Go Viral: Tips for Growing Your Practice With Social Media

Social media is ingrained in modern culture: 72% of adults in the United States use at least one social media site or application.¹ We check Yelp for reviews of the latest local service, scroll by a status update from a cousin’s wedding on Facebook, and follow industry leaders and trends on LinkedIn. It’s commonplace now to use social media to advertise a business and attract new clientele.

In health care, social media continues to grow in relevance. Organizations such as the American College of Physicians² and the American Academy of Dermatology³ have released position statements regarding medical professionalism in the use of social media. In addition, risk management and legal issues are becoming more prevalent as networks continue to grow.⁴ From the dermatologist’s viewpoint, using social media to grow a practice can seem daunting. 

“It’s a little more like the wild west right now,” said Jason Emer, MD, FAAD, a private practice dermatologist based in West Hollywood, CA. “We’re trying to promote expertise and skill. It’s harder for a consumer, because the area is flooded with people saying their own opinions which are not always medical opinions, to truly know what’s right, what’s real, what’s good, and what’s not, unless they have a good and trusting doctor.” 

With the distortion of photoshop and the rapid spread of misinformation, it is easy for a dermatologist to want to avoid social media all together. Instead, Dr Emer dove headfirst into digital networking. He shared some of his insights on the role of social media in practice management in an interview with The Dermatologist. 

Logging in to Social

The idea of going digital started years before logging into social media was a normal, daily activity. During his residency in New York in the mid-2000s, Dr Emer treated a group of patients who were HIV positive and presented with facial lipoatrophy due to their antiretroviral therapy treatments. After treating these patients with fillers and fat grafting, they would come back with more self-esteem. He found similar praise from patients who received cosmetic procedures to treat scarring from acne or skin cancer surgery. This patient satisfaction led to creating an in-house digital lookbook to highlight successful treatment outcomes. In due time, the lookbook segued online.

“I was in San Francisco in my fellowship when I started to share a lot on Twitter and Facebook and posting on RealSelf.com,” Dr Emer explained. “Consumers weren’t looking for a doctor on Google or by word of mouth. They were actually looking on these commercial sites like RealSelf to be able to see what other people have to say and ask questions. I would stay up and see what people had to say about acne scars or liposuction or fillers and answer their questions because those were the things that I knew well.”

After setting up accounts on the various networks, Dr Emer focused on showcasing what he was performing in his residency and later practice: lasers, liposuction, facial sculpting with fillers, body contouring, cryolipolysis, and all the latest advances in skin and body aesthetics. He found patients really started to come in once they connected with his expertise and saw the high level of care received while undergoing the most advanced and latest treatments. 

“The first video that I ever made is on my website right now. All it talks about is my experience with people, my compassion for the job, the learning, the education. There’s no before-and-after result. It’s just showing what I do, because that’s what people want to see.”

Essentially, Dr Emer summarized, social media is a tool to connect with patients and build a reputation as a professional. His practice currently uses YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, RealSelf, and Yelp, with a collective following in the hundreds of thousands.

Gaining Followers and Trust

Content, of course, is the foundation to building a strong presence on social media for a dermatology practice. A major factor in content is the clinician’s or the practice’s philosophy, which will ultimately guide what is shared on the different social networks.

Take for example making patient education a practice focus. While a flash sale, such as buy-one-get-one filler deals, may drive clients into the door, it does not establish lifelong approach to care. Rather, a practice should promote the benefits of fillers and candidly explain that these procedures are temporary and need follow-up care to maintain results. This honesty builds trust among followers and potential patients.

“I think the social part needs to be part-marketing, part-education, part-personal,” said Dr Emer, “so that people can really understand you from all levels. Find out your philosophy and promote it, your brand, and the thing that makes you unique, so people can learn about that.”

Presentation of the content can be just as important as the content itself. Understanding the different features of each social media channel can help with making sure content is well-received and seen. Visual posts, such as videos and infographics, can present information in creative way. These types of posts can increase engagement—likes, follows, shares, comments, and click-throughs.

