Social Media: Opportunities and Threats
With social media, health professionals have many tools to help build their businesses. Social networking can be a powerful tool in the hands of people who know how to exploit their full potential. When social media is misinterpreted or misapplied, it can become a time sink where many hours could have been spent more productively in other ways to build your business. Since social networking lends itself to misunderstandings, this will help to clarify some of these areas.
One of the things that make it confusing is that social media terms of use that people often assume they understand as "networks" but in the field of social networks, it has very different meanings.
Social media and meetings
With 128 million people using the Internet in the US, how to reach people and be relevant to their needs change. This means that the way you do business has changed as well. The public now consults your phone to get the best purchases on products and services. They also use their phones to buy items. Changes in the way business is done also affect health care.
Social media provides many tools that, like health care, you can use to build your business. With the use of social networks (interactive), the nature of business has changed. Social networking provides an interactive way of dealing with potential customers. In previous generations, the relationship between a health professional and potential clients is limited to one-way interactions dominated by the health professional. Today, patients respond using Facebook, email, Twitter or other service, ask questions and ask as a health professional to respond. If you provide good service, you can inform others, if your service is poor, your reputation suffers much faster when using social networks.
In previous generations, any type of marketing includes advertisements that describe the services provided and the contact information. If the health professional had social skills, they can even participate in networking as a way to expand their business. In previous generations, networking was joining local groups to promote business in the local community. A general health professional has joined the Chamber of Commerce, local professional group for their specialization, a group of companies such as lions or rotary or if they are really an adventure.
With social networks, groups join aspirants have changed. Of course, there are still some of the old groups used in previous generations, which can be used. Social media offers more options. There are medical sites like Sermo.com, which are a social network dedicated exclusively to doctors.
In other areas of health, professional groups such as the American Psychological Association and the American Marriage and Family Therapy Association developed their presence in the media. This allows the old professional groups to have a new place to meet on the Internet.
In addition to these groups, there are groups in their own social networks. LinkedIn has many professional groups on your site, such as Facebook. These groups vary depending on the specialty. There are groups in oncology, depression, health professional support, etc. These groups often provide forums where you can discuss topics that interest you as a health care provider. I remember a recent lively debate about the existence of sexual addictions on LinkedIn, where health professionals approach the issue from many different points of view. These provide a place to find the latest information and keep in touch with your colleagues.
These groups provide a forum where medical professionals can meet and connect with others with similar interests. This is a new old style social network application. Networking held during monthly or annual meetings is now available every day. Meetings and relationships continue to be important for a health professional to develop their activities.
The new network and new challenges
Threats
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