely helpful. For example, Facebook has a larger male audience (57% male, according to SproutSocial) with a demographic age range of 25-34 years old. Instagram, on the other hand, has a larger female audience (50.8%, according to Omnicore) with a demographic age range of 18-29 years old. This information can be extremely useful when deciding where to send targeted posts. To ensure that your services are properly advertised to the right audience, make sure to extensively research each of your media platform\’s user demographics. Another way to optimize a medical practices online advertising presence is through Facebook and Instagram stories. While these features are relatively new, they have proven to be highly effective in incentivizing new followers and keeping the current following engaged. In fact, according to data from Omnicore, 1/3 of the most viewed social media stories come from business accounts. Running promotional advertisements and contests is a perfect way to utilize the “story” feature. For example, if there is a new service or tool at your medical practice that you want your clients to know about, try running a contest on your business page’s Facebook or Instagram story. A free or discounted service could be presented to a lucky follower who reposts the story and follows your page. This is a great way to get some traction for your social media accounts.
There is an array of different tactics to implement into posts to ensure that they get an optimal amount of engagement/viewership. Adding photos, hashtags, and even location tags can help boost a promotional post. However, video content is one of the most effective ways to attract a greater audience. Medical practices have the unique ability to provide certain kinds of videos everybody loves to watch: surgical procedures. Advertising medical services with a short, sneak-peek into the OR is fascinating to online viewers, especially because it isn’t something an average person would see every day. Video content has been proven to get the highest amount of engagement on social media platforms. According to Facebook, vertically shot videos receive the most amount of traction on their website. LinkedIn also reported that users are 20x more likely to re-share a video post. This is also a great, personalized way for potential patients to interact with doctors. This may seem complicated and time-consuming. However, investing in video content creation has the potential to grow your practice’s media presence exponentially. While it may take time, patience, and a lot of research to effectively advertise a medical practice on social media, using the right tactics presents a potential to reach billions of new followers. Understanding things like user statistics and post templates can not only optimize your platform’s online footprint, but also establish a personal relationship with current clients and entice potential new ones.