“People want to see live. People want to see immediate results. They want to follow stories every day, almost like a television show or a commercial,” said Dr Emer. He noted that while Instagram and YouTube are exploding in popularity, Facebook remains a hub for advertising and LinkedIn provides a platform for educational blog-style posts between professionals.

A specific strength of social media is building a campaign around a certain topic. This topic can bridge all of the practice’s platforms, serving as a running theme for a set amount of time, such as a day or week. Note when particular conditions have special times for awareness, such as the month of May for skin cancer or October 29 for World Psoriasis Day, and coordinate content around these occurrences.  

Using hashtags can also increase visibility and engagement from new audiences. These tools, which index keywords to collate them for search purposes, should be specific for a post and tailored to the platform. Whereas hashtags on image- and video-sharing sites are more focused on the content of a post, hashtags on Twitter or Facebook often refer to a topic of conversation or group of people.⁵ Taking a look at the popularity of individual hashtags, such as #acnescars vs #acnescar, can help place content in front of the right viewers.

Lastly, the time of a post can greatly affect its visibility. Sending updates late at night, when a majority of followers are not accessing social media, will do little for increasing post visibility. Knowing when an audience engages most often with content can influence when an individual post is shared. For example, health care practices tend to have the most engagement on Facebook between 9:00 am and 10:00 am on Wednesdays, but Tuesdays at 8:00 am receive high engagement for Instagram.⁶ 

All of the above factors, according to Dr Emer, are necessary to achieve success. “You have to be putting pictures on Yelp. You need to be putting your photos and videos on RealSelf. You have to be answering questions, sending out newsletters, educating people, building a YouTube channel,” he advised. All of these facets can increase a practice’s visibility within a local community, establish a reputation for quality, expert care, and build trust among previous and potential patients.

Growing a Network

Utilizing social media for business purposes can be overwhelming for the dermatologist, who spent years studying the skin and not consumer habits. For those trying to go digital, Dr Emer recommended a three-step process to get started:

1. Setting up a website that details the practice location, services provided, and types of payment accepted, as well as background information on the providers and staff;
2. Adding consistent branding to in-house materials, including brochures, rack cards, and before-and-after photos; and
3. Linking up to social media and posting on a daily basis.

With multiple moving parts, from content creation to posting, developing a marketing plan that includes a robust social media strategy is key. A portion of that plan needs to decide whether social media development will remain internal or if it should be outsourced. Dr Emer suggested having an in-house social media coordinator who assists with curating content. However, the dermatologist should oversee these channels as it is unlikely that the social media coordinator will be a health care expert.

In addition, the dermatologist should ensure that social media should remain compliant with FDA and HIPAA requirements. Patients should be consulted regarding their photographs being shared, and permission should be obtained prior to posting. Dr Emer has found, however, that with building a positive professional reputation, patients are more likely to share their results publicly, just as if social media were like traditional word-of-mouth marketing.

“The pros are that these people are super searchers. They’re online all the time. They’re excited. When they come in, they want a post. Patients want to tell people about [their successful outcomes] and write good reviews when they’re happy.”

Even with the positive, there can be a negative response on social media. “If [a patient is] not happy, which you know a lot of people in this industry have unrealistic expectations, regardless of what you say to them, then [social media] can be negative because they’re going to post negative things on Yelp.” These posts can hurt a reputation, but a quick response on the review from the practice and an individual follow-up by the provider could make a difference in public image.

Forecasting the Future

In addition to running his private practice, Dr Emer launched a marketing company called EmDi to help other medical practices grow online and increase engagement. With its success, it is rapidly expanding to serve influencers, skin care lines, and wellness brands. He believes it is vital to stay ahead of trends, both as a medical professional and a marketing expert. He offered a broad view of what he sees happening in the future, including hypertargeting audiences.

“Eventually, it’s going to be so instantaneous. You’ll be walking down the street, and all of these platforms are going to know it. They’re going to promote to you with general content or before-and-afters. As you’re walking, your phone might signal to you, ‘We know you got lip filler two weeks ago. Why don’t you take a look at Dr. X over here? She’s doing it live right now,’ and [a live feed of the procedure] will come to you instantly.”

