mHealth Marketing: Social Media Isn’t Free

Many mobile health marketers look at social media as a free way to market. After all, the social media platforms are free: there is no cost to creating a Twitter account, Facebook Business Page, Linkedin Business Page, or Google+ Business Profile.

Yes, these social media platforms are free to access, but there are hidden costs involved to using them as effective marketing outlets.

Let’s look at the costs involved in effective social media for mHealth Marketing.

1. You Need People- Both internal staff at all levels of the business, plus outsourced staff is needed to make sure your social media efforts click on all front. You’ll need social media managers, content creators, intergration with marketing messages, and customer service support from front-line staff. In addition senior executives must set the direction for social media and are expected to participate to add credibility both within the business and to prospects and clients.

2. You Must Create Content- You must create original content that carries the marketing message of your mobile health business. Content in text, audio, video, images, presentations, webinars, podcasts, and more is required, Also, content must fit the various social media platforms for the most impact. For example, Facebook requires images and video, while Linkedin is more text and outside link driven.

3. Brand Consistency Across Your Platforms- You must build and establish a consistent and identifiable brand message and image across all your social media platforms. This requires coordination with designers and a well-planned Editorial Calendar.

4. Social Media Content Must Be Search Optimized- All your social media efforts must be optimized for search to make it easy for prospects to find your information online. With the most recent Google changes, all your social media content impacts search results. Many times, mobile health marketers must use specialized search resources, either internally, or hire it from an outside source, to optimize social media for search.

5. Technology Support- Storing and sharing videos and audio files requires technical know-how. Likewise, conducting Google HangOuts and sharing podcast episodes requies setting things up correctly.

6. Monitoring and Analyzing Activity- You’ll need to monitor for mentions of your business name and products and services. It’s smart to monitor what your competitors are doing on social media. It’s important to respond proactively to any negative comments about your business, or misunderstandings about your products or services.

In addition, you’ll need to analyse social media activity and determine what efforts are effectively moving prospects into your sales funnel. To determine your ROI for social media, it’s important to include calls to action whenever possible to track engagement and connection to your sales results.

Determining your true costs of social media in your mHealth marketing is certainly a bit tricky, but having an awareness of these hidden costs gives you a more realistic picture of what it takes to make social media work in your marketing.