A Guide to Social Media Management for Health Brands

Social media is ideal for health brands looking to educate and engage with customers.

From supplement brands to wellness clinics, brands in the healthcare industry often rely on their social media accounts to reach target audiences that are otherwise hard to connect with. And whether it’s using social media to advertise services, promote events, or lead the conversation, brands in today’s competitive healthcare space need an effective approach to social media management.

This isn’t just about posting content – it’s about building credibility, fostering engagement, and growing a robust digital presence.

This guide will help you develop a winning social media strategy tailored for health brands, and ensure your social media channels are optimized for your audience.

Why social media matters for health brands

Social media is particularly important for health, wellbeing, and healthcare companies. It allows brands the chance to speak with customers on a personal level – which is traditionally a difficult option for brands in this industry.

Health is a personal thing. We all worry about it. We all strive to improve it. We all need help with it at some point in our lives. And healthcare providers – whether it be hospitals, charities, therapy services, or even gyms – can use social media to connect to these concerns on a deeper level.

Here’s why investing in healthcare social media marketing is essential:

• It builds credibility and trust: Health is personal, so brands need to create a credible relationship with their customers. Social media is a natural place to start – because that’s where audiences are most likely to hang out. By regularly posting educational content and sharing success stories, healthcare marketers can build credibility and position their organizations as leaders in their particular industry, thereby attracting potential patients.
• You can engage with customers: Engagement is what often leads to sales, and social media is a powerful platform to foster engagement. Through consistent social media posts, health brands can educate customers about health issues, promote healthcare services, and provide valuable health-related information.
• It expands your reach: People don’t always know what health options are available to them. And social media is a common way to find the right fit for your needs. As a brand, you can launch campaigns that reach audiences who are actively looking for your services or products.
• It enhances your digital presence: Health brands need to have a strong digital presence these days to get noticed on social media and rank highly in Google search results. Being active on social media not only nurtures existing customers but also attracts new ones.

Crafting a winning healthcare social media strategy

Utilizing social media to promote your healthcare product is almost impossible to do effectively without a social media strategy in place.

So, if you’re planning to launch your health brand on social media platforms, follow these three steps to get started. Oh, and remember to ensure your actions on social media align with your other marketing efforts.

>> Want to know more about creating a marketing strategy? Book a meeting with Brandwatch and get started today

1. Develop your social media campaign ideas

Successful social media campaigns stem from diligent research. You might already have a strong sense of what your brand stands for and your messaging. You might also know your target audience. However, it’s important to align what you do know with social media data, so you don’t miss anything.

Develop your campaign ideas using a tool like Brandwatch to guide you. Look at what your competitors are doing, see the content your target audience likes most, and understand what helps convert a potential customer into a loyal customer.

All this info needs to be part of your social media plan, which should include:

• Your campaign goals: Clearly define your objectives – whether you want to educate customers, drive more website traffic, or generate new customer leads. Set social media goals that align with your broader business objectives.
• Audience targeting data: Use data-driven insights to understand your target audience. Analyzing health-related information with tools like Brandwatch provides valuable insights to refine your overall strategy.
• Paid advertising plans: Health brands often have to use paid advertising to reach audiences that may not automatically engage with their social media content. Try to mix organic efforts with social media advertising and increase brand awareness. See how Brandwatch can help with Advertise.
• Plan for regular audits: As a health brand, you need to conduct periodic reviews using social media audit tools to ensure your strategy remains effective and compliant with the latest regulations.

2. Create a comprehensive content calendar

Once you’ve settled on your campaign ideas, it’s time to map out your content schedule for your social media channels.

Health brands need to work particularly hard on their content calendar in order to tell stories that people will relate to. It can be hard to attract an audience to what might be a serious subject – such as elderly care or health insurance. But it's certainly possible.

So, you need a narrative that runs through your messaging and a well-organized content calendar to oversee it all.

This is the backbone of any successful social media management program. Your calendar helps you plan and schedule posts across multiple platforms, ensuring that you’re regularly posting and engaging with your target audience.

Key steps include:

• Content creation: You might have already worked on content creation for other areas of your marketing strategy. When it comes to social media, you need to focus on high-quality content that is educational, accurate, and engaging. People need to trust what you say because your products and services affect their health. Whether you’re sharing video content, photos, or text-based messages, make sure your content strategy aligns with your overall marketing strategy.
• Scheduling posts: Use a tool like Brandwatch to automate scheduling posts on various social media channels. Learn more about creating an effective social media posting schedule to save time and keep your channels active.
• Regular analysis: Be sure to analyze your content as it’s published and use the data to make smarter decisions. You might find that you’re posting at the wrong time of day on certain social media channels to maximize audience engagement. Our in-depth guide to social media analytics explains how to track key metrics and optimize your campaigns.

3. Optimize your social media profiles

Another core aspect of social media marketing is ensuring your profiles are fully optimized. Brands need to be consistent across each platform, so there is a common thread running through LinkedIn, Instagram, X, Facebook, YouTube, and other sites.

Consistency helps build credibility and positions your organization as a leader in health and wellbeing. Remember, this sector is all about trust, and branding consistency plays a huge part in alleviating concerns from customers.

You also need to optimize your social media channel profiles and take advantage of what each site has to offer. Whether it’s including links in your bio, optimizing your brand name for search purposes, or automating customer inquiries, it’s important you get this right.

Now, optimizing your social media profiles isn’t always easy – especially when you have multiple profiles. You may want to use social media marketing tools to help deliver these optimization procedures and ensure each profile is consistent with your brand.

