Is Social Media Changing The Way Healthcare is Accessed?
Social media has a big impact on our everyday lives, as it allows us to have everything at our fingertips, accessing information at a rapid pace than ever before. Search engine Google processes over 3.5 billion searches per day across the world - that’s a lot of people looking for information.
With more people turning to the internet or social media platforms as a ‘first point of call’, including for health purposes, whether that’s aftercare tips following surgery or advice on skin conditions from dermatologists, social media is playing a big part in how the public can access healthcare information.
So where exactly is this information being shared, who’s sharing it and how many members of the public are listening and accessing healthcare through social media?
Social Networking Sites
To understand the power of social media in the healthcare industry, you must first know just how many people are using social media and which platforms dominate the social scene, in fact according to a recent post by buffer, these are some of the most popular ones:
Facebook - with over 2.23 billion users per month
YouTube - with 1.9 billion users per month
WhatsApp - with 1.5 billion users per month
Instagram - with 1 billion users per month
Tik Tok - with 500 million users per month
Twitter - with 350 million users per month
With this many active users on the above platforms alone, social media can become a powerful tool in the healthcare industry to provide quality and targeted information within a specific specialism that reaches the right audience. When you consider the social networks that are available, you may think that this only targets a younger generation (Gen Z’s and Millennials), however, older generations have been known to use social media to access and share health information as well.
Not only are the above social media platforms used to share healthcare information but it’s also an opportunity to identify key opinion leaders (KOLs) and gain some insight into their network through their platforms. We recently discussed the impact of social media on KOL mapping and how organisations need to embrace the rise of KOLs on social networking sites.
It’s these KOLs and other ‘influencers’ that will be more than likely talking directly to the public, a wider audience beyond what is discussed and shared at conferences. It allows the public to have instant access to healthcare opinions and information.
How New Social Networks Are Changing Healthcare
Although the household names above have dominated the social media landscape for many years, there are and will continue to be new platforms that rise and change the way we communicate with each other.
The newest social networking app to take the scene by storm is ‘Clubhouse’, an invite only, social networking app based audio chat, which allows users to listen into conversations, interviews or discussions between interesting thought leaders on various topics. Essentially, it’s like an easily accessible conference with various breakout rooms.
So what does this mean for the healthcare industry?
At a quick glance, you may think that this platform wouldn’t benefit the healthcare or pharma sector but when you dig a little deeper you can find a whole network of members and followers interested in this topic. In fact, when you search the keyword ‘healthcare’, there are over 50 clubs dedicated to creating conversations and networking in this industry, and this is only the tip of the iceberg.
The most popular club is called ‘Healthcare Startups’ which has over 3.9k members and 16.1k followers. This alone is a vast network of professionals and public that are accessing this one club to gain further knowledge and information around the range of topics they discuss.
Clubhouse in the Medical Aesthetics Market
We previously discussed what the impact of Instagram is in the injectable aesthetics market, which could arguably be used from more of an advertising perspective but with Clubhouse, professionals are able to openly share further information about cosmetic procedures that could reach the public on a greater scale, as this platform allows you to listen on the go (similar to podcasts).
Again, if we search for the keyword ‘botox’, there are two clubs that stand out that have a significant influence on the platform:
The Cosmetic Lane with 6.6k members and 1.3k followers
Aesthetic Medicine with 276 members and 3.7k followers
Another keyword that produces an interesting insight into this specialism is ‘derm’ with the following clubs appearing:
Skincare With Derms with 661 members and 16.5k followers
The Skinthusiast with 11.9k members and 14.9k followers
If we take a closer look at ‘The Cosmetic Lane’, their goal “is to share information on Invasive & Non- Invasive cosmetic procedures as well as injectables, botox, surgery & post-op care.” Hosting 2 weekly conversations with industry professionals.
Similarly, if we look at ‘Skincare With Derms’, we can see that their goal is to provide “a more informed & empowered inclusive skincare community for reliable skincare information on Clubhouse” with topics covering skincare, cosmetics & laser surgery.
