A Pharmacy Owner’s Guide to Getting Started on Social Media
Building a digital presence for your pharmacy is essential in this booming era of technology. Since the pandemic, more people than ever are using social media to stay connected with their communities. If you haven’t yet developed one or more social media pages for your pharmacy, then now is the time to start. In this guide, we’ve compiled everything you need to know to get your pharmacy started on social media.
Identify Your Audience
Before you build your page, you need to know who you’re speaking to. You may have a narrow audience, such as elderly members of your community with long-term healthcare needs, or you may be targeting a broader range of potential patients. Whatever the demographic you are targeting, you need to know who they are so you can adapt your images and messaging to capture their interest and encourage them to engage with your pharmacy.
Be Relevant
Yes, you should absolutely incorporate posts about your newest line of vitamins and supplements and expanding range of healthcare services. In fact, we recommend you post every time there is a notable change happening in your pharmacy, whether you are adding a new team member or changing the way you display your products to make it easier for patients to navigate your store. However, you want patients and potential patients to engage with your page even when they aren’t focusing on their healthcare needs. In addition to business-related content, stay current with community news and events and be sure to post about these on your pages too. This is also a great way to encourage other local businesses to share your posts with their prospective audiences.
Observe Your Competitors
A great way to build your audience quickly is to find your competitors on social media and observe how they are connecting with their audiences. Investigate the pages they are subscribed to and the hashtags they are using. If any of these are relevant to your independent pharmacy, start incorporating them into your own social media marketing strategy. As you navigate through each affiliate page, keep an eye on the related and suggested pages that come up and assess whether these would be a good opportunity for your pharmacy to reach more patients as well. Remember that your competitors may not be targeting exactly the same pool of prospects, so keep the audience you identified for your pharmacy top of mind as you perform each assessment.
Keep It Visual
A vibrant image is far more likely to capture the attention of potential patients than a lengthy post. Be sure to include eye-catching photos and graphics with every post you make to maximize the potential for engagement. You can use images from your own collection or purchase stock photos and graphics online from sites like Shuttershock and Fiverr. You can also explore free imagery sites like Pixabay.
Drive The Conversation
Social media is all about starting and maintaining conversations. Whether you are engaging with your audience in the comments section of your post, on a page you follow, or in your direct messages, it is essential that you engage and drive the conversation. A conversational tone is key in all of your social media engagements because this makes you far more approachable to potential patients. In time, you should develop an online tone that is unique to your independent pharmacy and helps you stand out.
Use a Social Media Dashboard
As you expand your online presence, moving between platforms can become quite time consuming. Investing in a social media dashboard like HootSuite or Social Oomph can help you pre-schedule content and make the most of your social media marketing efforts. Tools like these help improve your time management so you can get back to doing what you do best.
Get Started Today!
With our exclusive list of 20 social media ideas and prompts, you’ll be ready to get started on your first posts and more. Download the easy-to-follow list here. If you’ve opted to work with a PDS coach, then reach out to them to help you brainstorm new content ideas. If you have not yet gotten started with a PDS coach and would like to elevate your business this way, schedule a call with us today.
