by Corinn Ponton, PCCA Canada Territory Manager | Sales Support Manager
 

More than 4.89 billion people — or approximately 59 percent of the world’s population — use social media and experts forecast those numbers to increase to 5.85 billion by 2027.^1,2 As social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok gain more users, getting social is a great way to promote your pharmacy, compounding business and brand.

A social media presence also offers great insights on what your customers and others say about your business, helps create “word of mouth” referrals, builds your brand identity and helps develop customer loyalty.

But with so many existing and upcoming social platforms, you’re probably wondering where to start. As with all marketing, you first need to identify who you’re talking to and where they reside in the virtual world.

Know Your Audience. Pick Your Platform

Understanding your audience is key to your social media success and will help you create and schedule relevant posts.

Start by identifying and classifying all potential audiences. For example:

1. Community (audience includes the general public and potential customers in your area)

2. Prescribers (audience includes doctors, nurse practitioners and others who refer or may refer patients to your pharmacy)

3. Favorites (audience includes folks who continuously purchase and/or loyally support your pharmacy)

After you identify potential audiences, decide which one you want to “target” first. For example, if you’re targeting your community, consider creating a Facebook page that showcases your pharmacy and staff participating in community events. If you’re targeting prescribers, consider social media sites dedicated to healthcare professionals such as Sermo, Doximity or Daily Rounds, where you can share your participation at provider conferences or showcase providers attending your pharmacy’s events (i.e., special lectures, consultations, etc.).

Be sure to look at the different social media sites and review the content to make sure it’s right for you and your pharmacy. Comparing platforms, as well as taking notes of why you like or don’t like the site will save time, money and potential embarrassment. You can also get ideas for content, including captions, videos, photos and graphics, by viewing different sites.

Goals, Strategy & Resources

As with all business plans, you want to set goals, create a strategy and tap into resources that can help you start and maintain your social media presence.

First, know what you want your social media presence to achieve. It helps to be as specific as possible. For example, do you want to:

1. Increase community recognition?

2. Increase general pharmacy sales?

3. Educate your community about the benefits of personalized medicines?

Second, create a strategy to achieve your goals. For example:

1. To create community recognition, participate in local events, sponsor a youth group or create an annual food drive with donations dropped off at your pharmacy.

2. To increase general pharmacy sales, consider hosting lectures on nutrition, weight loss or skin care at your pharmacy.

3. To educate your community, think of hosting a booth at special-interest events to explain how compounded medicines help special-needs patients, cancer patients or dermatology patients.

Third, tap into existing resources that aid in achieving your goals. For example:

1. Use creative design tools such as Canva or Snappa

2. Look into social media management tools such as Buffer, Hootsuite, Planable or Sprout Social

3. Access Marketing Resources tools on the Members-Only website > Marketing Resources > Digital > Social Media Posts for free tutorial videos, pre-designed graphics and more

After you establish your goals, strategy and access the right resources, the next step is to create content.

Create Interesting & Concise Content

It’s important to recognize that social media posts emphasize visuals — photos, videos and graphics — over text. Use your smartphone to capture images from events and post the most interesting photo on your social media platform. Write captions to explain the visual. Captions should be brief and generally written in a conversational tone and style.

As a general rule, avoid medical terminology — including abbreviations and acronyms — unless you know your target audience understands the words, abbreviations or acronyms. This includes doctors, nurse practitioners, veterinarians and other healthcare professionals who are not compounders.

It’s also important to recognize that many businesses successfully use social media to create emotional connections with their audiences. Creating an emotional connection with virtual strangers may sound strange or even silly. That connection, however, can easily translate into transactional dollars.

According to Gair Maxwell, an international keynote speaker, author and social media guru, “Attention is currency. Why? If you can get eyeballs and hearts paying attention to whatever it is you’re promoting, you win.”

Ideas, Insight & Resources

PCCA Members can access more ideas and helpful insights on our Members Only Website. After logging in, click here to watch an interview with Gair Maxwell. Members in need of additional support can also attend our Marketing & Sales One-Day Virtual Conference on September 14 to learn the latest marketing tactics and hear special segments on social media marketing. Register here. And remember, PCCA Members, to access Marketing Resources on our Members Only Website!

Now you’re ready to make your mark and establish your presence in the virtual world. Have fun, express your pharmacy’s unique personality and get social with the rest of the world!

The complete version of this article originally appeared in PCCA’s members-only magazine, the Apothagram.

References

1. Ruby, D. (2023) Social Media Users in the World — (2023 Demographics). Accessed 03.20.2023 athttps://www.demandsage.com/social-media-users/#:~:text=There%20are%204.9%20billion%20social,in%20 terms%20of%20user%20base

2. Sheikh, M. (2023) 50+ of the most important social media marketing statistics for 2023. Accessed 03.20.2023 athttps://sproutsocial.com/ insights/social-media-statistics