How to Grow Your Medical Business Using Social Media

Are you the owner of a medical business that you want to grow? Do you want to get more people interested in your business or have you heard about Social media marketing for doctors and want to give it a try?

As a medical business owner, you have to deal with a lot of problems, like not having enough money or staff to help you and having too much to do in what seems like not enough time. So, how can a medical business grow without spending a lot on marketing and advertising? The answer is: by using technology. Web 2.0 gives you a lot of tools and tips that you can use to get more customers and leads for your home-based business. One of these tools is social media. Here's everything a medical business owner needs to know about how to use social media to start making more money.

What are social networks?

Social Media is a type of online media where people talk, share, network, and bookmark. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+, and MySpace are all good examples.

What is marketing on social media sites?

Social media marketing for doctors uses the platforms above to reach a new group of consumers and raise awareness of a product or brand. By telling other users about a product, Social media marketing for doctors tries to give a message more credibility because it is coming from "friends."

What are the most used social media channels?

Studies show that Facebook and Twitter are the most popular social media sites. YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google+ are close behind.

Why should I care about social media marketing for doctors?

If you don't want to do this kind of marketing, you should think again. Medical business owners can get a lot of help from these platforms. Here are some reasons why you might want to use Social Media for your business.

Exposure: As a medical business owner, you rely on network marketing to bring in new customers, which in turn depends on how much you talk to people. This is the main idea behind what Social Media is all about! But Social Media gives millions of people almost unlimited ways to talk to each other. With this interesting type of marketing, your business is no longer limited to local leads; leads will come in from all over the world.

Zero-cost: While other ways to market would cost a lot of money, this kind of marketing costs very little or nothing at all. It's a great and inexpensive way to get your point across.

Your web presence will be stronger if you are on popular social media platforms. The more people talk about you on Facebook or Twitter, the more likely it is that Google, Yahoo!, or Bing will find your business when people search for things like what you do.

Direct contact with potential customers: These platforms put you in direct contact with your customers. You can talk to them one-on-one and find out what they really want.

Go viral: This kind of marketing gives you the chance to make your marketing go viral. Consider this. You posted a video on YouTube about your business. Ten people like it, and five of them tell their friends about it. Those friends then tell 20 more people about it. This is called "viral marketing," and it can be a very effective way to get more people to sign up for your list.

What is a "game plan" for social media, and why do you need one?

A social media game plan is a set of simple steps that can help you reach your marketing goals on social media. The social media world is big, and if you don't follow the rules, you can get lost in it. There is a lot of competition, so if you want to stand out and get noticed, you need a clear plan.

Your best plan for using social media

These four steps should make up a typical plan for your business.

• Connect with people.
• Propagate your presence
• Keep in touch and watch

Step 1: Get in touch with people: The first step is to look for users who you think are in your target audience segment and add them to your network. If you want to add people to your network, it's always best to send a personalized message along with your request. You can also look for groups that are related to your business and join them. For example, if you own a business that sells health drinks and other health-related products, you could join groups where people talk about nutrition, diet, or health. These groups give you a place to sell the things you have to sell. But when you're in a group, don't forget to ADD VALUE. Answer questions you know how to answer, take part in conversations, be subtle, and don't "push" your products too hard.

Step 2: Spread the word. The next step is to let people know that you are on social media. You can do this by adding links to your social media pages to your website, email signature line, or newsletter, if you have one. You're out there with your business, so let people know about it!

Step 3: Stay in touch. The third step is to keep in touch with your fans and other people in your group. It's easy to start a social media marketing for doctors campaign, but it takes work to keep it going. And, as with most networking efforts, the results usually don't come right away. Ask group members and other people on your network for permission to send emails. Then you can send relevant content to people in your network through email. The key here is to send content that is RELEVANT and adds value, not just an ad for your products or services. If you sell health drinks and are part of the diet and nutrition group, you can send links like "10 Best Anti-Oxidant Rich Fruits" with a picture and some information about your product to get people interested in getting in touch with you. This method will go over better with prospects than just sending them an e-mail flyer about your product.

What to do and what not to do

Even though social networking is all about how people talk to each other and can't be forced, here are some tips that will help.

