Many health and wellness professionals may not think of social media marketing as pertinent to their marketing strategy; however, with the growing popularity of social media over the past few years, truly anyone can benefit from marketing their practice on social media. Social media provides healthcare professionals an opportunity to virtually connect with potential clients they may not have otherwise been able to work with. In this post, we’ll be discussing the importance of social media marketing ideas for wellness professionals and seven strategies to develop an effective strategy. 

If you’re truly looking to grow your wellness business, Healthie’s practice management software can help through client retention strategies, facilitating partnerships and more. Get started for free today!

Why Should Health and Wellness Professionals Use Social Media Marketing Strategies? 

To begin, you can use social media to make yourself a staple within your niche. Many social media users turn to professionals online to learn about their health, since there is low investment and high reward. You can capitalize on this opportunity, and prove your expertise and credibility to your audience, leading to overall more exposure to potential clients. 

Additionally, health and wellness social media marketing allows you to not only demonstrate your knowledge, but the effectiveness of your work. Social media is a great place to share success stories, with permission of course, to prove that your health interventions work for your clients. Followers and leads will be impressed with your work and feel more trusting of you as a healthcare provider. 

Social media can also act as the jumping off point for the rest of your traditional marketing strategies. It is an easy place to collect client contact information, through direct messages, question buttons, or even comments, to leverage later on to target the lead directly. 

7 Principles of Social Media Marketing

The following social media principles are key to shaping your social media marketing strategy for your wellness business. Following these principles will help you develop a strong relationship with your social media following, and allow you to convert leads to paying customers. 

Authenticity

Be authentic, transparent, and confident! Do not post things you think you should be posting about; post about what is genuine and authentic to you. Your followers will notice the difference. Confidence doesn’t mean being perfect. It means making mistakes and continuing on anyway. Mistakes are real and it helps to show that you are a real human to your following. They don’t want a scripted perfect person, they want someone they can connect with. 

Consistency

When you start out, you don’t necessarily have to post multiple times a day, but remain consistent. Remember, you are developing a relationship, so the more touch points, the more they get to know you. Be careful not to post just to post though, your followers will pick up on that. 

Quality over Quantity

Ignore the numbers; don’t worry about the number of followers and likes. You’re going after quality, not quantity. If people start unfollowing you once you start posting your authentic, genuine stuff, that’s ok! You want to filter out people who don’t fit with your target market as soon as you can. Even if you only have five followers that are committed, that’s five potential clients. Five extra clients a month is a great place to be.  

Value

Think of value first. This is where you put your ideal client first, i.e. put yourself in your client’s shoes. What is valuable to them? Go back to your ideal client profile, ask current clients, or even ask your following. You can use Instagram story polls or buttons to gauge what they want to see more of on your page. With Healthie, you can even create original educational content that resonates with your clients. To learn how to set up a free Starter account today, click here.

Engagement

Posting content for viewing is great, but engagement is even better. Messaging, commenting, liking, and otherwise engaging with your audience is a great way to make connections in an organic way. Take a genuine interest in your followers; take time to scroll through their profile and comment on something you truly appreciate or are impressed by that is personalized to them. It will lead to a positive relationship. 

Human Connection

Don’t lead with your credentials. You can certainly let people know, by having it listed somewhere where it’s not the main star of the show. Instead, lead with your passion, your value, the fact that you can relate to your clients. You understand what your clients are going through and you can help them achieve results. 

Remember your Brand Personality

Your brand personality can be encompassed by just a few adjectives. Simply reducing your brand to 3-5 simple words can help communicate a quick but comprehensive understanding of the personality that should come across in your marketing materials. Now, be sure that your personality is consistent across your entire social media presence.

Healthie for Wellness Businesses

Healthie’s practice management and telehealth software was built with wellness professionals in mind. With a host of back-office management features, as well as a comprehensive client engagement suite, you can easily run a business while working with your clients to achieve healthy habits and lifestyle practices.  When working with clients through Healthie’s free Starter Plan, you gain:

• Insurance and Out-of-Pocket Billing
• Client Engagement Suite
• Online scheduling
• Custom charting, form, and document libraries
• Reporting and KPI tracking 

Streamline your business operations and client management. Get started with Healthie, the all-in-one practice management solution for wellness professionals.