Is your clinic on social media? They should be. Why? Because you’d have a hard time finding a successful business that isn’t.

 

In 2017, social media is being used by businesses around the world to connect with their customers in ways unlike ever before. Social media grants them an opportunity to show off their personality and do more than promote sales or brag about how awesome they are. In this article, we’ll be sharing some tips about how to market your clinic through social media, how to connect with patients, and which social networks you should be on:

 

Facebook

 

Many people would consider Facebook to be the original social network (unless you’re counting MySpace). While it may have started out as a place for classmates to connect outside of the classroom, it quickly evolved into a full-fledged media platform. Forward-thinking businesses immediately saw it as an avenue to connect with their customers.

 

Facebook was keen on catering to the needs of these businesses, so they created Facebook Pages. Today, it’s considerably harder to find a business that isn’t on Facebook than one who is. Not only do they enable you to post pictures and offer promotions, but people are also capable of leaving reviews and helpful hints for other potential clients.

 

Twitter

 

Like Facebook, Twitter has risen to become a must-have social media platform for contemporary businesses. This is because Twitter enables you to connect with the public on a much larger scale. Despite messages being limited to 140 characters, there’s a certain kind of immediacy present in Twitter that you just can’t find anywhere else.

 

Rather than limit your page’s reach to those who ‘Like’ it, Twitter can put you in front of anyone’s face through ‘Retweets’ and ‘Hashtags’. ‘Retweets’ effectively share your message with the ‘Retweeters’ following. Meanwhile, adding ‘Hashtags’ allows you to categorize your Tweet with others who are using the same ‘Hashtag’.

 

Click here to check out the 10 most-read blog posts of 2016.

 

LinkedIn

 

LinkedIn is the social network for your portfolio. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, this website is all business. Your LinkedIn profile provides you with a place to put all of your professional accolades on display for the world to see.

 

A professional with a LinkedIn profile adds a touch of credibility to their online presence. And the credibility becomes even more meaningful when you have individuals from your past places of education and employment writing stellar reviews about you!

 

Businesses can also take advantage of LinkedIn by creating a page specifically for their businesses. This gives them yet another way to connect with their client base and other potential customers.

 

YouTube

 

Did you know that YouTube is the second most used search engine in the world, only after Google? A lot of people prefer to watch videos rather than read.

 

If your clinic provides PT, OT, or SLP services, you might be interested in posting videos about your clinic, or the services offered there. Some of the more progressive clinics are using YouTube to showcase home exercise videos that their patients can use to continue their treatment from home.

 

Is your PT EMR missing integrated home exercise videos? Check out Physiotec!

 

Instagram

 

And last but certainly not least, we have Instagram! This is relatively newer than the other social networks mentioned in this article, but is has already risen to become a staple for many businesses’ web presence.

 

Instagram is similar to Twitter in the sense that you can share posts, like them, and hashtag them. But, the main difference here is that every post on Instagram features a photo. So if you’re clinic happens to employ a pseudo-photographer (it might be on of your therapists, or a front desk person), you might want to have them take the reins on your clinic’s newest social media platform!

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