Showing posts with label Doctor Social Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Doctor Social Media. Show all posts

Thursday, April 30, 2026

Social Media Tools For Physicians?


Whether you are an avid tweeter, write a blog, or are a novice to professional social media, your online presence has the power to connect you with potential patients just down the street or colleagues working on similar research across the world..


Having a strong online voice is part of your brand. 

Any communication by or about you, such as your name being listed on your practice's website, is part of your brand.

Taking control of how you are perceived by others helps to build your professional reputation. Whether you want to expand your practice, find colleagues to collaborate with, or are looking for career opportunities, your reputation is key to achieving your goals.

In a recent article on branding, we brought you tips on how to define and establish your brand. Here, we delve deeper into how to capitalize on the most useful professional social media platforms for physicians.


LinkedIn: Bringing The World To You

LinkedIn is the world's largest professional network, with more than 500 million registered users worldwide.


Half of these users are college graduates, and 45 percent report household incomes of $75,000 or more per year.

Kevin Pho, M.D. - an internal medicine physician and co-author of the book Establishing, Managing and Protecting Your Online Reputation: A Social Media Guide for Physicians and Medical Practices - sees several benefits from having a LinkedIn profile. "LinkedIn is a low-threat, low-resource, high-yield action," he said.

Unlike physician rating sites, a social media profile offers more control over how you are presented, Dr. Pho explained. Also, LinkedIn profiles are ranked highest out of all social media platforms, reducing the impact of negative news or physician rating sites.

After registering at LinkedIn.com, create the most thorough profile possible, recommended Jeffrey Benabio, M.D., in an article published on Medjobnetwork.com.

The more complete your profile is, the higher it ranks. The basic information to share is your education, medical expertise, areas of interest, professional experience, the address and phone number of your practice, and links to your website (if you have one).



To make the most of your LinkedIn profile, follow these simple steps:
  • Upload a picture of yourself looking professional but approachable.
  • Personalize your headline.
  • Add keywords, including the name and location of your practice.
  • List at least five of your strongest skills as a physician.
  • Search for colleagues already on LinkedIn and invite them to connect.
  • Join LinkedIn groups that match your interests.
  • Be active by commenting on others' posts and sharing articles of interest, including your own.
  • Finally, customize your profile URL, and include it in your email signature.
LinkedIn allows you to build up a substantial network of connections, communicate directly with other members, post updates, share stories from other outlets, and importantly, track who has viewed your profile.

Doximity: Catering to HCP's

While LinkedIn is low in physician resources, Doximity is high.


Similar to LinkedIn but exclusive to healthcare professionals in the United States, Doximity connects more than 800,000 of them - 600,000 of which are physicians.

"Doximity has emerged as the core professional profile for doctors and one that's totally within the physician's control," said Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. - director of community medicine for the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition for Texas Children's Hospital in Houston - in his blog. "It's the first place I go to update my professional status as it changes."

Creating your profile is easy; you can automatically upload your CV. Conveniently, Doximity keeps your CV updated by scanning the web for information about your latest achievements.

It doesn't stop there. Doximity profile updates are also immediately reflected in U.S. News & World Report physician profiles.

Including your clinical interests allows you to receive the most relevant referrals and news from their DocNews newsfeed. The site also lets you know when your work is being discussed in online conversations.

In addition to connecting physicians with job offers, the site offers CME/CE credits, a residency navigator, and an annual salary survey.



For communicating with your patients, a free digital fax and messaging service provides HIPAA-secure communication from any mobile device. Another tool displays your office number when you call patients from your cell phone.

Between its far-reaching network and well-conceived resources, Doximity expands your influence while boosting your practice on the most practical levels.

Twitter: Big Impact in Small Bites

The microblogging site lets you make an impact in 140-character posts called "tweets." Quotes and attached media are excluded from the character count. While anyone can read tweets, only registered users can post them.

Tweets often include photos and links. Hashtags (such as #cancer) identify terms and help to organize information. The names, or "handles," of other users are preceded by the @ symbol (such as @mnt).

Physicians usually follow other physicians, allowing them to interact with colleagues interested in the same news, advances, or advocacy.