What should you do?

Give your contacts something useful: Always add value to the people you know. Always! Give them tips, interesting facts, and other useful information that they can use. Jane, who runs a business out of her home, sells health drinks and products that help people lose weight, for example. So, it makes sense for her to write interesting articles about weight loss for her audience.

Be consistent in what you do online. It's not a one-time thing. It has to do with building a relationship, which takes time. Be consistent in how you talk to people on social media. At least once a day, post or tweet something interesting. In some cases, it's even better to post more than once a day, but don't forget rule #1: add value. Your posts shouldn't sound like random thoughts or like ads for your product or service.

Listen carefully to what is being said: If you joined a forum or group, take part in discussions that are relevant to you. Use your professional skills to help other people. Contribute to a conversation to make it more interesting and full.

Conversation is the key. As we've already said, social media marketing for doctors is all about making connections. You need to talk to your prospects if you want to build a strong relationship with them. Make sure you and your audience can talk back and forth. Listen to what they have to say and do something about what they say or what they comment on.

Know the subject you're talking about inside and out: Set yourself up on these platforms as an expert. But make sure you understand what you're talking about. If you aren't sure about something, look it up. If you make a mistake on one of these sites, it will spread quickly and hurt your business's reputation.

Personalize your conversation: It's best to talk to your audience in a way that feels like you know them. Ask about something posted on a Wall, like a recent trip, or "like" their pictures from the trip on Facebook.

Show your individuality. The biggest advantage medical business owners have over big companies is that their businesses are much smaller and still feel like they are run by real people. Show your customers who is behind the business. Make sure you add a personal touch to your conversations!

Respond quickly to your customers' complaints: Did you know that 88% of customers won't do business with a company again if they post a complaint on social media and it isn't answered? And it's even worse to delete customer complaints! So make sure you respond right away to any complaints your customers post on social media sites. Even if you can't solve their problems, at least tell them you heard them. Say yes to everything.

Mention that you're on social media and promote your profiles. Links to your social media profiles should always be on your website, blog, emails, and even printed materials. For websites and blogs, it's best to add Facebook and Twitter widgets that show a live feed of what's happening on your Facebook or Twitter page, right there on your website or blog. People will be more likely to follow you on social media sites if you offer them something of value, like white papers or articles.

Monitor & moderate: Monitor your social media presence. Find out where your name has been used online and what it was for. This is easiest to do with a Google alert, but there are lots of free tools online that you can use to keep an eye on your web presence. Also, keep your social media pages in your own hands. Read what other people post on your page and answer them quickly.

Distribute your social media content. It takes time to make content. So why not use what you have to its fullest? Put your content on all of the most popular social media sites, and don't be afraid to use them again. Make a link to a blog post and post it on Facebook. Make a video out of it and put it on YouTube and Facebook, or make a presentation out of it and put it on SlideShare. The goal is to get as many people as possible to see your content.

What shouldn't you do?

DON'T push your products or services too much: Social media is a place where you create value by building relationships. It's NOT a place to put up ads. Your audience people will avoid you if you only talk about the things you sell. Think about it: Would you talk to your family about it? and friends all the time about the things you sell? Of course not! Then don't be rude to audience on social media any differently.

DON'T send pointless updates to your contacts: OK, so now you have two new products. Even though it's great to share news, don't send ads to everyone you know. Put up a link to the new line of products, keep track of who is interested, and only tell people what they need to know.

DON'T make spelling and grammar mistakes in your posts: You are a medical business trying to make a name for yourself. Don't ruin it by making spelling and grammar mistakes. Use tools to check your spelling and grammar, but don't rely on them completely. Before you post something online, make sure it is correct. If you are not good at spelling or grammar, have someone else look over your work before it goes out.

DON'T ignore requests for help in the area where you are an expert: If you are part of a group or forum, use every chance you get to show what you know. Don't sit on the sidelines; take part in discussions.

DON'T let your profile get old. Make sure it's updated often and that you always have something new to offer. Medical business owners often make the mistake of setting up social media profiles and then forgetting about them. If you want to see results from social media, you have to keep at it.