Using social media as a marketing & engagement tool: ‘It’s where people are’
Posted On May 2, 2023
Doctors and surgeons, by the nature of their profession, need to stay on the cutting edge of technology. For an orthopedic surgeon like Dr. Matt Barber of Mobile, that means taking advantage of robotics, 3D modeling, and even artificial intelligence and augmented reality.
As Barber told us in a recent episode of “What’s Working with Cam Marston,” this technology is making procedures like the knee and hip replacements in which he specializes more efficient, less invasive and resulting in better outcomes.
Doctors and surgeons, like people in many other professions, are also finding that keeping up with a different type of technology is also important to their business – social media. A couple years ago, Barber decided to try it out.
“I quite honestly have the coolest job in the world,” he said. “I just went at this with the idea of: What would happen if I just opened the door on what I do? Let’s show people and talk about it and try to be as real with it as decency would permit.”
Barber has created a social media presence across multiple platforms and, while he says he started with no expectations, that presence has resulted in new patients for his practice.
“It’s where people are,” he said of social media. “It’s not fundamentally different than how things were before. In any business, most likely your best referrals are word of mouth, satisfied customers telling other people. Word of mouth just looks different now. Word of mouth happens on a phone and on a social media platform.”
While social media can also be a useful tool for patients to ensure they’re entrusting their care to a doctor or surgeon who is up to date in the latest technology and methods, Barber also suggested the use of a more old-school approach – asking them questions.
“You can always take that direct approach,” he said. “How often do you treat this? Do you specialize in this? What are your outcomes with this? What’s going to happen? If they don’t seem pretty ready with answers, that might be a red flag.”
While technology continues to evolve, so will its uses in the operating room – where primary knee replacements are now the most common elective procedure in the country at over a million per year. And so will its uses in marketing oneself and one’s business, another area where Barber is looking to stay at the forefront.
You can learn more about Dr. Barber and his practice at his website, barbertotaljoint.com, or find him on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, or check out his Ortho Real podcast on YouTube.