Top Social Media Trends for Healthcare PR Firms

 Wellness brands and healthcare PR firms must check out these contemporary trends!

A new year calls for new social media strategies. And this stays true for healthcare PR firms and organisations. Social media has come a long way from just sharing photos with friends. It has become an integral place to share and gain information, driving change and connecting communities. And thankfully, brands and consumers both see it as this.

Patient education through vetted sources of information

In a world where lives have toppled by the pandemic; wellness leaders and healthcare firms believe education is the first line of defence against any virus or malady. Medical practitioners understand people’s struggle to get the right, vetted information.

Lack of time or patience or access to medical papers or journals, people have relied on social media to procure information from healthcare sources. And the healthcare and wellness industry are trying to ensure that correct information reach audiences and the misinformation is debunked.

Sadly, there is a plethora of sources on social that spread misinformation and healthcare PR firms need to make certain that their clients are viewed as a verified source. This has been the goal, but the pandemic has made it more crucial than ever.

The crave for disease awareness

Today, audiences and patients have relatively easy access to information about viruses, diseases, illnesses, and conditions. Even though the vast number of facts and knowledge can be consuming, people have felt empowered to take full control of their health and have been able to connect with communities that can help better their wellness journey.

Social media movements, no matter how micro, are helping differently abled people and people with health conditions connect with those who empathise with their lives, with those providing the needed resources, with the support communities and more importantly with medical professionals who can help.

Healthcare PR firms must help their clients to highlight their expertise to truly help patients and impact a wider set of audience, regardless of demographical or geographical limitations. This can be achieved by hosting virtual conversations and being more active on social media.

Virtual or hybrid techniques of communications for advocacy and awareness

On-ground events and activations always burnt a hole in the pocket of the organisers and required more time and special efforts from the attendees. It was not the most convenient thing to do. But the pandemic compelled brands across industries to shift their methods from in-person to the hybrid or even fully digital.

Contrary to what was expected, more people and bigger audiences were able to participate. Many wellness brands leveraged this opportunity to talk about new policies, new treatments to various conditions and diseases etc.

As brands measured their impact, this trend became more accepted. Use this to achieve your goals be it advocacy or awareness.

Leveraging social media to connect the healthcare industry

Conventionally, the wellness industry has been to be the most apprehensive when it comes to accepting a modern technology or a new change. And they were the late adopters of digital technology as well. The pandemic forced the transition of in-person communication to online appointments and virtual meetings and conferences.

But if one must ask healthcare professionals about this forced change, they would say it is not as bad as they thought it would be. Industry colleagues (health experts, practitioners, surgeons, and nurses) can now connect and discuss hiccups and new advancements in their area of expertise. How do you think most of us sailed through the pandemic?!