Helping your patients have a positive experience starts with putting yourself in their shoes. It’s a tricky proposition that can be helped by healthcare influencer marketing. Nine in 10 patient influencers/advocates say online communities play at least a “somewhat important” role in their health decisions and 48% say they play a “very important” or “extremely important” role. While patient advocate sometimes refers to a person who accompanies patients to appointments and helps them navigate paperwork, there’s another kind of patient advocate—those who are patients themselves. These advocates document their journey online and can be a valuable resource not only to your patients, but to your practice as well. They’ve already built trust with their audience and can recommend products/services to help them. If you’re wondering how to get in touch with a patient advocate partner for your organization, read on.
Look for those already using your services
You may be surprised to find there are bloggers, vloggers and influencers who are already your patients. To find them, post a poll on social media and survey your email list. Make your intent clear—you’re looking for a healthcare influencer marketing partner. To encourage people to participate in your poll/survey, offer healthcare promotional products, like a jumbo 24/7 pill organizer or a tin of awareness ribbon mints.
Find those most similar to your audience
Searching for specific, health-related social media hashtags is one easy way to find influencers with the same conditions as your patients. When you reach out to an influencer to ask them if they’re interested in working with you, consider sending them a small gift to grab their attention. Depending on their circumstances, they may appreciate a soothing bar soap, a themed pen or a Cold and Flu Health Kit.
Proactively ask for honest feedback
Someone who’s dealing with an illness or condition will have far deeper insights on how you can improve your products/services than anyone else. They bring key concerns to the attention of companies that can make real change.
Make sure the influencers you reach out to understand you welcome all input. Try to implement their ideas whenever possible. This helps ensure your target audience is receiving exactly what they need, when they need it. This results in better reviews and better service to your patients. As a thank you for their suggestions and to encourage them to share future feedback, send them a first aid kit or an adult coloring book.
Build long-term relationships
Focus on building relationships with a select group of influencers on a long-term basis rather than trying to target many people at once. Not only does this allow more time to build trust between you and the influencer, it also helps ensure the faces and names representing your products or services stay familiar.
Healthcare influencers for better health
Patient advocate partnerships and healthcare influencer marketing is an easy, effective way to show how your practice can help people. By finding influencers who are similar to those you serve and building long-term relationships with them, you’ll help potential patients feel seen, heard and understood.