If you haven’t yet built your digital presence for your pharmacy, it’s time to take action. Having a social-media presence in this day and age is no longer optional. It’s a must.
Social-media presence
Entering and navigating the land of social media can be tough at first, however, only three platforms truly control the majority of the market: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The purpose is to be social, which means having a dialogue between friends, businesses, and followers. Since your followers will be mostly current and prospective patients, it’s important that everything you post is for your audience.
Post to social media regularly
If you’re hosting an event or having a sale, share it! Post about your newest line of vitamins, supplements, or any new healthcare services. If you don’t have any updates to share, post articles about other relevant content related to your pharmacy or community. That way, your audience engages with your page even when they’re not thinking about healthcare needs.
Keep an eye on your competitors
Find your competitors on social media and see how they’re connecting with their followers. Check out what pages they’re subscribed to and the hashtags they’re using. If any are relevant to your pharmacy, start adding them into your own marketing strategy.
Capture attention with visuals
It’s important to use vibrant images in your social-media posts. A bright, eye-catching photo is more likely to capture the attention of potential patients than a post with a lot of words. Use photos and graphics with every post you make. You can use your own photos, or you can use stock photos and graphics online from various websites; some are free, but many are not.
Check your direct messages
All of the major social-media platforms allow your followers to send you a direct, private message (DM) to your inbox. Be sure to always check your inbox. A lot of people will DM businesses to communicate instead of conversing over the phone. Remember, though, that HIPAA regulations apply. Always use your best judgment as to what should be discussed online and what shouldn’t.
Post whenever is best for you
Don’t worry if you’re not posting first thing in the morning. There’s no magical time of day that business owners should be posting. Find a time that works best with your schedule.
You can post once a day, twice a week, or every day. As long as you post at least once a week, your followers will remember who you are. After all, they wouldn’t have followed you if they didn’t want to hear from you!
Three main social-media platforms to look into
Facebook: It’s the largest social media platform in the world. It allows users to create profiles that share information such as status updates, photos, and articles. People will “like” and “follow” businesses and pages they’re interested in to keep up to date.
Facebook has business pages that have designated areas where you can post information specific to your business, such as your pharmacy’s address, phone number, and hours of operation. It’s important to keep all of this information current.
Instagram: This is a mobile app whose main purpose is to share quality images. It allows business owners to show off their creative side with memes, pictures with funny captions, and hashtags. When using this app, you’ll want to try to stay as pharmacy-centric as you can in your posts, memes, and hashtags.
Twitter: More of a conversational forum, Twitter differs a little from Facebook and Instagram. It’s utilized through a mobile app, and instead of posts, you write “tweets” that are limited to 280 characters or less. So, whatever you have to say, it must be short and sweet. For example, on a Monday morning, you could post something like, “Our pharmacy hopes you have a great start to your week!”
While Facebook and Instagram offer business accounts, Twitter does not. So, it’s a good idea to include a link in your bio to your website with more information, such as your Facebook page. Twitter also has a polling feature, so you can conduct short, impromptu polls with your followers.
Posting on social media can be a little nerve-wracking at first, but once you begin to acquire followers and see their “likes” and comments on your posts, you’ll feel much more confident. In time, you’ll develop an online presence and tone that is unique to your independent pharmacy and will help you stand out.
A Member-Owned Company Serving Independent Pharmacies
PBA Health is dedicated to helping independent pharmacies reach their full potential on the buy-side of their business. Founded and owned by pharmacists, PBA Health serves independent pharmacies with group purchasing services, wholesaler contract negotiations, proprietary purchasing tools, and more.
An HDA member, PBA Health operates its own NABP-accredited secondary wholesaler with more than 6,000 SKUs, including brands, generics, narcotics CII-CV, cold-storage products, and over-the-counter (OTC) products — offering the lowest prices in the secondary market.