"On Twitter you can follow thought leaders in any area of medicine and healthcare," Dr. Pho explained. "I have a Twitter list that has 40 healthcare thought leaders that I follow dozens of times a day. To me it's one of the most powerful ways to stay up to date in my area of medicine and healthcare."

Twitter can also bring you the latest news from major medical journals, including pre-published articles as well as policy updates and educational events.

The platform is especially useful for getting insight into patients' perspectives, as many patients and advocacy groups tweet regularly.

Through Twitter, you can even attend medical conferences virtually, by following attendees' tweets. Sharing research findings is easy and can lead to new collaborations.

In 2015, the California Association of Family Physicians (AFP) took to Twitter for vaccine legislation.

Up for debate was a bill that would end personal belief exemptions for vaccines. Going up against thousands of Twitter comments opposing the bill, the California AFP formed a coalition with pediatricians and public health officials, tweeting to educate patients and the media.

The result saw California become the third state to ban personal belief exemptions for vaccines.



To add your voice to Twitter, sign up for a free account on Twitter.com. Then, create a profile that includes your name, credentials, and a picture. Search by using hashtags to find the topics most pertinent to you.

Begin by following the physicians and thought leaders who interest you, and "retweet" the most insightful ones. Once you start tweeting your own thoughts and links to original articles, be ready to field the responses.

A record of all your tweets is conveniently stored on your home page.

YouTube: Patients See You in Action

While Twitter plugs you into the latest research and gives you a forum to share yours, YouTube can be even more personal.

A short video introducing yourself allows potential patients to start getting to know you before even making an appointment.

YouTube videos can also be a way to educate patients about your services, without any overt marketing.

Orthopedic surgeon C. Noel Henley, M.D., uses YouTube videos to put patients at ease about their upcoming surgeries.



On his blog, he said, "This week, my patient requested a specific procedure. We agreed it should be done, and [...] I fired up my iPad in the office and showed him a 2-minute video of the procedure I created and uploaded to YouTube using free software [...] He was crystal clear on the procedure and prepared for what will happen in a few weeks."

In addition to educating and reassuring existing patients, a YouTube channel can also bring new clients to your door. Using video clips, you can explain illnesses, perform exercises, or demonstrate early detection techniques.

Dr. Henley wrote, "YouTube sends my practice website a large percentage of my best monthly traffic. Last month, the visitors from my YouTube channel stayed on my website longer than most people, and viewed more pages than average."

"This makes sense: a person who watches one of my videos is already interested in my information and wants to know more - before they arrive on my website. If you want to be found by patients, you need to be on YouTube before your local competition figures this out."

To get started, sign up for a free YouTube account. Search for channels relevant to your field, and see what the competition is doing.



Once you're ready to try your hand at it, invest in a high-quality camera. Ensure that you have enough lighting and excellent audio. Choose a setting appropriate to the topic. Videos can be edited with a free tool such as iMovie or Windows Movie Maker.

To get the most out of your channel:
  • Add a professional profile picture to help legitimize your channel.
  • Link back to your practice website, to your other social media accounts, and to similar YouTube channels.
  • End the video by encouraging viewers to subscribe to your channel and directing them to your website.
  • Take advantage of YouTube's free tracking tool to see which videos are most popular. This shows you what additional videos and web pages your viewers might like.
Hootsuite: Tying it All Together

When using multiple social media platforms, one simple tool can make you much more efficient: Hootsuite.

While both free and paid versions are available, the free version allows you to manage three social media profiles and track follower growth.



It also shows you which content you post is most popular, lets you schedule content to post, and integrates two RSS feeds that find and share content from sources you choose.

Dr. Pho turns to the tool to monitor Twitter conversations, as well as any mentions of his handle and his name, and to manage pages and posts on various social media platforms.

"The free version is powerful enough for the majority of physicians," said Dr. Pho. "It's an essential social media tool and I highly recommend it to any physician using social media."

As you ease into social media, start small. Dr. Vartabedian noted, "It doesn't take much. Share your successes and tell some stories on a LinkedIn page and a Twitter account, and you're off to the races."

