So you decided to start using social media to promote your pharmacy…. Now what?
There are a lot of answers to that question. You may have done a Google search to find out what your best next step is, and you found hundreds of answers…
“Develop a plan!”
“Hire a social media strategist!”
“Buy ad space!”
“Start on Instagram!”
“Start on Facebook!”
Although much of this advice is well intentioned, it can be very confusing. But within the conflicting information you can find the true answer: there is no “right” way to do social media. Social media is currently the wild west for all businesses – a vast territory with excitement at every turn.
Even though you may be a newcomer to this seemingly lawless virtual western frontier, we can provide some guidelines to help you along your journey to social media success.
First let’s discuss some guidelines that will apply across all platforms, and then we will discuss some specifics on the three major platforms (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram). The first helpful guideline of social media is…
ENGAGE YOUR FOLLOWERS!
Social media is SOCIAL. It is meant to be a dialogue – between friends, or between businesses and their followers. For your pharmacy, your future followers will likely be your current patients and potential patients. You don’t have to respond to EVERY comment they leave on EVERY post, but people like to know they are being heard, even if its virtual. If someone leaves a comment you should either respond to it or “like” it, if the comment does not warrant a verbal response.
When your followers feel like they are being paid attention to, they are more likely to pay attention to your posts, and share them (virtually) with their friends and followers. Which brings us to our next guideline…
CHECK YOUR MESSAGES
All three platforms allow your followers to send you a direct message. This means the message is sent privately to your inbox on the platform. Many people use these features to communicate with businesses if they don’t feel like calling, or if it is after hours and phone calls are not an option. Given that you are running a pharmacy business, HIPAA regulations still apply so you should use your best judgement for what information can be discussed online, even if it is in a private message.
SO WHAT IS A HASHTAG?
It is your friend! A hashtag is something you will add in to a Facebook post, captions of pictures on Facebook or Instagram, or in a tweet. A hashtag will group together public posts that have the same hashtag used. It is signified by the “#” sign, followed by a word. (Example: #Pharmacy). When you include a hashtag in your posts, the hashtag itself becomes clickable, so you and your followers can click on it to find posts that included the same hashtag.
Operated on: Computer online browser, mobile online browser, mobile application
What is it?
Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world. Users create individual profiles to share information with each other (status updates, photos, articles, etc). Individuals will “like” and “follow” businesses and pages they are interested in to keep up to date.
How to set it up
As a pharmacy, you will need to set up a Facebook “Page” which is used for businesses, celebrities, or for anything other than a personal profile. You can find simple directions for how to set up a business page here!
What to Post
Guideline: Share what you think your followers will like
We know that you are not a mind-reader, but you probably have a good idea of what your followers want to see from you in their Facebook feeds. Likely they didn’t follow you to hear your review on the latest Star Wars movie. But they probably want to hear if you are having a sale, hosting an event, or celebrating an industry award! Just make sure the content ties back to your pharmacy, or the community you serve!
Guideline: It doesn’t have to be all business, all the time
Like The Shining so happily pointed out “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Your Facebook posts do not have to be purely business. If you don’t have any updates about your pharmacy, you can share articles about other relevant content. For your diabetic patients you may consider sharing an article about simple exercises to do at home. For your patients with high blood pressure, you can post a delicious low-sodium recipe for them to try out. Think outside the box! What you post does not have to be strictly medical, but it should be relevant to the patients that follow you.
This video shows 4 recipes for healthy dessert options. You can share this for your patients who may be on a diet, but the rest of your followers can also enjoy this!
How often to post
Guideline: It’s up to you… but be consistent
Spoiler alert! That is the same guideline for most platforms. (You’ll see the same advice for Instagram below). The most important thing is consistency. If you post seven times within 24 hours, and then nothing for two weeks, the point of each post is likely to be lost. Followers will likely not look at every post if they are too close together. For Facebook, posting once a day or every-other-day will suffice.
Best posting times
Quite a few studies measure the effectiveness of Facebook posts during different times of the day. Most agree that the best times to post on Facebook are mid-day between Wednesday and Sunday. Posts Thursdays and Fridays see the best engagement between 1:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m. and posts on the weekends are best around 12:00 p.m.
