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BUSINESS OF
MEDICINE
TMA’s book Get Social: Put Your Practice on the Social Media “Hospitals are always desperate for content for their blogs,” Dr.
Map says any physicians building a social media presence need to Vartabedian said. “So if you can write an expert position on some
start by developing their content strategy. That starts with figuring health [issue], people are going to read that, and they’re going to
out what audience you want to reach — prospective patients, refer- want to come and see you.”
ring colleagues, or the news media — then considering what you
know about that audience. While physicians can reach new patients with Facebook and Twit-
ter, Dr. Vartabedian says doctors can help themselves greatly by set-
Get Social is one of the publications TMA offers that helps physi- ting up profiles on the professional social media network LinkedIn,
cians improve their business acumen with new marketing tools. or Doximity, an online social network specifically for doctors.
Business Basics for Physicians informs physicians about accounting Facebook and Twitter are useful for doctors to promote content.
and financial management basics, long- and short-term business For Facebook, Get Social advises, “Look for news articles or blog
planning, marketing fundamentals, and more. posts that match the topics in which you want to establish your ex-
pertise. Add a comment with your own thoughts on links to the lat-
Dr. Vartabedian says the best way for physicians to market them- est research findings your patients might care about. Share
selves or their practices is to create enduring content that has value worthwhile posts you find on others’ Facebook pages. Announce an
to the target audience. That can be as simple as creating and posting upcoming special event or patient education activity that your prac-
a two-minute video or a 300-word blog post on a subject that is tice is hosting, like a flu shot clinic or prenatal class.”
helpful for the targeted viewers or readers. Local hospital blogs are
often the best outlet for that kind of content, he says. But Get Social also warns physicians to moderate the self-promo-
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