5 Social Media Tips for Hospital Networks

Many healthcare facilities struggle with how to use social media in an effective manner. Concerns about HIPAA regulations and patient privacy prevent many from even attempting to develop a presence across social media platforms.

However, social media is a powerful tool and should be used by all healthcare organizations, especially hospital networks looking to bring in new patients and retain current patients.

Reaching patients in their day-to-day lives can be difficult, but it’s important to make sure that your hospital network is top-of-mind when they need it. Social media allows you to provide valuable, educational information in a medium where most people are active and are looking for thoughtful, healthcare-related information. Follow our five social media tips for hospital networks to help grow your social media presence and make the most of your time online.

1. Use the 70/20/10 rule.

70 percent of your posts should be thought leadership. They should be written to share information with your audience, while providing thoughtful commentary on current issues. Reposting others’ content should comprise about 20 percent of your posts. Only 10 percent of your posts should directly promote your hospitals and their services.

2. Give public health announcements.

This could be as simple as “Flu season is starting. Make sure you get your flu shot today.” If the public comes to recognize you as a key source for health news updates, your hospital will be the one they look towards when they have a real health emergency. Plus, it’s great to get people in the mindset of looking to you for guidance and/or information, in the event that there is a critical public health emergency, such as an Ebola outbreak.

3. Promote new service offerings.

We all love new things, so use social media to promote any new service offerings your hospital network has available. Perhaps it’s a new prenatal genetic counseling program or state-of-the-art electrocardiogram – photos or a video in these types of posts will make them even better.

4. Link to interesting articles & industry research.

Medical research can be a confusing topic for many people, and to make matters worse, there’s a lot of misinformation on the Internet. Help your audience by linking to relevant and interesting articles and research pieces. Be sure to provide useful commentary on what the article is about and why it is important. By promoting yourself as a thought leader, you will build trust with patients and they’ll look to you for advice and guidance when they have a health issue.

5. Shine a light on any award-winning doctors and staff.

Your staff is the heart of your organization. Many people choose a hospital based on the caliber of the medical staff and related information they can find about them. Recognize any outstanding staff members or award-winning doctors and nurses on social media. This will help personalize your organization as well as establish you as a leader in medicine.

Social media can be a very rewarding venture. By sharing important and relevant information with your audience, you can increase engagement. There are many ways to post online that will keep you on the right side of HIPAA regulations and patient privacy. If you’re ready to dip your toe into social media but are stuck on how to proceed, let us know. We’d love to help out! Until then, reference Healthcare Marketing in the Digital Age.

Updated: Apr 13, 2022