Special rules for Facebook
Facebook Pages have areas to post your pharmacy’s information like your address, phone number, and hours of operation. It is critical that this information is kept up to date. It can be frustrating for a current or potential patient to call you only to find that the number is now out of order. Failing to keep this information updated can result in the loss of a future patient.
Operated on: Computer online browser, mobile online browser, mobile application
What is it?
Twitter is the social media platform where people and businesses “tweet” messages to their followers in 140 characters or less. These tweets can include links and images. Users can follow each other and “mention” other users in their tweets.
How to set it up
Twitter does not have specific profiles for businesses. Users can set up their profile online or via the mobile app. For Twitter, you do not typically need to include specific contact information, but it is best to link a website with more information, like your Facebook page.
What to post
Guideline: Keep it short and sweet!
Sometimes posting on twitter can be a little tricky, given the short character limit. Anything that may need more words to convey the proper message is best left to Instagram or Facebook. However, you can link any website in a tweet and any links you include will automatically be shortened, so that the link will not eat up your character count. Since Twitter is more conversational, your tweets don’t always have to be big messages. Something as simple as “Happy Friday! Our Pharmacy hopes you have a fun weekend!” is appropriate on this platform.
How often to post
Guideline: Go Crazy
Twitter is known for its users constantly updating their feed with information about EVERYTHING going on around them. While you still want to keep your content relevant to your pharmacy, it is hard to be considered “annoying” on Twitter.
Best posting times
Research suggests that Twitters ideal posting times are between 12:00PM to 3:00PM on weekdays. This is when followers are most active, so they will be more likely to reply to OR re-tweet your tweets.
Special rules for Twitter
Twitter has a polling feature, which allows you to conduct short, impromptu polls with your followers. This can be used for fun (“What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?”) or for basic research purposes (“What other services would you like to see offered at our pharmacy?”)
Operated on: Mobile application
What is it?
Instagram is the social media platform designed to share images, generally one at a time. Users can edit their photos with the app’s filters to make them more unique. Instagram is more visual than Facebook or Twitter.
How to set it up
Although Instagram has a support website that can be accessed from a laptop or desktop, this social media platform is used completely through their mobile smart phone app. To set up a profile, you will need to download the app. Simple instructions for the process can be found here! You can create an Instagram business account which can be linked to your Facebook page.
What to post
Guideline: Take great pictures!
You don’t have to be a professional photographer, but for Instagram posts, it is best to ensure that your photos are not blurry, grainy, or poorly lit.
Guideline: Memes are king!
Memes are hard to define, but they are generally pictures that have a funny caption that a lot of people can relate to. These are especially popular on Instagram. You should post content related to your pharmacy, but it does not all have to be serious. Your patients will appreciate all the information they can gather from your profile, as well as the occasional comic relief (see the example below).
An example of funny (but appropriate) meme to share with your followers
Guideline: Hashtags are your friend
Instagram allows you to include up to 30 hashtags per post, and this is the easiest way to share content beyond your followers. For instance, if you post something regarding a vitamin sale, you may want to include hashtags like “#Vitamins “#Sale” “#HealthyLiving” “Pharmacy” and “#Nutrition” You don’t always have to use 30 hashtags, but you should consider using 4 or more to get the most exposure, even if they seem redundant. (#Vitamin has 1.4 million posts and #Vitamins has 2 million associated posts.) You can get creative here!
How often to post
Guideline: It’s up to you… but be consistent
Déjà vu?! Maybe… but this is going to be some of the best advice for any social media platform. There is no magic formula, and you will figure out what works best for your pharmacy. Still, keep consistent, aim to post at least once a day, or once every other day, so you aren’t a stranger to your followers! They wanted to follow you for a reason!
Best posting times
Instagram is unique in its peak posting times, because it is almost ALWAYS peak posting time for Instagram. On the contrary, it has a slow-down in traffic between 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily. This is great, because you can post content at nearly any time of the day, and your followers, or those engaging with your hashtags are still very likely to see your posts.