Clubhouse is a platform that allows the public to access healthcare professionals quickly and easily without the need for appointments, as not only can they enter a public chat to listen to the professionals, they can easily ask questions and have their voice heard.
Not only this but it is a bigger opportunity for networking amongst peers, being easily connected with professionals on a global scale and also inviting an open conversation around a topic that may not have happened before.
How Do Industry ‘Influencers’ Use Social Media
Social Media can be a tricky space to navigate particularly if you work in the healthcare industry as there are strict guidelines to follow around what can and can’t be advertised. However, there are some key social media influencers rising, although they may not necessarily be considered a key opinion leader in the industry, they are undoubtedly creating conversations online.
Dermatology
Social media is the perfect place for dermatology practitioners to educate their audience about the service they provide to gain new clients, engage with existing customers and build brand awareness.
One of the most notable influencers within dermatology is Dr Sandra Lee aka Dr Pimple Popper with over 4.1million followers on Instagram, 45.5k followers on Twitter and 6.93M subscribers on YouTube (and these are just followers on her Dr Pimple Popper accounts). On her accounts, she shares videos of skin treatments, educational information about different skin conditions and promotes her skincare line and practice, reaching an international audience.
When looking at other influencers on social media, such as Dr Sam Bunting (95.5k followers on Instagram and 152k subscribers on YouTube), their message is pretty similar - to educate and share accurate information on skincare that resonates with their audience.
Plastic Surgery
Similarly with dermatology, there are a number of social media accounts dedicated to the practice of plastic surgery with well known surgeons taking to the platform to share images of their patients' transformation, discuss the procedures they offer and educate their followers as well. For example, Dr Julian De Silva utilises this approach by sharing patient images to his 12.7k followers on Instagram alongside lengthy descriptions of the process each patient went through from consultation to end result. Through his thousands of followers, he is reaching a client base across the UK and positioning himself as the ‘number one surgeon’ to see for cosmetic facial procedures.
Mental Health
It is said that around 1 in 4 people in the world are affected by mental health, and with people accessing social media on a daily basis, this can be both a help and a hindrance to this cause. One ‘influencer’ who speaks candidly about the effects of mental health is Dr Alex George, an ex Love Island contestant who has recently been made Ambassador for Mental Health by the UK government.
With around 1.9 million followers on Instagram, 221.4k followers on Twitter and 713.9k followers on TikTok, Dr Alex George reaches a huge audience and a slightly younger generation who may not want to discuss any problems they may be facing openly.
By the UK government assigning Dr Alex George to this role, he acts as a voice on behalf of the nation to help advise on what support young people need and shape a policy that works, whilst being able to then ‘advertise’ the new and existing support measures already in place by the government.
This showcases that the way the public are seeking and consuming the information / advice in healthcare is through social media, it allows this information to be accessed quickly.
Political Voices In Healthcare
It could be argued that many of the healthcare professionals have been motivated to become present on social media due to politics and how this plays an influential role in the healthcare sector. However, influencers that shouldn’t be overlooked for their healthcare views are the editors, reporters and journalists, who have just as much effect on the public as industry professionals.
Top editors that operate in this space are; Fergus Walsh, Medical Editor for the BBC (78.2k followers on Twitter), Hugh Pym, BBC News Health Editor (98.3k followers on Twitter) & Alastair McLellan, Editor of the Health Service Journal (55.7k followers on Twitter), all reporting on healthcare issues from a political standpoint with particular focus on coronavirus.
Although not providing information about treatments, recovery info etc. that perhaps a professional would do, they do dissect healthcare plans from the Government and make this available to the UK quickly and easily for the public to digest.
Targeted Customers
As mentioned above, there are thousands of active users across all social platforms on a monthly basis, all looking for different information and services that suit their needs. Not only does social media give influencers the tools to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns through reach and engagement but it also provides an opportunity to specifically target their customers based on their interests.
By understanding who the customers are on social media, influencers can create tailored content and ads with the aim of reaching a wider audience and achieving higher results in terms of engagement on platforms, followers and potentially loyal customers. Healthcare influencers will put together a social media strategy that elevates their presence and voice within their specialism where members of the public will be targeted and consume this information.
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