Facebook has become a part of over 750 million user’s daily lives. There is a pretty high chance that you have a personal account to stay in touch with your family and friends, but have you ever thought of having a Facebook page for your practice? Studies in healthcare marketing have shown that Facebook can increase revenue and loyalty. Plus, it’s a great way to connect with your current patients, referring physicians and community partners. If you’ve wanted to set up a business page but have not been sure how to do it we have some tried and true techniques to help you set-up a successful page and begin engaging your audience.

The Beginning of Your Business Page

• The first and most important aspect of creating your page is determining the email address that will be associated with the account. The email that you use to create the page will be used for the administrator of the account. Make sure this email is one that will be with the company for the long haul. We’ve heard horror stories of practice manager’s assigning an employee to set up the account and the employee ends up doing so with their own personal email. Unfortunately, if the employee leaves the practice, they can take access to your Facebook account with them. Use your administrator email to set up a personal page first on the Facebook Homepage.  You need a personal page in order to set up a company page.

• Once you have your personal page setup with your administrator email and login, go to this page to create an “Official Page.” This is where you will need to determine if you want to appear as a local business, a brand product, or organization.

• Now it is time to name your page. It’s usually best to use your company brand name. After you have the main components of your page, fill out the information tab, your profile picture and a short summary about your company. Here’s your chance to really share who you are and what you have to offer as a practice. Your company summary should include links to your actual website and provide useful information to people who may come across your page. Your profile picture is a simple, yet important part of your page. Make sure that it is creative and speaks for your clinic or brand. A logo works but you can also use a picture that shows what you offer at your practice.

How to Get People to “Like” You and Your Brand

The more people that you get to “Like” your brand will increase the amount of people that you can reach through Facebook and increase awareness about your practice. The first step to getting your current customers to “Like” your page is letting them know that you have set up a page in Facebook. Most companies send an email to their customer base announcing that they have set up their Facebook page and request that their customers “Like” their page. Place the Facebook logo on your advertising, marketing materials and website to let everyone know they can connect with you. With your website, make sure the logo links directly to your Facebook page.