Guest Authored By Lisa Chontos. Lisa is a Freelance Medical Writer specializing in marketing and consumer health, and French & Spanish translation into English. Follow Lisa on Twitter.





"Having a strong online voice is part of your brand.

Any communication by or about you, such as your name being listed on your practice's website, is part of your brand.

Taking control of how you are perceived by others helps to build your professional reputation.

Whether you want to expand your practice, find colleagues to collaborate with, or are looking for career opportunities, your reputation is key to achieving your goals.."

    • Authored by:
      Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)
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    Saturday, June 21, 2025

    Growing YOUR Business On Social Media?


    How to grow a business using social media?

    When Desiree Yazdan first graduated from dental school, she chose to work in several well-established dental practices.



    Each day as she walked into work, all she could see was opportunity!

    To one day have her own business, to refine her skills, to use those refined skills to help people from all over the world.

    About a year and a half after school, she became a partner in what she thought was a very well-established office. Little did she know what a turn the business would take. Shortly after the buy-in, the other partner that was in the office stopped practicing dentistry and I was left without any patients and a staff that expected to be paid. Most of the patients became angry and left, and she wasn’t sure how she was going to make it.

    "At that point, I didn’t have money for marketing, so I turned to social media. I saw it as a way to market myself for free. I figured since everyone was on it, I may as well start showcasing my work. And I’m so glad that I did. Today, my practice looks much different than before. Today I have people traveling from all over the world for me to redesign their smiles. I have plenty of new patients in my office each month. And today, I have built the freedom in my business — and my life — that I had always dreamed of. And it's all because of social media.



    In a world where the internet has taken over, it’s silly to think that a new business would choose to not use social media as a marketing strategy.

    My first step was to start using Facebook and Instagram to connect with people individually about my business.

    I started sharing my passion with the world. Social media is all about the one-on-one connections and recognizing that early on can be a game changer. If you’re on social media, you need to be social. And that is exactly what I started doing — being social."

    So, how do you grow a social media page that brings in new business? It comes down to four simple steps.



    1. Pick Your Niche

    When you niche down, it will be easier for you to grow. Why? Because people are looking for specificity. One mistake I constantly see is trying to have a very broad audience so that as many people as possible notice you. In my experience, that's the wrong approach.

    If you’re trying to establish yourself as a dog-training expert, then you will be marketing yourself to dog lovers and dog owners.

    You should be creating content about training dogs: what type of collar to use, what kind of leash to use, what hand signals to use, what age to start training your dog.

    If you instead created all kinds of content, such as posts about refurbishing furniture, you’re never going to gain a true following. Pick a niche and then create your social media content around that niche.



    2. Edit Your Bio

    Your bio is the first thing people see when they land on your page. Use it to make clear who you are, what you do, where people can find you and how they can reach you.

    3. Nail Down Your Ideal Audience

    You aren’t going to be able to attract everyone, and you shouldn’t want to. It may feel effective in the beginning, but it’s hard to sustain long-term growth with this method. Why? Because when you’re talking to everyone, you’re actually talking to no one. When you are talking to a specific person, they will be drawn to you because it feels like your content was created for them and their needs.

    Let’s say you’re a bride and you’re looking for a wedding photographer. You land on a page that has pretty photos, but they're lifestyle images. You're probably going to keep scrolling. But, let's say you land on a page filled with beautiful wedding photos. You will feel like this page was made for you, and you will likely start to be interested in the content they have created.



    4. Be Consistent

    Your following on social media grows when you are consistent. In order to get people to follow you and engage with you, and in order for you to have opportunities from the platforms, you need to be consistent.

    You can't expect to post 10 photos one day, then disappear for two weeks and still see growth.

    Remember, you're building one-on-one connections. So if you aren't consistently showing up, people won't engage with you. They won't want to see what you are doing next.

    If you want a platform that grows, you need to show up every single day, no matter what.

    Guest Authored By Desiree Yazdan. Desiree is an expert in Reconstructive & Cosmetic Dentistry. Follow Desiree on X.





