4 Ways to Grow Your Patient Base With Social Advertising

As social networks shift content to focus more on connections and less on brands, it’s likely that social advertising budgets will increase even more. Already spending in the B-to-C services sector is predicted to increase by more than 20% in the next five years.

Social advertising can be used to ensure health care marketers get the same reach and engagement that they historically enjoyed through organic content, but a better use of budget is growing the patient base through targeted, location-based messaging.

Ready to start testing social ads? The following are tips to ensure you’re getting the most for your spend:

1. Messaging Matters

Consumer opinions of social advertising have decreased in the past year because of mismatched targeting and advertising overload. Good messaging just may be the key to restoring favor. In order to have truly effective ads, the copy, tone and ask is very important. The more relevant you can be, the better — even if this means not targeting your entire audience. Always consider the social networking platform and content type. Research the type of ads that users best identify with, then write the copy appropriate for the format.

2. When Targeting, Aim for a Bull’s-eye

Most social networks allow you to target at an incredibly granular level, so you can find and reach your ideal audience. Always look beyond location, gender and age; use behavior and purchase targeting options. Here are some suggestions for specific demographic targeting:

• Hospitals and family practitioners: Target users who have recently moved within a certain location or region based on recent profile updates.
• Pediatricians: Target women who are pregnant, new parents or parents of young children, which is determined by purchase behaviors.
• Geriatric physician: Target users who have older parents or could be elderly themselves by demographic targeting.
• Allergists: Target users whose purchase behaviors correspond with allergy relief medications.

3. Retarget With Personalized Content

Retarget users who have already visited your website or blog. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter allow marketers to do this with a pixel, a snippet of code installed on a website that tracks visitor behavior. You can create a custom audience of users who have visited or viewed specific content on your website. The custom audience can then be used to retarget your website visitors with ads on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

To truly make an impact, don’t just retarget with an ad they may have seen, but develop and share personalized content. For example, if your visitors read a blog about your thoughts on a new diet, retarget them with another piece about nutrition or direct advertising explaining your practice. While retargeting focuses on a smaller audience, the ROI is (on average) two times higher than a broad-based ad.

4. Cultivate a Relationship by Reaching Patients Before They Need You

One-third of patients turn to social media sites for answers to health-related matters — everything from doctor referrals to diagnosing symptoms. It’s important for health care marketers to develop relationships and information before patients need their service. One of the best ways to achieve this is with a “give.” Patients need a reason to click on your post, so what you can give them — an incentive, a piece of knowledge or useful information, even a checklist or quiz — helps create a relationship prior to an office visit. The give is an everyday reminder of an office or service that patients may someday need, so when the time to find a doctor comes, you’ll be at the front of their mind.

Social advertising is more than just putting dollars behind an existing post. If done right, you can reach the right patients and have them sitting in your waiting room in no time.

About the Author | Heather Whaling

Heather Whaling is president and founder of Geben Communication, a communications firm with offices in Columbus, Ohio, and Chicago. Her commitment to innovating communication best practices and advocating for social good (specifically paid leave) earned her recognition as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year. Connect with Heather on Twitter (@prTini) or via email (heather@gebencomm.com).