More and more health care providers, researchers, educators, and patients are using social media to reach large audiences. However, knowing which tools are best suited to a given project or initiative can be difficult.
Blogs are a powerful way to communicate with your audience and position yourself as an expert in your field. But how can you use a blog to promote health marketing? Here are some best practices for implementing a blog into your health marketing strategy.
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Best Practice For Implementing Social Media Tools For Health Marketing
1. Diversify Your Channel Mix Beyond Facebook and Twitter
Our research found that hospitals post on Instagram less than once every two days, but publish to Twitter and Facebook at least twice per day on each channel. Based on posting frequency, Instagram and YouTube are as secondary channels, despite these audiences being more engaged.Hospitals post on Instagram less than once every two days, but publish to Twitter and Facebook at least twice per day on each channel.CLICK TO TWEET
In addition, thirty of the hospitals reviewed have Pinterest accounts — but only half of those pinned anything in the first three months of 2019. Northwestern Medicine and Norton Healthcare are the two hospitals actively using Pinterest to promote content from their websites.
Social Media Channel Breakdown for Hospitals: By Network and Engagement
2. Vary Your Content Mix to Optimize Audience Actions
More than half of the best-performing posts included photos of people. Twenty-seven of the best 50 posts clearly showed the faces of people or babies. The number of people in photos does not appear to impact engagement — 18 images had a single person, and 18 images had 2 or more people.
In addition, curated content links have higher engagement: 35% of links shared by hospitals are curated, meaning they are not from the hospital’s own domain. Posts with curated links earned an average of 0.033% engagement per post, while links originating from the hospital’s own domain generated half as much engagement, at 0.015%.Posts by hospitals with curated links earned an average of 0.033% engagement per post, while links originating from the hospital’s own domain generated half as much engagement.CLICK TO TWEET
Successful Facebook content is made up of a lot of different types of content. A good content calendar for Facebook should include photos, videos, and links. A photo-only or a link-only approach doesn’t work nearly as well as a varied content mix.A good content calendar for Facebook should include photos, videos, and links.CLICK TO TWEET
More than 50% of the top 50 most-engaging posts included photos of people.
3. Boost Top Performing Posts Organic Posts
While engagement is trending down across social media as a whole, brands are circumventing declining organic reach by spending money to ensure their content is getting seen. In fact, 5.5% of all hospital Facebook posts we analyzed are signaled as “likely-boosted”, according to Rival IQ. Of those likely-boosted Facebook posts, the engagement rate per post was 177% higher than the non-boosted posts.
We advise our social media consulting clients to boost well-performing organic posts within the first 24 hours after posting. This provides a strong boost to content that is already proven to perform well.WHILE YOU’RE HERE
4. Connect with Niche Communities
While Facebook Brand Pages continue to be used by patients and hospitals, some hospitals are beginning to leverage Facebook Groups and Messenger to create deeper connections with audiences.
In fact, 30% of the top U.S. hospitals are making Groups part of their Facebook strategy. Twelve of the 54 hospitals (22%) are currently or have recently used Groups as part of their Facebook outreach. Four hospitals are in the pre-launch or initial-launch phase of deploying Groups. 
Cleveland Clinic moderates many Groups connected to its main Brand Page.
Groups managed or moderated by hospital Facebook Pages are created for a variety of communities, including employees, graduates, general wellness and specific healthcare support (NICU families, transplant recipients, breastfeeding mothers etc.). More than one hospital told us specifically they do not manage Groups for patients due to HIPPA laws and patient privacy.
best practices for social media writing
1. Use Your Casual Voice
First, you really need to hone your brand voice.
What are your brand’s values and how are you going to get them across on social media?
Understand that your social media accounts are not supposed to be a replica of your website. Even if you are a serious corporate brand, you will need to soften your tone and make it more casual.
Remember why people are using most social media in the first place—to connect with friends—and why they follow your social media channel instead of just visiting your website.
Remember too, that while casual, your tone should be adjusted for each social media network.
For example, on LinkedIn, you might say “The Agorapulse team has compiled a list of the best social media writing tips. Click below to read them.” The tone is a little more buttoned-down for a social media channel known for being for professionals.
On Facebook, where the audience is considerably less professional, you might say, “Need to improve your social media writing skills? Check out our hot tips.”
Quick tips for writing social content
- Avoid lengthy or convoluted sentences.
- Stay away from colorless “business-speak.”
- Don’t use an unnecessarily long word if there is a shorter alternative.
Bonus Content: Load Up your Content Calendar
Content examples, ideas, tips, and hashtag help, all in one easy-to-use workable CSV file.Email address*
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2. Keep Your Writing Short and Simple
Social media isn’t the place for deep musings, case studies, or pasted stories. You don’t have to use the entire word count.
The optimal length of a Facebook post is 40 characters, and, after that point, engagement wanes.
Studies even show that some of the most shared posts are just 11 words and incorporate video and emoji like Buzzfeed below:
If you want to share a blog or story with your readers, introduce it briefly and include a link to it.
Quick tips for writing social content
- Your social media page is a great place to link to your blog, not to copy and paste it.
- Use emojis to illustrate your point instead of explaining it in long sentences.
- Use fewer words as a teaser to your link, video, or infographic.
3. Think CTA!
Your CTA or call-to-action is something you need to be aware of every time you write for your brand.
Does that mean you need to be constantly promotional? No.
But you do want your fans to take action, don’t you? Whether it’s to read your article, watch your video, join a conversation, share a post or attend an event, a desirable response is always wanted.
Write a better CTA when you follow these tips
A good formula for a social media post starts with a thought-provoking question and an invitation for your followers to take action as shown below at Contentworks.
Quick tips for writing social content
- Be punchy and direct with your CTAs like “Watch Now” or “Read More!”
- Ask a short question or make a strong statement to pique interest.
- Don’t confuse your fans by asking for too many actions. (Like this confusing CTA: “Watch our video then come back and comment and share our post.”)
4. Keep It Personal
Focus on using pronouns such as “we” “I,” “me,” and “you” as opposed to “the company,” “the client,” or “the team.” Remember, you are trying to build connections and engagement. Lecturing your followers from your high corporate tower just doesn’t cut it.
Write as though you are speaking directly to each fan, and you will see a much better engagement rate.
Check out this example from Barclays, a huge international bank, who keeps it personal.
Quick tips for writing social content
- Explain to your CEO why informal language works better on social media.
- Tailor your style and words to suit each of your social networks.
- Speak directly to each fan to improve your engagement rates.
5. Research Pays Off
You can be the best writer in the world, but if you don’t do your research, your posts just won’t resonate with your audience.
For example, say you are a beauty company and you know your target audience is women. What else do you know about them? Newsflash: There are billions of women in the world, and they are not all alike.
To write well you need to understand who you’re writing to.
Create a persona of your audience. Understand their interests, lifestyle, and values. The more you know about them, the easier it will be to write for them.
Quick tips for writing social content
- Create a persona for your target audience and pin it to your desk so you never forget who you’re talking to.
- Include data in your post.
- Tailor your language to your audience. If they are females aged 13-18, don’t use the same words as you would for females aged 30-45
Conclusion
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