You have probably arrived at this article (welcome!) because you are wondering if social media is really THAT important for hearing professionals. Some questions you may ask yourself include:
Why is Social Media Marketing so important for my Hearing Clinic?
If I do it myself, am I sharing the right content?
If I pay someone to do it, are they sharing the right content?
Why is original content better than 3rd party content?
Can I have a platform that allows for both professional management and allows for me to share content as well?
With so many questions, you may be unsure if you are doing the right thing. Let’s review the basics and make sure you are investing the appropriate time and resources into your social media strategy.
Social Media for Hearing Professionals
Social Media is the reason many businesses, including audiology and hearing clinics, have seen such rapid growth. Here is why:
- Overall, about 49% of the world’s population has a social media account. That’s 3.8 BILLION users across the globe. (Source: Emarsys)
- Broken down, that number is approximately 90.4% of Millennials, 77.5% of Generation X, and 48.2% of Baby Boomers use social media in some form. (Source: eMarketer)
- Also, 54% of social browsers use social media to research products and services before they buy. (Source: GlobalWebIndex)
Products and services are exactly what we as hearing professionals are providing. How many times have you had to explain why the $199 amplifier advertised on TV or Facebook is different from what you are providing? Sometimes, the ad on Facebook will reflect some negative comments about said product. In the same way, you can be generating positive comments.
A few years back, we could do some cold calling, send some direct mail advertising, and maybe even some emails and the leads would come pouring into our clinics. Not anymore. Conventional marketing methods are not only no longer effective, and even pay-per-click advertising can be so expensive that the return on investment isn’t worth it!
Social Media – A Place For Business To Grow
The likelihood that a consumer will recommend a brand (or provider) on social media to others after having a positive experience is about 71%. (Source: Ambassador) However, we need to ask for it and provide a place for them to leave the reviews and comments. It makes sense, if people are going to voice a concern or a compliment, they want to do it where they’ll be heard, and get a response.
Social media is the first place people go to voice their opinion, good or bad. And the effort you make on social media could make or break your reputation online.
Social media is also an ideal place to enhance your content marketing; content marketing is more important than ever. A few great articles, carefully (with professional SEO) shared over social media platforms, inform, and add value. They help build trust and add value to the products and services YOU are providing. So, you can take the opportunity to post information on social media that shows potential patients what makes you unique. This is a chance for you to connect with your audience.
The Bottom Line
How easy is it for people to find your business online? If you are relying completely on your website, it’s very difficult. And what about your name? Does a search provide the correct results? You may think that has nothing to do with social media, and it can all be very confusing, but it all ties together.
It is very important for you to have a simple way to access and track this data (preferably all in one place). You don’t have time to be searching through emails and reading reports. You should be able to see what is going to be posted to your social media accounts, add to it, and monitor it, or leave it alone and know that it is doing exactly what it is designed to do – engage your current clients and customers, all while driving more clients and customers in your door.
Finally, I’ll leave you with this:
“Add up everything you spend monthly on traditional marketing and digital ads. Now look at that number and realize that you could have reached at least a 100X more potential customers through strategic social media marketing.
Let that sink in.
It’s true that most of those views and interactions wouldn’t actually translate into leads, but it’s the same with the conventional methods – not every phone call turns into a warm lead, nor does an ad read signify a sale. Spend your marketing dollars where they count. Right now, they count on social media platforms.” – quote from assetdigital.com.
Renee Shumaker, MA-A
Sources:
https://www.zendesk.com/blog/customer-service-through-social-media/
https://www.audiologyonline.com/ask-the-experts/social-media-important-for-marketing-13184