The future of instant gratification is going to create a lot of unknown variables, he said, like knowing if someone’s good just because they are being promoted. Dr Emer circled back to the importance of developing a trustworthy reputation in addition to posting consistent content online.

“That’s why social media should be viewed as less of a commodity and more about expertise, trust, and education.” n

References

1. Social Media Fact Sheet. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/. Published June 12, 2019. Accessed November 1, 2019.

2. Farnan JM, Snyder Sulmasy L, Worster BK, et al; American College of Physicians Ethics, Professionalism and Human Rights Committee; American College of Physicians Council of Associates; Federation of State Medical Boards Special Committee on Ethics and Professionalism. Online medical professionalism: patient and public relationships: policy statement from the American College of Physicians and the Federation of State Medical Boards. Ann Intern Med. 2013;158(8):620-627. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-158-8-201304160-00100

3. Position Statement on Medical Professionalism in the Use of Social Media. Rosemont, IL: American Academy of Dermatology; April 28, 2018. https://server.aad.org/Forms/Policies/Uploads/PS/PS-Medical%20Professionalism%20in%20the%20Use%20of%20Social%20Media.pdf. Accessed November 1, 2019.

4. Lambert KM, Barry P, Stokes G. Risk management and legal issues with the use of social media in the healthcare setting. J Healthc Risk Manage. 2012;31(4):41-47. doi:10.1002/jhrm.20103

5. Tran T. How to Use Hashtags: A Quick and Simple Guide for Every Network. Hootsuite. https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-use-hashtags/. Published February 25, 2019. Accessed November 4, 2019.

6. Arens E. Best times to post on social media for 2019. SproutSocial. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/best-times-to-post-on-social-media/. Published July 31, 2019. Accessed November 4, 2019.

Social media is ingrained in modern culture: 72% of adults in the United States use at least one social media site or application.¹ We check Yelp for reviews of the latest local service, scroll by a status update from a cousin’s wedding on Facebook, and follow industry leaders and trends on LinkedIn. It’s commonplace now to use social media to advertise a business and attract new clientele.

In health care, social media continues to grow in relevance. Organizations such as the American College of Physicians² and the American Academy of Dermatology³ have released position statements regarding medical professionalism in the use of social media. In addition, risk management and legal issues are becoming more prevalent as networks continue to grow.⁴ From the dermatologist’s viewpoint, using social media to grow a practice can seem daunting. 

“It’s a little more like the wild west right now,” said Jason Emer, MD, FAAD, a private practice dermatologist based in West Hollywood, CA. “We’re trying to promote expertise and skill. It’s harder for a consumer, because the area is flooded with people saying their own opinions which are not always medical opinions, to truly know what’s right, what’s real, what’s good, and what’s not, unless they have a good and trusting doctor.” 

With the distortion of photoshop and the rapid spread of misinformation, it is easy for a dermatologist to want to avoid social media all together. Instead, Dr Emer dove headfirst into digital networking. He shared some of his insights on the role of social media in practice management in an interview with The Dermatologist. 

Logging in to Social

The idea of going digital started years before logging into social media was a normal, daily activity. During his residency in New York in the mid-2000s, Dr Emer treated a group of patients who were HIV positive and presented with facial lipoatrophy due to their antiretroviral therapy treatments. After treating these patients with fillers and fat grafting, they would come back with more self-esteem. He found similar praise from patients who received cosmetic procedures to treat scarring from acne or skin cancer surgery. This patient satisfaction led to creating an in-house digital lookbook to highlight successful treatment outcomes. In due time, the lookbook segued online.

“I was in San Francisco in my fellowship when I started to share a lot on Twitter and Facebook and posting on RealSelf.com,” Dr Emer explained. “Consumers weren’t looking for a doctor on Google or by word of mouth. They were actually looking on these commercial sites like RealSelf to be able to see what other people have to say and ask questions. I would stay up and see what people had to say about acne scars or liposuction or fillers and answer their questions because those were the things that I knew well.”

After setting up accounts on the various networks, Dr Emer focused on showcasing what he was performing in his residency and later practice: lasers, liposuction, facial sculpting with fillers, body contouring, cryolipolysis, and all the latest advances in skin and body aesthetics. He found patients really started to come in once they connected with his expertise and saw the high level of care received while undergoing the most advanced and latest treatments. 

