Managing your pharmacy Facebook page is an excellent way to connect with your community, share valuable information, and market your business. Best of all, social media marketing does not have to take up a lot of time or money. Keep reading for ten easy-to-implement tips to make the most of your community pharmacy's Facebook page.
1. Keep Your Profile Updated
Always keep your pharmacy's Facebook page updated with current business information, recent photos, and ongoing promotions. An outdated Facebook page can discourage potential customers from connecting with your business. Keep the following items updated at all times.
- Pharmacy name
- Address, phone, and email
- Profile picture and logo
- Cover photo
- Hours of operation
2. Post Consistently
While posting on Facebook ten times a day isn’t necessary to be successful, sharing consistently will help gain your customers' recognition. A month or more without new content can make your pharmacy's Facebook page appear inactive. Pick two or three days of the week to post and set aside 5 to 10 minutes to update your profile and share a pharmacy update.
3. Share Advice
Communities rely on their local pharmacy for more than just prescriptions. Pharmacists serve as an educational health resource for patients, covering a wide range of topics. You can maximize the potential of your Facebook page by sharing valuable health information for your community.
Here are some ideas to get you started, but the options are endless! You can even make the advice specific to your community, addressing relevant health concerns or seasonal issues.
- Proper handwashing techniques to slow the spread of viruses
- Reminders for vaccines
- Back-to-school health tips
- Disease management tips
- Importance of medication adherence
4. Photos Make It Personal
The value of community pharmacy can clearly be seen in the personal connections formed between patients and pharmacists. Community pharmacies offer a personal touch that big-box chains cannot provide, getting to know their patients by name. It is equally important to show the human side of your pharmacy. You are more than just a business; your pharmacy comprises community members working hard to give back and support their peers.
Regularly adding photos to your pharmacy's Facebook page is a great way to bring a personal touch to your social media. Share photos of the pharmacists and techs on staff, capture fun moments in the store, promote new products or current specials, and let your community get to know you better – by name and face.
5. Connect with Your Community
Facebook is all about connections, and your pharmacy page is no different. Instead of waiting for customers to find you, you can go to them. From popular local businesses to influential community members, you can form connections online and share the word about your business.
Keep in mind that building a personal connection is not all about business. Like and engage with posts and pages relevant to your community, not just your pharmacy. The people in your community will see that you are active in important local matters, increasing name recognition for your store.
6. Highlight Upcoming Events
Events are a great way to draw attention to your pharmacy on Facebook. From vaccination programs to health seminars and Facebook lives, share everything happening in your pharmacy. Creating events for limited-time offers and promotions will help to encourage more foot traffic. Create an event on Facebook, add all the relevant information, and invite as many people as possible.
Maximize your efforts: Encourage your staff, friends, and family to share your events and spread the word.
7. Show Off Your Customers
Community is at the heart of your pharmacy, and nothing is more important than your customers. Encourage customers to share their experiences on your page by leaving a review. If a customer shares positive feedback with you in the store, ask if you can share on social media. Share and like posts from others on Facebook complimenting your business. You can even create short testimonial videos with regular customers championing your pharmacy.
Consider adding details about your Facebook page to your marketing material and in-store displays to help promote your social presence. Add a link to Facebook in your emails, include information on flyers or brochures, or put “Like Us on Facebook” signs in the pharmacy.
8. Boost OTC Items
Over-the-counter items can be a significant revenue boost for your pharmacy, and Facebook is an excellent platform to share your inventory. Remind your community that your pharmacy does more than fill prescriptions and dispense medication; you are a one-stop health resource. Consider posting about the following OTC topics:
- Vitamin recommendations by gender and age
- Proper sunscreen for the summer
- First-aid kit must-haves
- Gloves, masks, and other PPE
- New products in stock
- Restocks of popular items
Time-saving tip: If you don’t know which OTC items to highlight, share in-store promotions or discounted items to draw in more foot traffic.
9. Add to Your Facebook Story
Facebook Story is a relatively new feature, allowing people and businesses to share photos for a limited time. Adding to your Facebook Story is a unique way to share time-sensitive updates, post fun pictures, and highlight promotions. Facebook Stories are only accessible for 24 hours; therefore, you do not have to worry about editing or deleting a post once a promotion or event has passed. It won’t flood your Facebook page with too many photos or videos from a specific event or day.
10. Provide Excellent Customer Service
Finally, Facebook has become a new platform for providing customer service. In our social media-driven world, word of mouth spreads fast. One unhappy customer can quickly reach a large audience through Facebook and damage your business. You can use your pharmacy's Facebook page to address customer concerns or complaints, answer questions, and share important information with your customers.
By publicly providing top-notch customer support, you can show potential customers what it is like to do business with your pharmacy. Keep your current customers happy and attract new customers just by keeping up with your social media.
For more than 40 years, Outcomes® has been dedicated to the success of independent pharmacies. Outcomes, with its portfolio of products and services, including Rx30, ComputerRx, OutcomesOne, and PrescribeWellness provides pharmacy management systems and innovative technology solutions to the pharmacy industry. Proudly supporting the largest install base of independent pharmacies in the industry with systems in all 50 states and the Virgin Islands, Outcomes is the leading provider of pharmacy solutions.