4. Analyze your campaigns

Developing a strategy, creating amazing content, and optimizing your social media marketing are what’s needed to get a campaign off the ground. However, you can only evolve and improve your social media management efforts if you dig into the data.

By using social media analytics tools, it’s possible to spot which posts are doing well and which aren’t. Crucially, you can discover why posts succeed and fail. You’ll learn what post types are best for your brand, how to speak to your target audience better, and how to convert them into customers.

Emerging consumer trends in health & wellness

A growing number of people are turning to social media for health advice, with 52% of Americans trying a new health trend, tool, or approach they found on social sites. Health and wellbeing brands therefore have a big influence in how we all look after our physical and mental health.

Recent insights from our consumer trends in health and wellness report reveal three unexpected trends in consumer conversations about health:

• The popularity of magnesium for better sleep:
• Research on magnesium sleep supplements is inconsistent, but there is a significant uptick in conversations around taking magnesium to improve sleep. Brandwatch research has found that Gen Z leads the charge online. This trend is an example of how health brands can listen to potential customers and align their products and services to meet their needs.
• Consumers are using AI for self-diagnosis:
• Online mentions of self-diagnosis and AI tools increased by 50% from August 2023 to July 2024 compared to the previous period. However, many consumers are voicing concerns over the quality of AI-generated insights, with complaints about misleading information. Health brands need to be particularly aware of spreading harmful disinformation, as it could put the health and well-being of customers at risk.
• Run clubs are racing ahead:
• The number of people talking about running clubs for improved health and wellbeing has skyrocketed. Brandwatch data indicates an increase of over 100% from August 2023 to July 2024. Social sports clubs offer both physical and mental benefits and can be marketed effectively online to grow participation. 

Best practices for effective social media management

The health and wellbeing industry is highly competitive, especially on social media. Brands not only have to compete with each other but also influencers, who can greatly affect how a brand is perceived online.

Platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram can facilitate connections among social media patients with similar health conditions, helping them to overcome feelings of isolation and build a supportive community.

Brands play their part in this community too. To deliver an effective health brand strategy, you must focus on diligent social media management. Here are some best practices to follow across social media platforms.

Focus on content quality and relevance

Healthcare organizations need to make content that's fresh and engaging. People use social media for health tips and trends, so your brand needs to be at the forefront of the conversation.

Make sure you provide high-quality content – whether it be videos, photos, graphics, or live streams. Be present on platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels to generate engagement and bring audiences back to your social media profiles.

Through effective social media management, health brands can create engaging content that is interesting, educational, and compliant with regulations. Use our social media post ideas for inspiration to keep your content fresh and engaging.

Maintain consistency and foster engagement

Social media platforms that use algorithms enable users to see more of the things they like. Health brands can benefit from this by being consistent with their content. Regular posting schedules and familiar content is often the key to raising brand awareness, generating audience engagement, and then onboarding potential customers.

You can engage with audiences through questions, running polls, or hosting Q&A sessions. Your brand needs to be proactive in order to get the most engagement. Simply posting still images of your product without any interaction isn’t enough to get noticed – so step up your social media marketing.

Discover how to boost your social media engagement with proven strategies.

Use data for continuous improvement

Using social media analytics is vital for tracking your campaign performance and spotting areas to improve. Whether it’s tweaking your healthcare organization's content plan or adjusting your posting schedule, continuous evolution is key because health trends change all the time.

You can also compare your performance with industry standards using the latest social media industry benchmarks to set realistic goals and measure success.

Work with influencers

YouTube is the site of choice for people seeking medical advice and tips via social media, with 29% of Americans relying on the platform. That’s almost as many people who go to health information sites for advice (30%).

YouTube is also the home of health influencers. The 25 biggest health influencers each boast more than 6.4 million subscribers.

Healthcare organizations can benefit from partnering with influencers, who can spread a message organically to their audience. You can manage your relationships all in one place using a tool like Brandwatch Influence and track the success rate of each influencer agreement.

Compliance in healthcare social media marketing

Operating in the healthcare industry comes with unique challenges, particularly around compliance and data privacy. Brands need to be aware of their obligations when they are distributing information on social media. It’s therefore imperative you weave the following factors into your healthcare social media marketing strategy.

• Regulatory adherence: Always ensure your efforts across social platforms comply with regulations like the BMA (UK), FDA (US), or TGA (Australia). This is critical for healthcare organizations and medical practices, while it’s just as important for other companies such as health supplement brands and gyms.
• Claims and evidence: Any health-related claims, such as "boosts immunity" or "reduces anxiety" must be scientifically substantiated and not misleading. This is particularly pertinent around claims that suggest a product can "cure" or "prevent" diseases, unless legally permitted.
• Ad disclosures: Digital marketing, including influencer promotions, should comply with disclosure rules, especially for paid partnerships.
• Safety and standards: Claims around "natural" or "organic" must comply with certification standards to prevent greenwashing. Products must also meet safety testing requirements before being marketed and sold.

Time to get started

Strategic planning and robust management is essential in the competitive world of healthcare social media. By developing a comprehensive social media strategy, optimizing your profiles, having a well-oiled social media team, and meeting compliance standards, your health brand can engage prospective customers, nurture existing ones, and drive meaningful growth.

It all starts with a strategy. Make sure you have well-thought-out ideas, a plan to create amazing content, and the management tools to oversee your campaigns.

When done well, health brands can flourish on social media and make a genuine, positive difference to their audiences. If you’d like to know more about getting started, speak to an expert at Brandwatch today.