“The first video that I ever made is on my website right now. All it talks about is my experience with people, my compassion for the job, the learning, the education. There’s no before-and-after result. It’s just showing what I do, because that’s what people want to see.”

Essentially, Dr Emer summarized, social media is a tool to connect with patients and build a reputation as a professional. His practice currently uses YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, RealSelf, and Yelp, with a collective following in the hundreds of thousands.

Gaining Followers and Trust

Content, of course, is the foundation to building a strong presence on social media for a dermatology practice. A major factor in content is the clinician’s or the practice’s philosophy, which will ultimately guide what is shared on the different social networks.

Take for example making patient education a practice focus. While a flash sale, such as buy-one-get-one filler deals, may drive clients into the door, it does not establish lifelong approach to care. Rather, a practice should promote the benefits of fillers and candidly explain that these procedures are temporary and need follow-up care to maintain results. This honesty builds trust among followers and potential patients.

“I think the social part needs to be part-marketing, part-education, part-personal,” said Dr Emer, “so that people can really understand you from all levels. Find out your philosophy and promote it, your brand, and the thing that makes you unique, so people can learn about that.”

Presentation of the content can be just as important as the content itself. Understanding the different features of each social media channel can help with making sure content is well-received and seen. Visual posts, such as videos and infographics, can present information in creative way. These types of posts can increase engagement—likes, follows, shares, comments, and click-throughs.

“People want to see live. People want to see immediate results. They want to follow stories every day, almost like a television show or a commercial,” said Dr Emer. He noted that while Instagram and YouTube are exploding in popularity, Facebook remains a hub for advertising and LinkedIn provides a platform for educational blog-style posts between professionals.

A specific strength of social media is building a campaign around a certain topic. This topic can bridge all of the practice’s platforms, serving as a running theme for a set amount of time, such as a day or week. Note when particular conditions have special times for awareness, such as the month of May for skin cancer or October 29 for World Psoriasis Day, and coordinate content around these occurrences.  

Using hashtags can also increase visibility and engagement from new audiences. These tools, which index keywords to collate them for search purposes, should be specific for a post and tailored to the platform. Whereas hashtags on image- and video-sharing sites are more focused on the content of a post, hashtags on Twitter or Facebook often refer to a topic of conversation or group of people.⁵ Taking a look at the popularity of individual hashtags, such as #acnescars vs #acnescar, can help place content in front of the right viewers.

Lastly, the time of a post can greatly affect its visibility. Sending updates late at night, when a majority of followers are not accessing social media, will do little for increasing post visibility. Knowing when an audience engages most often with content can influence when an individual post is shared. For example, health care practices tend to have the most engagement on Facebook between 9:00 am and 10:00 am on Wednesdays, but Tuesdays at 8:00 am receive high engagement for Instagram.⁶ 

All of the above factors, according to Dr Emer, are necessary to achieve success. “You have to be putting pictures on Yelp. You need to be putting your photos and videos on RealSelf. You have to be answering questions, sending out newsletters, educating people, building a YouTube channel,” he advised. All of these facets can increase a practice’s visibility within a local community, establish a reputation for quality, expert care, and build trust among previous and potential patients.

Social media is ingrained in modern culture: 72% of adults in the United States use at least one social media site or application.¹ We check Yelp for reviews of the latest local service, scroll by a status update from a cousin’s wedding on Facebook, and follow industry leaders and trends on LinkedIn. It’s commonplace now to use social media to advertise a business and attract new clientele.

In health care, social media continues to grow in relevance. Organizations such as the American College of Physicians² and the American Academy of Dermatology³ have released position statements regarding medical professionalism in the use of social media. In addition, risk management and legal issues are becoming more prevalent as networks continue to grow.⁴ From the dermatologist’s viewpoint, using social media to grow a practice can seem daunting. 

