In the past, a patient could search a doctor’s website or watch their YouTube channel anonymously. Not anymore! With the advent of social media, a physician’s practice can gain valuable insights into what potential patients are considering or thinking.
Who are your potential patients?
When a doctor (or anyone) posts video clips to Snapchat or Instagram Stories, it’s possible to see who is viewing those video clips. With Snapchat, the identities of the viewers are a little more vague than Instagram. On Snapchat, the profile photo isn’t visible and the Snapchat handle isn’t readily identifiable. But with Instagram Stories, you can tell who is watching you.
With Instagram Stories, it’s possible to see the viewers profile photo and their handle is accompanied by their name in many instances. These identifiable markings can be changed by the user but if they’re not, you can see who they are.
So what can you learn from the people watching you? For one, if the person watching is a recent surgical patient, that tells you they’re still happy with your work. If they’re watching while recovering, they’re probably not mad at you! This is especially helpful if they had a postoperative wound or it was taking longer than usual for their breast implants to settle. If they’re still watching, probably means they’re pleased overall.
It’s particularly interesting to see potential patients that are watching and then come in for a consultation. These are the best consultations because they know how the doctor works. They’re well educated on the procedures and services they’re interested in and they have reasonable expectations.
Think about it. In the past, a potential patient wouldn’t necessarily be able to see the doctor do the operation they’re considering. How’s that for transparency and preop education!
