Social Media Benefits and Tips

 

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Why Use Social Media?

The goal of social media is to build connections with your target audience(s). According to a 2016 Pew Research Foundation report, 79% of internet users (68% of all  U.S. adults) use Facebook. The same research showed that 29% are on LinkedIn daily, and that it is second to Facebook in popularity among those over the age of 65. For those of you that believe that your older patients are not online, think again.

Seniors are using social media, too. Pew found that 72% of adults ages 50-64 use Facebook, while 62% are 65 and older. In a 2014 AARP study, 35% of seniors 65+ use social media multiple times each week and 50% of adults ages 50-65 do the same. Social media is a smart and inexpensive way to build brand awareness and loyalty by converting social followers to loyal customers by steering them to your products and services. Ready to get on board? We've got some helpful tips and resources to get you started.  

Social Media Tips

  • Post regularly. Post at minimum once per day on Facebook and three to five tweets per day on Twitter
    • Create a social media calendar based on pharmacy promotions, health tips, industry news, upcoming events, etc
    • Create categories to make sure you include a variety of posts and topics that your patients want to know.
    • For events, promotions and evergreen content, use time-saving automation tools to post
      • Social Oomph
      • Dlvr.it
      • Postplanner, etc.
  • Be conversational. You are addressing real people, so be authentic
  • Post photos. A picture or meme is worth more than 1,000 words online
  • Let customers speak for you. Your website and social media page should feature testomonials. Don't ignore negative feedback. Always respond to comments, even if it's requesting that the customer call or send a private message for resolution.
  • Provide news they can use
  • Celebrate victories, holidays and industry related recognition (pharmacy week, pharmacy technician day, etc)
  • Recognize and thank long-standing customers, employees, and community and business partners
  • Know when your audience is online
    • Facebook: Early morning, lunch and prime time hours
    • Twitter: Throughout the day as it is very mobile-friendly
    • For specific information: Look at the reach of each post and take advantage of those times. Test out which times of the day you get the most likes, retweets and comments find out when you have your largest audiences

Common Social Media Platforms Used by Pharmacists

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Used by 86% of Independent Pharmacists
-2017 NCPA Digest 

Facebook Benefits

  • Increase exposure to existing and prospective patients
  • Build brand loyalty
  • Increase web traffic
  • Keep up with competitors
  • Quick and easy patient support
  • Low cost marketing 

 Resources

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Used by 23% of Independent Pharmacists
-2017 NCPA Digest 

 Twitter Benefits

  • Monitor your brand reputation
  • Gain direct access to industry leaders
  • Get instant feedback about your services and products
  • Drive web traffic
  • Keep up with latest industry news and trends 
  • Gather real-time competitive intelligence 

Resources

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Used by 49% of College Graduates
- 2016 Pew Research Center 

 LinkedIn Benefits

  • Introduce new services or products
  • Find job and intern candidates
  • Differentiate yourself from competitors
  • Improve your ranking in search engines
  • B2B networking: find vendors, suppliers and other third-party resources
                        

Resources

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 Used by 64% of Independent Pharmacists
-2017 NCPA Digest

 Mobile App Benefits

  • Increase visibility to customers
  • Enhance customer experiences and engagement
  • Manage, monitor and track finances
  • Showcase range of products and services
  • Create a direct marketing channel
  • Cultivate customer loyalty 

Resources

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56% of Online Adults use more than One Social Media Platform
 - 2016 Pew Research Center

General Social Media Resources

 

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