How Social Media Listening Can Help Doctors Connect to Patients

Social media gives patients a voice. If they can’t speak to doctors directly, they go online to ask questions, discuss healthcare news, and air out their complaints. One viral post could result in dozens of new clients or a PR disaster. For these reasons, more doctors are investing in social media listening tactics.

 

What is Social Media Listening?

 

Social media listening involves observing the Internet’s thoughts on your practice. This includes comments, direct messages (DMs), social media posts, reviews, and news articles. Specialized software consolidates this data and converts it to graphs, charts, and searchable databases.

 

How Does Social Media Listening Benefit Doctors?

 

Real-Time Feedback

 

If a patient had a bad experience at the doctor’s office, they’ll probably leave a negative review or post about it on social media. Increasing complaints suggest a trend that could tank the office’s reputation. Doctors use this information to assess the situation and try to make it right, restoring their public image.

 

During a major scandal, social media listening helps doctors assess the damage. You’ll gather comments and news articles to understand the biggest complaints. Conversely, an influx of positive articles and feedback shows you what you’re doing right.

 

Updates on Health Concerns

 

Whether they’re discussing minor flu outbreaks or full-scale pandemics, people share health information online. Doctors use social media listening to understand their patients’ concerns and act accordingly. For example, if you notice several complaints about the flu, you might share an article about flu prevention techniques and invite patients to get vaccinated.

 

Social media also provides access to health trends, such as diets, exercise, and self-care tips. When doctors stay on top of these trends, they’re prepared to answer questions and combat misinformation. This is especially important when patients engage in dangerous fad diets and TikTok “challenges.”

 

Ad Campaign Analytics

 

Once you’ve run a marketing campaign, social media listening helps you gauge the effectiveness. To start, you’ll see what people are saying about your ad. Does it look clean and professional or tacky and maudlin? Which aspects were most effective? This data helps you polish future advertisements and run stronger campaigns.

 

You’ll also estimate how many people viewed your campaign and whether it struck a chord with the media. If your campaign accrued hundreds of tweets and dozens of articles about your impressive marketing, you’ll prepare yourself for increased traffic. However, a campaign that earned a few dozen tweets and a bad review might need some refining.

 

How Can Doctors Monitor Social Media?

 

Social media monitoring tools allow doctors to view news, comments, and updates across the Internet from a single dashboard. With sentiment analysis, they view the media’s perspective at a glance. This empowers them to take action during crises, consolidate data for shareholders, and gather media coverage.

 

Overall, social media listening is more subtle than other forms of marketing, but doctors provide the best care when they understand their patients’ needs. Better service leads to five-star reviews and positive word of mouth, and it also helps patients feel connected with their healthcare providers, especially if they are reaching out via social media.