Real Talk: Is Social Media For Doctors a Waste of Time?

In the world of digital marketing, social media for doctors has been trending for so long that the word “trending” doesn’t even apply anymore. Virtually any SEO company or advertising agency will stress the benefits of social media’s ability to boost your online visibility, support your brand, and generate leads.

Even so, healthcare social media is a complicated subject. For some healthcare companies and medical practices, social media marketing is a no-brainer. A new family dental practice could benefit greatly from a lively social media presence, but for many other healthcare professionals, social media marketing just doesn’t offer a good return on investment.

Why is Social Media For Doctors so tricky?

First, medical professionals operate under strict confidentiality agreements. That makes it hard-to-impossible to connect with new or existing patients on such a public forum. And for many types of medical care, patients aren’t interested in broadcasting to the world their recent colonoscopy.

Second, many doctors have had bad experiences on social networks when patients track them down and make inappropriate personal contact outside the office. For this reason, many doctors stay off Facebook altogether, or have strict privacy settings. So while it can be valuable to have a Twitter and Facebook account for your practice or company, it might not be the most reliable way to generate new business online.

That’s what makes SEO services for doctors so important. Search engine optimization is a set of techniques that optimize your website so it appears higher on Google, and the best SEO services for doctors can help you do exactly that. It’s a fusion of professional web design, mobile-friendly design, local search marketing, content marketing, and more. If some of those terms are new to you, then don’t worry. You aren’t alone. In one 2015 study of marketers, fully 90% said that healthcare organizations in particular lacked the digital skills they needed.

And in 2016, virtually all of your patients will visit your website before visiting your office. According to Business2Community, about 60% of all search traffic goes to the top three search results on platforms like Google. Plus, more people than ever are using local and mobile searches to find local businesses like yours. The number of people searching using the phrase “near me” has surged 34 times since just 2011 and almost doubled again since 2014.

SEO services for doctors can help your company stop chasing its tail online. Don’t waste your time and money on digital dead ends. Instead, use tried and true healthcare SEO tactics to get your website where it belongs.

Our Miami SEO company has spent years specializing in medical SEO services and social media for doctors and we know exactly how much of a difference it can make.