HMDG’s Top 5 Tips for Social Media
Most clinics treat social media like a showcase for other clinicians rather than a way to attract patients. Posts that impress peers do not fill your diary. This article is part of our Complete Guide to Marketing for Clinics. Below are five rules we use at HMDG to make social media work for real patient bookings.
1. Social is for patients, not peers
Most clinics fill their feeds with content designed to impress other clinicians. Clever rehab drills, clinical debates, snippets of CPD. None of it attracts patients. Patients care about their pain and how you can solve it. They want to know if you can help them get back to football or stop their back hurting at work. If your social media is designed for applause from colleagues, you are missing the point. Build it for patients.
2. Consistency beats inspiration
Posting whenever you feel like it does not work. Algorithms reward consistency and patients notice when your page looks abandoned. You do not need to be a creative genius, you just need to show up regularly. One or two simple posts a week is better than ten in a row followed by silence. Social media is about momentum. Small consistent effort compounds, sporadic effort disappears.
3. Engage, do not broadcast
Social media is not a noticeboard. If you are only posting announcements and never replying, you look cold. Patients expect interaction. Reply to comments, answer messages, and show that there is a human being on the other side. People book people, not faceless logos. Engagement builds trust, and trust leads to bookings.
4. Local wins over viral
A hundred thousand views mean nothing if none of those people live near you. Ten bookings from people in your town is far better. Use local hashtags, geotags, and community groups. Make content relevant to your area. Viral reach is vanity. Local relevance is revenue.
5. Repurpose everything
You do not need to constantly create new content. A blog can become ten posts. A testimonial can become a graphic. A video can be cut into reels. Repurposing content saves time, avoids panic posting, and keeps your message consistent. The clinics that look the busiest on social are usually just smarter about recycling what they already have.
Social media only drives results if it is consistent, patient-focused, and interactive. Viral reach without local relevance is worthless. For the full marketing framework, return to our Complete Guide to Marketing for Clinics. Or move on to the next chapter: Blogs for Clinics.