With the cost of healthcare rising even faster than inflation, people are turning to Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok to help manage their health. For doctors looking to capitalize on this, there are several factors to keep in mind as to how they manage their social media presence and reputation online.

Being Present

Decades ago, it was unheard of for a hospital or medical practice to advertise. Last year, however, the healthcare advertising market exceeded $21 billion, and it is forecasted to climb even higher over the next five years. 

Many of these dollars will go towards advertising on social media for two major reasons: one, it is highly targeted; and two, social media offers an interactivity that mirrors the doctor-patient relationship. Any medical practice without an active social media presence will be at a serious competitive disadvantage in the coming years.

What to Say (and What Not to)

While doctors can (and should) be thought leaders, they are somewhat limited by the ethical parameters of their profession. Top among these is their patients’ right to privacy. Doctors are prohibited from discussing a patient’s treatment or history with others, even in generalities. Confidentiality is a right so fundamental that the Hippocratic Oath refers to patient data as “holy secrets,” and this rings true on social media as well.  

When it comes to physicians sharing content from their personal lives, the strategy becomes more complicated.  For example, Instagram’s most popular physician, Dr. Mike Varshavski, boasts 4.4 million followers who are more likely to see photos of his physique or his dog than an endorsement of any single drug or wellness trend. He gives off the persona of an influencer who also just happens to be a medical doctor. Others have focused on overall wellness rather than medicine, such as Dr. Mark Hyman who often shares general advice on diet, exercise, and longevity with his 2.2 million followers, but also steers clear of anything patient or procedure-specific. 

Doctors on social media should not mix business with pleasure. If your account is solely for personal use, don’t mix in medical content. Likewise, if your account is for your practice or to establish yourself as a leader in your medical field, keep the content professional and focused on your niche.

Business Casual for MDs

As with other disciplines, practicing medicine on social media implies a balancing act between professionalism and celebrity. One of the first choices is whether to present oneself as a virtual friend or as an authority. Even if a doctor succeeds in striking the right balance between promoting themselves and their craft — or simply promoting a healthy dialogue — they must  immediately consider the flood of comments and direct messages that will follow a popular post. They must also consider the possibility of disgruntled former patients becoming online “trolls,” a fact of virtual life that has already resulted in litigation.

Just as Twitter and Facebook strive to take down harmful content, a medical influencer must grapple with, for example, comments not attributed to them, but ones still posted by others on their account’s content which might contain misleading or harmful information. They must also make it clear if a product they recommend, such as a pharmaceutical or workout regimen, has paid them for the shout-out.

Damage Control

As the saying goes, it takes a lifetime to build a reputation and less than a minute to destroy it. When a Michigan family physician named Jeffrey VanWingen decided to post some grocery cleaning tips on YouTube during the early days of the pandemic, he had no idea that his homemade D-I-Y video would be viewed more than 25 million times — or that it would create a firestorm. Some viewers immediately pointed out that tips, like washing vegetables with soap, were questionable, while others accused him of scare-mongering. What VanWingen quickly learned is that while there is an “edit” button available for posts on some social media, this isn’t the case with peoples’ memories or screenshots; you can either take down the offending video and apologize for your mistake, or double-down and stand by it. 

Damage control is a critical piece of a social media strategy, yet most influencers don’t tend to consider this when posting. Doctors may consider themselves to be the experts, but a single misguided or misconstrued post can irreparably harm an entire practice in moments. Always carefully review any content that goes out on behalf of your account, regardless of who is physically creating and sharing it. Any consequences will fall on your shoulders.

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Before social media, it was enough for large, well-known brands like Coca-Cola to place billboards where someone might have a positive experience, such as a baseball stadium or a theme park, and let the association sink in. Today, however, it’s up to brands to create not only awareness, but trust with their customers.

It Takes Two

According to studies, the average attention span of a Gen Zer is 8 seconds, while their millennial counterparts are willing to devote an entire 12 seconds to a marketer’s message. In order to pay attention for much longer than that, a young consumer needs some sort of incentive. The attention-grabbing methods that ad agencies once created so effectively have now been usurped by TikToks, Snapchats and Reels. The alternative to captivating audiences with something cute, funny, clever, or shocking is with something newsworthy. In other words, a brand doesn’t just need a good ad or a compelling message; it needs to make headlines.

How PR and Marketing Strategies Get In Sync

Public relations, media relations, and marketing all ultimately share the same goal: inspiring a certain audience demographic to pay attention to a message, then internalize it. As the targeted demographic becomes more niche, the more focused the message becomes, making it easier to both capture the audience’s attention and have them internalize the desired message. 

There has always been a natural alliance between news and advertising; the difference now is that the line between news and sponsored content has been blurred, often literally. And thanks to social media and search engines, ads and news items can both be targeted much more narrowly. This has created the expectation among consumers that what they see, read, or hear should be personally relevant to them.

As Rolling Stone has pointed out, the 68 million members of Gen Z are particularly media-savvy. They also have serious trust issues. Gone are the days when a brand could simply hire a celebrity to make a television ad and expect their young fans to align with its messaging. The newest generation of consumers anoints its own influencers, and it expects them to reflect their own personal values. 

