Tips for using Facebook in your practice

• Think about the way you want your practice to be perceived by patients who visit, and then apply that to your online/Facebook presence and voice - be brand consistent.
• Make sure your page is updated with the most recent details including contact number, email, website, logos, cover photo imagery.
• To be successful you need engagement, and that requires responsiveness on your part. If someone asks a question, answer it as promptly as you can. If someone posts a nice comment, like it or comment back. Think of it as someone standing at reception talking to you, you would answer back as quick as possible and it is the same on Facebook.  
• Consider the 'ground rules' - Facebook is alive and active 24/7 so you need to make sure it is clear your page isn't staffed in that way. This includes things like ensuring you set up an automatic reply on the messenger service for your page, if you choose to offer one - e.g. "Thanks for your message. This service is for general enquiries only. For personal health questions please contact your medical centre. IN AN EMERGENCY DIAL 111. If you are experiencing mental distress please call text/freephone 1737 any time."
• Who is planning content and what approval process will you apply to what you choose to write or share? 
• You need to be assured that any sources you are referencing are current and (depending on the nature of the post of course!) supported by current medical peer-reviewed literature /from a recognised body of scientific and clinical knowledge / conforms to minimal standards of care. Posts of this nature should clearly indicate whether it is based upon scientific studies, expert consensus, professional experience or personal opinion. 
• Think about what a patient/audience group member may post/disclose on your Facebook page and how you will handle that. How will you manage conversations/comments between people when the information isn't correct, say one patient giving another advice you don't agree with and don't want to be seen as supporting/endorsing?
• CONSENT IS CRITICAL so if you are going to post any photo or video you must have written and signed permission from anyone who will appear/be identifiable, even if in background. Consent from parents is required if any of the identified subjects are under 18. Ensure as part of gathering consent you explain where you expect to share the images/video but that due to the nature of online media it cannot be guaranteed - things can be moved by other parties once online. File the consent forms carefully in case you are required to show you had consent at a later date.

• Why are you posting? For example are you promoting services, informing people about changes, seeking new patients, raising awareness on topical health issues...?
• Why are people going to care/listen? Before you post any content, ask yourself - why would someone want to like, comment on or share this post? What's the overall objective of that post?

• Who - existing patients, or new ones in a defined geographic area or...?
• Be specific. Thinking about exactly who you think reads your posts helps to refine your language and approach, describe in terms of some demographics.
• Consider the level of health literacy in your audience.

This is a big task! Here are a few pointers to get started...

• It can be helpful to use a template to plan out content in advance, particularly if you want feedback or need things to be approved prior to posting. (Download our simple template below.)
• Schedule posts in advance - particularly if your audience insights indicate the best time for you to post is outside of your usual working hours, which it probably will be (generally the highest traffic time across all social media is from 8:30pm-9:30pm). Make an effort to post engaging content when your audience is most active to get the benefit of organic engagement.
• Typically aim to produce 2-3 original posts per week, with an extra 1-2 during the week if you see relevant shareable content from another source/page.
• Use Meta Business Suite to schedule posts in advance. This also will keep your page out of your personal Facebook to a certain degree (e.g. less content flows through your personal account).
• Competitions are good but there are rules, and they change often so make sure to check every time you run one. And beware of spam accounts attempting to spam people trying to enter.  
• DON'T have any spelling mistakes, use TXT language, or moan/complain or bag.
• Pictures and videos can convey a lot of information and tend to get more engagement than text posts alone.
• There are free websites to help you create content: Canva for deign templates, or for images try Pexels, Pixabay or Unsplash.

Here's a few ideas of things you can post about.

• News from your practice (link to you website if you have one)
• Health tips related to any services you offer
• Hours - especially if they are changing, such as over the holiday period or what to do/where to go after hours.
• Patient portal and benefits - encourage sign ups
• Promotion of health campaigns and/or awareness weeks: immunisation, diabetes, men's health, mental health, etc. Check the websites behind this campaign, they'll often have resources ready to go for you to post.
• Notifications of outbreaks: measles, whooping cough, rheumatic fever etc. Signs to be aware of, when to come in, etc.
• Sharing health messages from related organisations - ACC (e.g. strength and balance), Heart Foundation...
• Local community interest/news - if something is happening locally that people are talking about then show you have an interest too, people appreciate when you think outside your four walls. (Just make sure it isn't anything that gets too opinionated unless you want to go there!)
• "Lifestyle" posts - promoting a way of living rather than the specifics around your practice services, example encourage people to get outside for a walk - but wear sunscreen etc.
• Holiday messages - wish people well for any public holidays.

• Posts on your page are free and will be seen by a portion of your followers, based on Facebook algorithms. If you are putting out stuff that your audience engages with then it's likely they will see more of it in their feed. (Non-paid content is called 'organic'.)
• Posts can be boosted at a cost, or you can make Facebook ads - this is a much bigger topic for another website article to come!

You'll be spending a bit of time to keep Facebook going, so it is worthwhile checking in to see the results.

• Use the Facebook 'insights' to see how you are tracking.
• Are you growing your audience?
• Are you getting better engagement?
• Can you see a trend emerging on the posts that do get good engagement - time of day, type of content, etc?

• Social media has opened up a new way of consumers being able to complain and if it's bad enough, they will. There are also 'keyboard warriors' - people who say things on social media they would never raise in person, so little things that otherwise may have gone unsaid can become bigger.
• Think first, cool down, then reply - you must always respond publically to show the community you have responded. In that response invite the conversation to be taken offline.
• You can ask for help from the Pinnacle communication team - contact us via your practice support person and let us know what page/what post so we can check it out and come back to you with some advice. (There may be a situation happening in a community group page you don't control, but we can still give advice on a response.)
• Even in the worst case scenarios it still doesn't mean the end for your page, there are things that can be done.