Beyond The Buzz: The Latest Social Media Trends For Healthcare Marketing

Each year for the past seven years Social Media Examiner has released its Social Media Marketing Industry Report. The report provides valuable insights into emerging trends in social media marketing. This week, we will explore three of those key trends and how they might be leveraged for your healthcare marketing.

Key Trend #1 Facebook Dominates

Thirty-five percent of marketers have no idea whether their Facebook efforts are effective.

Social Media Examiner is not the only report to reveal the dominance of Facebook – the most recent Pew Internet Social Media Update found that 71% of all internet users are on Facebook.

Tip: Just because Facebook dominates social platforms, this does not mean you should be on it. It’s important to establish if your audience are in fact there, before putting all your efforts into Facebook marketing.

It’s interesting to note that despite the dominance of Facebook, most marketers report that they don’t know whether their Facebook outreach is actually working.

Thirty-five percent of marketers have no idea whether their Facebook efforts are effective.

Take Action: If you want to know how effective your Facebook marketing is, consider running a Facebook Ad Campaign which will help you clarify your goals and measure your results.

Key Trend #2 Blogging and Visual Assets Most Important Content Marketing Strategies

As can be seen from this chart, blogging and the use of visual assets are almost neck and neck in terms of importance to marketers.

Take Action: Get visual with your social media. Read this article to learn how. Not sure what to blog about? Here are 25 ideas to try today.

Key Trend #3 Time Spent On Social Media Is Increasing

Anyone can do social media, but to do it right takes time. 25% of survey respondents report spending 6-10 hours each week. For many of us that figure is even higher.

Take Action: Make more efficient use of your time with these social media management tools.

Conclusion

It is encouraging to see the key benefits of social media realized in this report. From increased web traffic to enhanced customer service and market-place insight, there is no doubt that social media has an important role to play in healthcare marketing. That trend is set to continue and as marketers we must regularly ask ourselves “Are we keeping up?”

Download the report in full here