“It’s a little more like the wild west right now,” said Jason Emer, MD, FAAD, a private practice dermatologist based in West Hollywood, CA. “We’re trying to promote expertise and skill. It’s harder for a consumer, because the area is flooded with people saying their own opinions which are not always medical opinions, to truly know what’s right, what’s real, what’s good, and what’s not, unless they have a good and trusting doctor.” 

With the distortion of photoshop and the rapid spread of misinformation, it is easy for a dermatologist to want to avoid social media all together. Instead, Dr Emer dove headfirst into digital networking. He shared some of his insights on the role of social media in practice management in an interview with The Dermatologist. 

Logging in to Social

The idea of going digital started years before logging into social media was a normal, daily activity. During his residency in New York in the mid-2000s, Dr Emer treated a group of patients who were HIV positive and presented with facial lipoatrophy due to their antiretroviral therapy treatments. After treating these patients with fillers and fat grafting, they would come back with more self-esteem. He found similar praise from patients who received cosmetic procedures to treat scarring from acne or skin cancer surgery. This patient satisfaction led to creating an in-house digital lookbook to highlight successful treatment outcomes. In due time, the lookbook segued online.

“I was in San Francisco in my fellowship when I started to share a lot on Twitter and Facebook and posting on RealSelf.com,” Dr Emer explained. “Consumers weren’t looking for a doctor on Google or by word of mouth. They were actually looking on these commercial sites like RealSelf to be able to see what other people have to say and ask questions. I would stay up and see what people had to say about acne scars or liposuction or fillers and answer their questions because those were the things that I knew well.”

After setting up accounts on the various networks, Dr Emer focused on showcasing what he was performing in his residency and later practice: lasers, liposuction, facial sculpting with fillers, body contouring, cryolipolysis, and all the latest advances in skin and body aesthetics. He found patients really started to come in once they connected with his expertise and saw the high level of care received while undergoing the most advanced and latest treatments. 

“The first video that I ever made is on my website right now. All it talks about is my experience with people, my compassion for the job, the learning, the education. There’s no before-and-after result. It’s just showing what I do, because that’s what people want to see.”

Essentially, Dr Emer summarized, social media is a tool to connect with patients and build a reputation as a professional. His practice currently uses YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, RealSelf, and Yelp, with a collective following in the hundreds of thousands.

Gaining Followers and Trust

Content, of course, is the foundation to building a strong presence on social media for a dermatology practice. A major factor in content is the clinician’s or the practice’s philosophy, which will ultimately guide what is shared on the different social networks.

Take for example making patient education a practice focus. While a flash sale, such as buy-one-get-one filler deals, may drive clients into the door, it does not establish lifelong approach to care. Rather, a practice should promote the benefits of fillers and candidly explain that these procedures are temporary and need follow-up care to maintain results. This honesty builds trust among followers and potential patients.

“I think the social part needs to be part-marketing, part-education, part-personal,” said Dr Emer, “so that people can really understand you from all levels. Find out your philosophy and promote it, your brand, and the thing that makes you unique, so people can learn about that.”

Presentation of the content can be just as important as the content itself. Understanding the different features of each social media channel can help with making sure content is well-received and seen. Visual posts, such as videos and infographics, can present information in creative way. These types of posts can increase engagement—likes, follows, shares, comments, and click-throughs.

“People want to see live. People want to see immediate results. They want to follow stories every day, almost like a television show or a commercial,” said Dr Emer. He noted that while Instagram and YouTube are exploding in popularity, Facebook remains a hub for advertising and LinkedIn provides a platform for educational blog-style posts between professionals.

A specific strength of social media is building a campaign around a certain topic. This topic can bridge all of the practice’s platforms, serving as a running theme for a set amount of time, such as a day or week. Note when particular conditions have special times for awareness, such as the month of May for skin cancer or October 29 for World Psoriasis Day, and coordinate content around these occurrences.  

Using hashtags can also increase visibility and engagement from new audiences. These tools, which index keywords to collate them for search purposes, should be specific for a post and tailored to the platform. Whereas hashtags on image- and video-sharing sites are more focused on the content of a post, hashtags on Twitter or Facebook often refer to a topic of conversation or group of people.⁵ Taking a look at the popularity of individual hashtags, such as #acnescars vs #acnescar, can help place content in front of the right viewers.

