Top Tips to Boost Facebook Engagement - Health Works Collective

For a hospital, Facebook is a great social medium to connect with current and potential patients. It provides a platform to inspire people, entertain people, and promote the benefits of your facility.

But why do some hospitals get loads of followers and engagement, while others that are just as reputable struggle to get people to respond to their content?

An extensive research study, conducted by the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford University, looked to find answers to this very important question.

Here are a few of their findings and how they can relate with a healthcare related Facebook page:

Be emotional. Promote your fundraising on your Facebook page with videos and pictures that pull emotional strings that make your visitors want to get involved.

Less is more. Writing shorter posts isn’t just handy on Twitter. Overly long or complex messages seem to lessen engagement rates. Stick to the point and keep it short. If you do have more to say, include a link to your facility’s blog or website so they have the option to “read more”.

Be interactive. Ask questions. People love to give their opinion. By providing “fill in the blank” type posts are sure to increase engagement. For example, ask people to finish the sentence: “The healthiest thing you ate yesterday was____?” Trivia quizzes and multiple-choice questions are also great ways to get people involved.

Use images. Pages tend to get more comments and likes when a status update includes a photo or video. This doesn’t have to be complicated, it can be as simple as creating a graphic from an inspirational quote and posting that.

Different types of posts work for some businesses while others don’t. In order to know what kind of posts work best for your hospital or facility, you will need to do some trial and error to get a feel for your Facebook followers and what types of posts they respond best to.