5 Ways to Engage Patients on Twitter

Updated November 7, 2014

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If you're like most doctors we work with, you probably haven't ventured too far into the social media jungle. That's a mistake, however, because social media can boost medical marketing results very quickly.

Sites like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Pinterest are great places for you to connect with patients, give you a chance to educate and inform them, get to know them better and to let them get to know you.

Here are five ways to connect with your patients on Twitter.

Be Genuine

Be yourself. There's no substitute for conveying who you are in a real and personable way. With cosmetic surgeons, especially, it is extremely important to connect with people to build their trust.

Sure, you have credentials that prove your expertise, but being a real person that they can relate to will help draw patients right to you like a moth to flame.

They will want to hear what you have to say, will be more likely to click in to your website links, and will be glad to refer you to their loved ones when the time is right.

Be Engaging

Post useful information to engage your patients for optimal medical social media marketing results. Before you post anything on Twitter, T.H.I.N.K. about it:

• T is for thought-provoking. Is your Tweet something that will really get your patients thinking? If yes, post it; if not, find something else to say.
• H is for helpful. Are you about to post something that will help your patients learn something new and will help them make a decision to come in to see you?
• I is for imaginative. Your Tweets should be somewhat entertaining. In other words, say what you have to say in a more imaginative way to better engage patients.
• N is for news. Something that is newsworthy is great to Tweet. It can be a link to a cosmetic surgery article in the news, a new announcement from your practice or anything else you think patients would be interested in.
• K is for knowledgeable. If you're posting to your Twitter account yourself, you'll have no problem with this one. However, if you hire someone else to send out Tweets for you, be sure they have some Internet resources and medical journals handy so that every Tweet is full of knowledge to impart on your patients.

Be Involved

Use the retweet, hashtag, and tagging functions to give props to your Twitter followers! This is a big one, trust us. Your acknowledgement of their Tweet helps to build a relationship while positively acknowledging that what they said was important to you and should be shared.

Retweet anything from your followers that you find interesting and add a short note in your retweet. Something like "Loved this new blog from @username."

Be Responsive

Reply to people's Tweets. Sometimes, patients will ask questions about an article they found, they may have questions about a procedure, or may even have a specific comment about someone else's Tweet.

Scan through your followers' comments and get into the conversation by replying. Offer short replies, links to expert articles you have found online, or offer to have them call you so you can answer their concern in more detail.

Replying is a great way to reach out to your patients in a way that none of their other doctors are...guaranteed.

Be Outgoing

Reach out to new followers. It may seem like it is completely unreasonable to keep track of dozens of new followers as they arrive at your Twitter account, but you can easily do this through free Twitter management tools available online.

Hootsuite and TweetDeck are just two that work quite nicely. They can auto-send direct messages to your new followers the moment they follow you. Use the list of direct messages that the online tool has sent out to personally reach out to new followers within a week of their follow.

It will take you as little as 10 minutes to build a lifetime relationship with potential patients.

Need Help with Social Media Marketing?

These tips will help you engage your Twitter followers and grow your follower base. These are real, tangible ways to attract more patients to your aesthetic practice. If you need help with medical social media, SEO, or video services, contact us or call us today!