Lastly, the time of a post can greatly affect its visibility. Sending updates late at night, when a majority of followers are not accessing social media, will do little for increasing post visibility. Knowing when an audience engages most often with content can influence when an individual post is shared. For example, health care practices tend to have the most engagement on Facebook between 9:00 am and 10:00 am on Wednesdays, but Tuesdays at 8:00 am receive high engagement for Instagram.⁶ 

All of the above factors, according to Dr Emer, are necessary to achieve success. “You have to be putting pictures on Yelp. You need to be putting your photos and videos on RealSelf. You have to be answering questions, sending out newsletters, educating people, building a YouTube channel,” he advised. All of these facets can increase a practice’s visibility within a local community, establish a reputation for quality, expert care, and build trust among previous and potential patients.

Growing a Network

Utilizing social media for business purposes can be overwhelming for the dermatologist, who spent years studying the skin and not consumer habits. For those trying to go digital, Dr Emer recommended a three-step process to get started:

1. Setting up a website that details the practice location, services provided, and types of payment accepted, as well as background information on the providers and staff;
2. Adding consistent branding to in-house materials, including brochures, rack cards, and before-and-after photos; and
3. Linking up to social media and posting on a daily basis.

With multiple moving parts, from content creation to posting, developing a marketing plan that includes a robust social media strategy is key. A portion of that plan needs to decide whether social media development will remain internal or if it should be outsourced. Dr Emer suggested having an in-house social media coordinator who assists with curating content. However, the dermatologist should oversee these channels as it is unlikely that the social media coordinator will be a health care expert.

In addition, the dermatologist should ensure that social media should remain compliant with FDA and HIPAA requirements. Patients should be consulted regarding their photographs being shared, and permission should be obtained prior to posting. Dr Emer has found, however, that with building a positive professional reputation, patients are more likely to share their results publicly, just as if social media were like traditional word-of-mouth marketing.

“The pros are that these people are super searchers. They’re online all the time. They’re excited. When they come in, they want a post. Patients want to tell people about [their successful outcomes] and write good reviews when they’re happy.”

Even with the positive, there can be a negative response on social media. “If [a patient is] not happy, which you know a lot of people in this industry have unrealistic expectations, regardless of what you say to them, then [social media] can be negative because they’re going to post negative things on Yelp.” These posts can hurt a reputation, but a quick response on the review from the practice and an individual follow-up by the provider could make a difference in public image.

Forecasting the Future

In addition to running his private practice, Dr Emer launched a marketing company called EmDi to help other medical practices grow online and increase engagement. With its success, it is rapidly expanding to serve influencers, skin care lines, and wellness brands. He believes it is vital to stay ahead of trends, both as a medical professional and a marketing expert. He offered a broad view of what he sees happening in the future, including hypertargeting audiences.

“Eventually, it’s going to be so instantaneous. You’ll be walking down the street, and all of these platforms are going to know it. They’re going to promote to you with general content or before-and-afters. As you’re walking, your phone might signal to you, ‘We know you got lip filler two weeks ago. Why don’t you take a look at Dr. X over here? She’s doing it live right now,’ and [a live feed of the procedure] will come to you instantly.”

The future of instant gratification is going to create a lot of unknown variables, he said, like knowing if someone’s good just because they are being promoted. Dr Emer circled back to the importance of developing a trustworthy reputation in addition to posting consistent content online.

“That’s why social media should be viewed as less of a commodity and more about expertise, trust, and education.” n

References

1. Social Media Fact Sheet. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/. Published June 12, 2019. Accessed November 1, 2019.

2. Farnan JM, Snyder Sulmasy L, Worster BK, et al; American College of Physicians Ethics, Professionalism and Human Rights Committee; American College of Physicians Council of Associates; Federation of State Medical Boards Special Committee on Ethics and Professionalism. Online medical professionalism: patient and public relationships: policy statement from the American College of Physicians and the Federation of State Medical Boards. Ann Intern Med. 2013;158(8):620-627. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-158-8-201304160-00100

3. Position Statement on Medical Professionalism in the Use of Social Media. Rosemont, IL: American Academy of Dermatology; April 28, 2018. https://server.aad.org/Forms/Policies/Uploads/PS/PS-Medical%20Professionalism%20in%20the%20Use%20of%20Social%20Media.pdf. Accessed November 1, 2019.

