Social media never has been, and never will be, a place where users are OK with a one-way experience. These platforms are all about making and sustaining connections. While, once upon a time, those connections were entirely between individual people, today users seek connections with brands as well. If you are lucky enough to gain the loyalty of any current or prospective patients via organic marketing, you need to engage with them.
4 reasons to engage with followers on social media
To be the life of a party, you cannot just talk to yourself; you must socialize and interact with others. If you want to draw a crowd when using social media, treat it like a dinner party: Post, welcome feedback, and respond. There are several good reasons you should do so.
1. Followers expect you to interact
According to a recent survey, social media is the number-one way consumers interact with brands today. This is evident in the fact that businesses and users exchange over 8 billion messages per month via Facebook alone. Per a Twitter survey, 71% of social media users expect brands to respond to their messages or comments within an hour. Moreover, by answering a complaint on social media, you can increase your customer advocacy by as much as 25%. If you need a reason to make interaction a part of your online marketing strategy, these stats are it.
2. Interaction equates to increased website traffic
Studies show that the number of social media interactions between brands and their followers directly corresponds to the number of website visits. When a brand increases engagement on its end on social platforms, its website traffic increases. While posting thoughtful content can help increase brand exposure, your continued engagement with fans who like, share, or comment on it is what ultimately drives clicks.
3. More website traffic means more conversions
The whole goal of social media marketing is to convert followers into paying customers. Interaction helps you bridge the gap between lead and patient by encouraging people to click through to your website. Once people are on your website, there is a greater likelihood that they will take the desired action to call your office or submit an appointment request.
4. Connecting with people can boost referral rates
Ultimately, clients and patients want to feel valued. By responding to social media followers via comments or DMs, you can show your patients that you genuinely care about their thoughts, feelings, and opinions. In doing so, you foster a sense of loyalty that can encourage them to share your name with friends, family members, and acquaintances should the need for your services arise.
Let us engage for you
We get it — learning to interact with followers on social media can be intimidating, especially when you have patients to care for. At Doctor Genius, we help healthcare professionals learn how to engage with patients and others on various social media platforms. We can also help post blogs and link to them on your social accounts, singling interest to your website for search engines. Contact our team today to learn more about our services.
Doctor Genius, located at 16800 Aston Street, Suite 270, Irvine, CA 92606, provides a range of services for practice success. We seek to meet our clients’ needs by providing a variety of marketing, SEO, practice optimization tools, and coaching to transform the healthcare experience. Though we work to provide the most accurate information, the content found on this website is solely intended for entertainment purposes. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that the information provided is entirely correct. You may not use the information on this site to cure, prevent, or diagnose a perceived medical issue. If you have healthcare-related needs, please speak directly to a healthcare professional. Never self-perform medical treatments discussed on this website. All images displayed are also for entertainment purposes only, and personal experiences may differ. Please note that the business tactics mentioned on this site might not be applicable to your industry or practice.
