To medical device brands, determining not only which social media platform to use but how to effectively use it can be confusing and overwhelming.It’s no longer debatable whether med device brands, or any brands for that matter, should be on social media—they should. Beyond being good for the SEO of the company website, social media offers the unique opportunity to interact directly with the customer base for your product. How can medical device brands use this opportunity to their advantage?
Tap into the existing community Here’s the good news: your customers are already talking about you online. For example, on #cardiotwitter, physicians come together to discuss cases, studies, techniques, and to share triumphs and wisdom. It is an active, enthusiastic community that readily shares their opinions and clinical perspectives on various cardio medical devices. Now, it might seem intimidating to wade into an ongoing conversation, but that’s why the next part is vital…
Authenticity is key If you want to participate in the conversation, there’s one word to keep in mind: human. Yes, believe it or not, a brand can still carry out its messaging goals, still adhere to legal and regulatory rules, and be authentic and believable as long as you put being human first. Here’s the thing: humans don’t interact with brands, they interact with people. That means that it’s important to think about not only brand personality, but literally if your brand were human how would it speak and what would it say? Social media gives you that opportunity to refine your brand in the real world with direct interaction with your target audience.
Make your content worth it Whether you are using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or any other social media site, your brand has to compete for attention. This means that in addition to being authentic, your content needs to have a clear purpose and meaning to your audience. It needs to give them something of value. Of course information is always valuable, but so are humor, understanding, and encouragement. What types of value can your brand provide? Think about it—your brand could potentially show up in thousands or perhaps millions of feeds. If people are scrolling past your posts, not only is that a massive wasted opportunity, but it is literally training your target audience to ignore you. Make your posts matter. Give people content that has stopping power. Make them look forward to seeing a post from you. That will give your social media efforts the impact you are looking for.
Do you want to jump start your brand’s social media presence? Give us a call and tell us about it!