4. Lambert KM, Barry P, Stokes G. Risk management and legal issues with the use of social media in the healthcare setting. J Healthc Risk Manage. 2012;31(4):41-47. doi:10.1002/jhrm.20103

5. Tran T. How to Use Hashtags: A Quick and Simple Guide for Every Network. Hootsuite. https://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-use-hashtags/. Published February 25, 2019. Accessed November 4, 2019.

6. Arens E. Best times to post on social media for 2019. SproutSocial. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/best-times-to-post-on-social-media/. Published July 31, 2019. Accessed November 4, 2019.

Growing a Network

Utilizing social media for business purposes can be overwhelming for the dermatologist, who spent years studying the skin and not consumer habits. For those trying to go digital, Dr Emer recommended a three-step process to get started:

1. Setting up a website that details the practice location, services provided, and types of payment accepted, as well as background information on the providers and staff;
2. Adding consistent branding to in-house materials, including brochures, rack cards, and before-and-after photos; and
3. Linking up to social media and posting on a daily basis.

With multiple moving parts, from content creation to posting, developing a marketing plan that includes a robust social media strategy is key. A portion of that plan needs to decide whether social media development will remain internal or if it should be outsourced. Dr Emer suggested having an in-house social media coordinator who assists with curating content. However, the dermatologist should oversee these channels as it is unlikely that the social media coordinator will be a health care expert.

In addition, the dermatologist should ensure that social media should remain compliant with FDA and HIPAA requirements. Patients should be consulted regarding their photographs being shared, and permission should be obtained prior to posting. Dr Emer has found, however, that with building a positive professional reputation, patients are more likely to share their results publicly, just as if social media were like traditional word-of-mouth marketing.

“The pros are that these people are super searchers. They’re online all the time. They’re excited. When they come in, they want a post. Patients want to tell people about [their successful outcomes] and write good reviews when they’re happy.”

Even with the positive, there can be a negative response on social media. “If [a patient is] not happy, which you know a lot of people in this industry have unrealistic expectations, regardless of what you say to them, then [social media] can be negative because they’re going to post negative things on Yelp.” These posts can hurt a reputation, but a quick response on the review from the practice and an individual follow-up by the provider could make a difference in public image.

Forecasting the Future

In addition to running his private practice, Dr Emer launched a marketing company called EmDi to help other medical practices grow online and increase engagement. With its success, it is rapidly expanding to serve influencers, skin care lines, and wellness brands. He believes it is vital to stay ahead of trends, both as a medical professional and a marketing expert. He offered a broad view of what he sees happening in the future, including hypertargeting audiences.

“Eventually, it’s going to be so instantaneous. You’ll be walking down the street, and all of these platforms are going to know it. They’re going to promote to you with general content or before-and-afters. As you’re walking, your phone might signal to you, ‘We know you got lip filler two weeks ago. Why don’t you take a look at Dr. X over here? She’s doing it live right now,’ and [a live feed of the procedure] will come to you instantly.”

The future of instant gratification is going to create a lot of unknown variables, he said, like knowing if someone’s good just because they are being promoted. Dr Emer circled back to the importance of developing a trustworthy reputation in addition to posting consistent content online.

“That’s why social media should be viewed as less of a commodity and more about expertise, trust, and education.” n

References

1. Social Media Fact Sheet. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/. Published June 12, 2019. Accessed November 1, 2019.

2. Farnan JM, Snyder Sulmasy L, Worster BK, et al; American College of Physicians Ethics, Professionalism and Human Rights Committee; American College of Physicians Council of Associates; Federation of State Medical Boards Special Committee on Ethics and Professionalism. Online medical professionalism: patient and public relationships: policy statement from the American College of Physicians and the Federation of State Medical Boards. Ann Intern Med. 2013;158(8):620-627. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-158-8-201304160-00100

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