Social media is for kids, right?

Not anymore.

Many independent pharmacies struggle with figuring out the best way to reach customers on their communities. Ensuring your customers receive the right message, at the right time, and within an environment where they will be more likely to take positive action can be difficult. But, in this day and age, the ability for you to reach them quickly has evolved at an incredible pace. No communication platform has grown faster than digital communications. It is estimated that 87% of American adults use the Internet on a regular basis, and 70% utilize social media profiles (1).

Pharmacy customers represent an unmatched diversity, with members of every generation—millennials, Gen Xers, and even baby boomers—engaging through social media.

With social media’s proven ability to connect people directly with their interests, platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest (to name just a few), along with brand specific blogs or mobile applications, independent pharmacies now have an unprecedented opportunity to develop rich relationships with their customers outside of the clinical setting. With the right digital relationship, you can foster customer loyalty and increase revenue through cross selling and upselling.

These interactions are the building blocks to stronger customer relationships and can be funneled into promoting wellness and positive patient behaviors – a benefit to the customer, the pharmacy, and even the payer in the form better patient health outcomes being realized – all while providing avenue direct path to invaluable insights, feedback, and customer engagement.

Social Media Stats that Impact the Healthcare Industry

Here’s just a few statistics that illustrate how wide a net social media casts. As of April, 2016, there were:

• 1. 6 billion users on Facebook
• 555 million users on Tumblr
• 400 million users on Instagram
• 320 million users on Twitter
• 300 million users on Google+
• 100 million users on LinkedIn (2)

And, that’s just a sample of the active social media sites. But, none of this matters unless you can see just how much social media actually impacts health and the healthcare industry, and most importantly, you:

• 90% of respondents from 18 to 24 years of age said they would trust medical information shared by others on their social media networks.
• More than 40% of consumers say that information found via social media affects the way they deal with their health.
• 54% of patients are very comfortable with their providers seeking advice from online communities to better treat their conditions
• 32% of adults are likely to share information about their health on social media sites with a drug company.
• 60% of doctors said that social media has improved the quality of care delivered to their patients. (3)

Encourage Wellness and Good Habits

One of the largest (and still growing) areas of interest on social media today revolves around health and wellness. Fitness groups, weight loss tips, homeopathic remedies – if it’s health related, there’s a group or a page devoted to the topic. These groups offer the perfect opportunity for the independent pharmacy to engage their customers outside of the pharmacy setting, where they’re comfortable and more likely to interact in a positive manner, which can lead to better outcomes.

Start Small, Go Big

If your pharmacy is not already using social media, there is no need to jump in to the deep end of the pool. Dip your toe into the water and start small. Get started with a consumer-friendly social media platform like Facebook or Twitter, which have large memberships, and engage with your customers one conversation or campaign at a time. If you are unsure about how to get started, talk to a social media consultant that specializes in pharmacy marketing. Or, leverage your staff; you might be surprised how many social media gurus you have working for you.

There’s no doubt that social media offers a priceless value to smart pharmacies who utilize the massive potential to promote health and wellness to all of their users, young and old, patients or non-patients.

It goes without saying that implementing a successful social media plan will take time, strategy, and a trained eye to ensure privacy and HIPAA compliance policies. But the initial investment could be well worth the savvy independent pharmacy’s time and resources.

Your membership benefits include access to our Partners and Blog pages – quick and easy ways to keep track of best practices. Be sure to check back often for updates on how beginners can get the most benefit out of social media for their pharmacies!

Sources:

1. http://www.pewinternet.org/data-trend/internet-use/internet-use-over-time/
2. http://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/
3. https://getreferralmd.com/2013/09/healthcare-social-media-statistics/

Be sure to follow this blog for more regulatory and reimbursement intel, tips and bulletins from your partners at alliantRx.