Social media marketing has transformed the way medical practices, facilities and hospitals communicate with their patients and community. Social media provides a place for patients to share their experience and ask questions. It also provides a place for the organization to share. What is challenging to measure however, is the impact social media has on the business. This can make it difficult to determine if a business is actually growing due to their social media efforts. 

Social media marketing involves several variables that can make tracking ROI (return on investment) more challenging including engagement, audience reach and overall interest in the page. Marketing savvy medical practices know to ask patients how they heard about them. The new patient may say Internet, but it is important to dig further. Did their search bring up your Facebook or Google+ page? Did it bring up a blog article?

Measuring social media ROI can be achieved by taking broader look at what is happening. This means tracking the total number of fans and comparing that to the number of new fans gained over a specified period. It also includes considering the number of “unlikes” received over the same period of time. If you find that people are liking your page and then unliking it, a deeper look into content is warranted. While it is necessary to provide practice specific information, you must also include information from trustworthy sources across the net. Briefly share your viewpoint in your post while providing a link to the article you are recommending be read.

Another measurement of ROI can be calculated by tracking the responses and shares generated by posts made by the organization. This is called engagement. Engagement provides valuable data as to the health of the page. Are fans and followers responding, liking or sharing your posts and pins? If they are it is important to measure the type of posts or pins they are responding to. Use this information to create an Internet marketing strategy for growth. When you find a specific post that generates a lot of interest, be sure to include this type of post with regular frequency.

By taking a thorough look into your social media marketing efforts and creating a strategy that builds over time, new business and leads will come. Keeping a pulse on your engagement levels and massaging your strategy as needed, will ensure your practice has a healthy social media strategy for years to come.