How Can Medical Technology Companies Leverage From Social Media? by Rebecca Jordan
Social media is one of the most popular communication channels that bring business closer to its consumers. In the recent past, businesses from every vertical have joined the social bandwagon to educate their consumers, understand their issues and needs, engage with them, rope in new customers, tap new markets, and to promote their products or services. Why should medical technology companies be any different?
In fact, medical technology companies can use social media as more than a marketing tool – it can be used for serving patients, physicians, and community, uplifting the brand image and spread social awareness.
According to Pew Research, 72% of internet users admittedly searched for healthcare information online in the past year. 61% of physicians say they also use social media a few times a week to search for health information and just under half say that they participate in the conversation.
Therefore, medical technology companies can engage their audience by creating the right information pool that can benefit patients and physicians alike. Such community can be a great tool for spreading social awareness regarding health-related issues and medical conditions.
According to a recent research by PwC, medical consumers spend 24 times as much time on health-related community sites and social media platforms than they do on a company, physician, and hospital websites. Over 67% of physicians use social media for professional use, and according to the Journal of Medical Research, more than half of them think social media as an effective way to access current, high-quality medical information.
Having a strong social media presence for a number of reasons can have a positive effect on the business goals of any medical technology company. Here are a few tips a medical technology company should apply to create a strong media presence and reap the benefits.
Define Your Brand
Social media can help medical technology companies humanize their product and define their message in the eyes of a prospective buyer. For example, a medical technology company can create a video or infographic regarding the correct way to use the latest medical technology product and put it on Facebook to help people understand the correct usage.
Promote Relevant Content
Do your products receive compliments from physicians or patients online? Is there a blog post stating how your product helped a patient/physician, feel free to share the same to establish yourself as an expert in the field. Also, share the content of experts and participate in conversation relevant to your product. You can even use historical content relevant to your products. For example – use it as an opportunity to start a conversation about Greiner Bio-One’s new square petri dish and its contribution in modern medical research.
Educating
MedTech companies can join in health-related conversations online to educate users/doctors/hospital administrators on how their product can solve the problem.
Focus On Goals
Social media can act as a link between a company and it’s sales goals as it can be used to target prospects. You can easily get noticed by your prospect through a carefully crafted social media strategy, so when your prospects are ready to make a purchase, they choose you.
Develop Trust
Nothing can show the depth of your knowledge other than a well-written, regularly-updated blog about your industry that is promoted via Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. This will help establish your expertise in your industry and engage your audience who will soon start seeing information from you. However, one has to ensure that the content you post should be in adherence to FDA guidelines. Otherwise, it can tarnish your brand reputation faster than you think.
These are sure-fire ways medical technology companies can leverage from social media and grow rapidly.
Source: http://www.sociableblog.com/2018/06/11/medical-technology-companies-leverage-from-social-media/