Specialty Healthcare Providers CAN Use Social Media Marketing

Healthcare is an industry that walks a fine line between a conservative approach to marketing and an increasingly consumer-driven need to reach potential patients in much the same way as other B2C brands, which means social media.

Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are the most used social media platforms, but other more visually oriented platforms also have potential for those healthcare specialties where consumers have more choices and that offer services that lend themselves to visual representation.

As Instagram and Snapchat grow their influence in marketing and consumer choices, the following specialties may want to consider using them to highlight success stories and results:

• Plastic surgery

• Physical therapy

• Orthodontics and oral surgery

• Medical spas and aesthetics

• Weight loss clinics and bariatrics

My favorite example of social media marketing in the specialty healthcare industry is Dr. Remus Repta, a board certified plastic surgeon in Scottsdale, AZ.  He has more than 19,000 Instagram followers (@drrepta_plasticsurgery) and is extremely active on SnapChat (drrepta) where he Snaps surgeries in action and explains what is happening and how it works.  Dr. Repta showcases his work on Instagram, shares before and after images, and quickly responds to and engages with his followers.  He is also active on YouTube (drrepta) and Facebook. 

Have you seen other “traditional” industries like healthcare tapping into less formal channels of marketing and promotion? Share your examples in the comments.

Healthcare and the industries that support it are a specialty of JONES. See how we are uniquely qualified to meet the marketing and PR needs of healthcare and healthcare IT companies through the results show in our Healthcare Case Studies Package.