    Now that you have your four steps, it’s time to put them into action. 

    And remember, social media is about long-term growth. It’s not a get-rich-quick strategy, so stick with it and stay consistent..
    • Post Crafted By:
      Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Scottsdale, AZ, where I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)
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    Friday, June 13, 2025

    Health Care Leader Social Media Marketing?


    11 Things health leaders need to know about social media & marketing..

    Of the more than 7 billion people on Earth, the number of mobile phone users is approaching 5 billion devices, while toothbrush ownership is closer to 4 billion.



    Indicating that both marketing of technology and public health have great disparities, but also that leadership in health care are not executing on their brands, social media or marketing.

    But in the U.S., hospital identity and health branding are paramount for success in a community. By listening to patients, getting feedback on wants and needs, and creating new incentives to engage individuals, increased revenue, greater trust and improved health might be achieved.

    Here are 11 surprising things to keep in mind when health care and hospital leadership plan marketing efforts for 2019:

    1. The brain processes visual data 60,000 times faster than text. Additionally, 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual. Whether it’s growing your brand identity or improving medication adherence through instructions, visuals are a key to interacting with and empowering patients.



    2. Surprisingly, Grandparents love Twitter so much their presence on the platform doubled last year. They are also replacing young people who are choosing to leave Facebook. Not only does this indicate they are here to stay for some time, but they are a great place to target our aging population who consume a majority of our health care services.

    3. An estimated 31 billion eCoupons will be redeemed in 2019. That means almost 60% of U.S. internet users have redeemed digital coupons or codes at least once. With so many new retail clinic and other hospital services that can use coupon-like strategies for patient cost-savings, this is a must in the new year.

    4. Voice search on devices like Alexa, Siri and Google Search already account for 20% of searches on the product or service in question, voice search via virtual assistant is certain to play an increasing role in consumer purchasing.

    5. In 2017, it was estimated that 62% of emails were opened on a mobile device. Checking email is the top mobile activity among smartphone and tablet users. So be sure those emails are appealing and informative, as they’ll be consumed on the go.



    6. The number of devices connected to the Internet now exceeds the number of humans on earth. This means health companies and hospitals need to be intentional about marketing on multiple platforms and for many different devices.

    7. Social media influences 74% of shoppers final purchase decisions. Further, 90% of consumers indicate that they trust peer recommendations. Therefore, previous patients and reviews like those on Amazon are your greatest allies.

    8. Instagram has 500 million viewers every single day. And 71% of those are millennials. While plastic surgeons and fitness experts have driven the health trends on this platform, there is a significant opportunity to appeal to and educate the under 35 crowd as they begin making life-long health decisions.

    9. More than 78% of U.S. Internet users research products and services online, and every month, there are more than 10.3 billion Google searches. What your top hits say about your product, organization, or providers will influence your bottom line.



    10. Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing, and, per dollar spent generates about 3X as many leads. When creating a marketing strategy for particular service lines, services, or physician groups, think about exactly who needs to see that ad.

    11. 70% of people surveyed claim they would rather learn about a hospital or company through articles or reviews rather than direct advertisements. Therefore, not only are advertising campaigns important, but so are the patient experience testimonies, community reviews, and visual or print articles. It will pay to make sure your company is being written and talked about.

    Guest Authored By Nicole Fisher. Nicole is the founder and CEO of HHR Strategies, a health care and human rights-focused advising firm. She is also a senior policy advisor on Capitol Hill and expert on health innovation, economics, technology, and reform - specifically as they impact vulnerable populations. Fisher contributes to Forbes, highlighting ideas and advising companies and people that are changing the health landscape, and curates a monthly international dinner series, “A Seat at the Table,” bringing together thought leaders for an off-the-record discussion of moving health policy and planning forward. Follow Nichole on Twitter.





    In the U.S., hospital identity and health branding are paramount for success in a community.

    By listening to patients, getting feedback on wants and needs, and creating new incentives to engage individuals, increased revenue, greater trust and improved health might be achieved...

      • Post Crafted By:
        Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at GetMoreHere.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Scottsdale, AZ. where I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)
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