This isn’t to say that paid marketing spots are going extinct — streaming giant Netflix recently announced its own plan to incorporate ads — but it does mean that publicity and advertising must be aligned in order to effectively communicate a consistent message.

Benefits for Brands on Integrating PR and Marketing Efforts

Marketers know that closing a sale takes multiple impressions, but in an age when consumers can turn off the volume or skip the ads entirely, more is not always more. The big payoffs come from synergies, not repetition. 

Some of these are straightforward. The more mentions or clicks on a website, for example, the higher a website’s SEO score will be, placing it higher on the list of search results. This creates more received interest in the brand and, therefore, more news around it. 

Other benefits, however, are more abstract. When a brand appears on a news website’s main pages in a non-advertising manner, that brand’s message is organically reinforced, further establishing credibility amongst readers and consumers. For example, the owner of a staffing firm might pay Google for each ad click as a possible lead generator, but they will also want to be quoted as a thought leader in news articles about The Great Resignation, or bylined in a guest piece where they can share advice on how to resolve critical, trending human resource issues.

More and more, the roles of thought leader, influencer, advertiser and business owner or executive are converging. The roles of PR and marketing in general are following suit. We don’t just want to feel like we know who we do business with, but we also expect them to earn our trust. We want their values to align with our own because we want to feel good about how we spend our time and our money. As brand builders, that means incorporating multiple channels of communication at all times.

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What Is a Value Proposition?

A value proposition is a short, clear statement that defines the gain that current or potential customers will get from using your product or service. A good value proposition is more than just a description of a product or service — it gives reasons why potential customers should do business with you. 

Delineating exactly what they will receive, and how it will improve their situation, builds a case for them to purchase it. Having a concise statement that explains your business’s value to customers also helps drive your overall marketing strategies.

Before Crafting Your Value Proposition

The first thing to do is create a profile of your target customer, sometimes called an “ideal customer avatar.” The idea is to imagine your audience in as much detail as possible. If you can’t identify the right person who would need your product or services, then you may waste time and resources targeting the wrong audience.

While developing your ideal customer avatar, include not only demographic information, but also psychographics, which examine your target customers’ motivations, fears, and mindset. In other words, think about your prospective buyers’ goals; what are they trying to accomplish? 

It’s also important to consider the common obstacles they face. What problems can emerge while trying to accomplish their tasks? 

Next, consider how your product or service can solve those problems. How can your business make the difference between their success and failure?

Lastly, create a profile for your product or service. Who is it designed to help? How does it alleviate some of their pain points? How does it add value to them? If you can’t identify reasons why your offering solves your customers’ problems or helps them achieve their goals, then they won’t be able to, either.

The Key Elements of a Strong Value Proposition

When crafting an effective value proposition, the most important thing is to be clear. Sometimes, people try to impress others by using sophisticated jargon, but when it comes to defining the value your product or service has, this is a mistake. To sway prospective clients to give your product or service a try, they must be able to clearly and quickly understand what it is. If they can’t seize your meaning, then they aren’t going to reach for their credit card.

In addition, try to be concise. Most people’s attention spans are short these days, and fluff can distract from your main point. Using the messages in your value proposition can hook people in, but only if it doesn’t bog them down.

Finally, stay as concrete as possible. Avoid general statements. A value proposition shouldn’t be mistaken for a tagline or slogan, which tend to be more abstract. Instead, value propositions offer a tangible promise about what your business offers. Your language should paint a picture that suggests success in your audience’s head. The more specific, practical, and realistic that picture becomes, the better.

However, value propositions are not positioning statements. They don’t call out competitors or directly say your rivals are inferior or deficient. On the other hand, drawing attention to your own business’s virtues may insinuate that others are missing something to good effect.

Incorporating Value Propositions Into Communications Strategies

Once you have crafted an effective value proposition, it should drive your messaging across the board. Since it summarizes why people should be your customer, repurpose it wherever you can. For example, you can include it in ads and on social media. It can also spark ideas for long-form content like testimonials, blogs, or case studies.

In particular, your value proposition should appear multiple times on your website. It’s a good idea to include it on your home page, as well as product pages.

When you include your value proposition on your website or marketing materials, it should have a headline followed by a subheading or short paragraph. An image is also recommended.

For the headline, use a short, clear statement that defines the value of a customer doing business with you right away. Often, this is creative or catchy, but not gimmicky.

For the subheading or paragraph, a couple sentences that detail the who, what, where, when, and why of your product or service would suffice.

While images are not necessary, these can help further illustrate the value proposition and convince the viewer your solution is easy and doable. Consider inserting a gif or jpg, short video, graphic, chart, diagram, or map.

Finally, put your value proposition in front of or next to the call to action in your sales funnel. Having it beside your “subscribe now,” “sign up,” or “start your free trial” buttons can help convert a greater portion of browsers into buyers.

Many entrepreneurs struggle with crafting an effective value proposition, but the rewards are worth the effort. By going through this process, not only will you become clearer about your company’s mission, but your communications with prospective customers will improve. Increased sales are sure to follow.

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