Social media has fundamentally changed the way medical technology organizations and their ecosystems interact. It serves as much more than just a marketing tool. Social Media channels can provide a wealth of distinct opportunities to effectively serve patients, the community, and physicians – all while building social awareness, enhancing brand affinity, and improving SEO ranking.
Today, most healthcare and MedTech companies have a social media presence in one form or another. While they still vary significantly in terms of strategy and digital maturity, they have all made one crucial first step – tapping into the reality of the modern sales, public relations, and digital marketing landscape. For the MedTech entities that do it well, social media provides a multi-point experience for each of their target segments, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
According to PwC, medical consumers spend 24 times as much time on health-related community sites and social media platforms than they do on company, physician, and hospital websites. Over 80 percent of physicians use social media for professional use, and according to the Journal of Medical Research, more than half of them perceive social media to be an effective way to access current, high-quality medical information.
It’s in every medical technology company’s best interest, then, to have a strong presence on social media for a variety of reasons that relate directly to business goals. Here are 4 more reasons why MedTech companies can’t afford to ignore social media:
#1: Social Media is an Industry Necessity – Not a Luxury
Surgeons, patients, and medical device sales reps are utilizing social media right now to view educational videos and surgical techniques via YouTube, or take a look at an interbody device collection via Pinterest. Indeed, social media for MedTech can provide a powerful influence if you’re looking to illustrate the value of a product, showcase satisfaction among surgeons, hospitals, and patients, or are interested in providing promotional programs for sales teams.
#2: It’s also an SEO Force Multiplier
Medical technology companies know that search engine optimization (SEO) is important for their website – but they’re not as aware of how important social media is for SEO as well. In fact, your company’s social media presence on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter allows you to incorporate important, relevant short tail and long tail keywords and links that will allow search engines like Google to improve your search rankings, so your customers can find your business when searching for solutions.
#3: MedTech Needs Reputation Management
Regularly monitoring comments and other responses on social media can also prevent hardship down the road. A qualified MedTech marketing team can help you with regulation strategy. For example, if a device company hosts a forum and a consumer promotes off-label use of the device, the company should immediately post a disclaimer explaining that the company does not promote off-label use. Your ability to monitor your brand and its reputation are amplified.
#4: It Pays to Go Live
The first live tweet of a surgery was in 2009 by the Henry Ford Health System, with Mayo Clinic following in its footsteps soon after. It wasn’t until 2011 or 2012, though, that we began to see a high adoption of social media in healthcare and MedTech. Now, live-tweeting, and visual platforms like Instagram Live and YouTube, are prevalent in showcasing the newest innovations and practices in the medical technology industry, further strengthening relationships between patients, surgeons, and the medical community in an industry that benefits from visual interaction and education.
Social media is also far less expensive than traditional marketing methods, making it even easier for medical technology organizations to reach surgeons through video and online promotion while maintaining a non-negotiable marketing, sales, and PR budget.
Interested in learning more about how MedTech Momentum can help you with Social Media? Contact us today!
