Marketing Healthcare to Women: Is Facebook Advertising Relevant for Healthcare?

Does social media usage by hospitals extend to Facebook advertising?  Currently there are 1,229 hospitals using social media.  That means that approximately 20% of the 5,754 U.S. hospitals are active in social media.  But of that 20%, how many are active in Facebook advertising?  Only about 150 of those hospitals.

Most hospitals are using social media to extend their message without expanding their budget.  And some have stepped out to do highly targeted advertising.  Take the case of the University of Pennsylvania Health System.  They turned to Facebook and Google advertising for a very specialized service line – lung transplants.  Spending only $20,000 for a few weeks of advertising last fall, they received 4,600 ad clicks and 36 appointments for consultations.  Only 60 lung transplants are conducted in Philadelphia annually, and while small in volume, each procedure brings in $100,000 in revenue.  I am not surprised at this response.  I have used social media advertising effectively in lung-related treatments as well.

In a recent Digital and Social Media survey, Facebook is the most popular Social Media channel for advertising, with 96 percent of SM marketers using it, followed by Twitter (89 percent), LinkedIn (49 percent), Pinterest (33 percent) and “Other” (14 percent).

Where else but social media are you going to reach as many female healthcare decisions makers?  Women make up 56% of social media users, composing 58% of Facebook users and 64% of Twitter users.  They are more likely to update their profile, make comments on posts, and share content and photos.

Marketing to Women: Falling Out of Love with Facebook?

Do you feel you are spending as much time on Facebook as you have in the past?  Has the desire to share and read about the details of friends and acquaintances waned?  If the bloom is off your Facebook rose, then you are not alone.  According to a recent poll conducted among 1,032 Americans by Reuters and research firm Ipsos, 35% of Facebook users said they are less engaged on Facebook than they have been in the recent past. Conversely, only 20% of users say they are spending more time on the site.

The reasons given for the drop in engagement are finding the site boring, not relevant or not useful (27%), a lack of time (25%), and concerns about privacy (24%).  Those who are the most positive towards Facebook are those aged 18-34. Two-thirds say they have either a very or somewhat favorable opinion of the social network, compared to 48% of 35-54-year-olds and just 31% of those over 55.

Even more troubling for Facebook is the finding that four out of five Facebook members have never been influenced by ads run on the site. Since the social network’s IPO, this new finding underscores the need for Facebook to turn the 900 million customer base into a more receptive advertising audience.  This research comes on the heels of AP-CNBC survey results released in May which found that 83% of users rarely if ever click on ads or sponsored content on the site.  Of course, Facebook did generate $3.7 billion in sales last year, mostly from its online ads. But sales growth has been slowing, according to Reuters.

On a more positive note, 18-34-year-olds are 40% more likely than the average to have been influenced by a Facebook impression to make a purchase. Data from a new Inside Network Research report indicates that this demographic makes up 44% of Facebook’s US audience.

This rising concern about advertising effectiveness was highlighted last month when General Motors announced they would halt their Facebook advertising.  Advertisers must think about the type of Facebook engagement that binds the social network and how their product/service fits into the lifestyle represented on Facebook.  I am not thinking about a car purchase when I am on Facebook sharing family photos, events or ideas.  Certainly, food products, restaurants, clothing and passion type activities seem to match up better with the Facebook audience.

Some analysts are predicting that Facebook might go the way of My Space or AOL.  But maybe it’s just a plateau.  Only time will tell. Neil Sedaka certainly expressed it best:  ”Come on baby, let’s start anew, cause breaking up is hard to do!”

Related articles

• Facebook ‘boring’? 1 in 3 users are tuning it out (news.cnet.com)