How can physicians appropriately engage their patients with social media?
Some doctors are at a loss on how to suitably engage their patients on Facebook. Whereas a restaurant owner can ask a fan how his meal was, a physician runs the risk of embarrassing his patients if he asks about the last appointment.
Blogger Carol Roth was recently unimpressed with her gynecologist’s attempt to get her in his social media network:
While I was on hold, one of those automated phone messages came on, and a booming man’s voice said, “Be sure you head over to Facebook and become a Facebook fan of Dr. Gynecologist and the gynecologist practice!”
If the booming voice had asked me to sign up for their e-mail list so I can be kept up to date on the latest wellness strategies for women, they would have been offering me a relevant potential benefit…Or, they could have offered for me to join a discussion group on preventative medicine, provided discounts on future prescriptions or asked me to join a free online seminar –all things that would be focused on me as a client instead of Dr. Gynie trying to be a rockstar.
The doctor’s message did not inspire Carol to check out his Facebook page. Good move! He had made the page all about himself instead of using it as a way to connect with his patients.
It is too bad that the doctor does not give his patients an incentive to become his Facebook fans. He has the rare opportunity to have his patients’ undivided attention while they’re on hold waiting to schedule appointments.
His tactics may have worked for a small boutique whose customers are fans of its high-end jeans, but becoming a fan of your gynecologist’s handiwork is rather different.
Before putting your social media campaign into action, consider what works for your customers.
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