Social media has almost become an integral part of our lives both personally and professionally. An increasing amount of businesses, including physiotherapy practices, utilise social media as a key tool in their marketing strategy. With free sign up, low cost for advertising and scope to reach a large audience it does sound like a fantastic way to reach new and existing clients. However, with great power comes great risk. To help you avoid risky social media activity Guild Insurance shares their top do’s and don’ts for your physiotherapy practice.
When setting up your practice’s social media accounts…
Do create a business plan that is based on your practice’s needs and overall marketing strategy. The plan should include everything you plan on doing on social media from your presence, brand awareness, communications and advertising. The plan should also include details on how you plan to measure your success over time so that you can determine what works and doesn’t work for your business.
Don’t create a social media account just because everyone else has one. This is the easiest way to lose control of your social media presence and place unnecessary stress on yourself and your business.
When posting on your accounts…
Do think before you post. Social media allows you to communicate a variety of messages to a range of people with great speed. It’s therefore very easy to post or respond to posts in haste which can be misinterpreted. To avoid this, map out a clear content plan for your social media account. To maximise your own time, try to plan as much content as possible in advance and utilise social media scheduling apps to assist you.
Don’t post irrelevant content. Your practice’s social media account should adhere to the social media business plan you have set out. The platform should only be used to reflect that business objective not personal views or disputes.
When communicating with clients…
Do create clear communication guidelines and assign as few people as possible to post on behalf of the business as possible. This will help ensure consistent messaging as well as lessen the chance of mishaps happening.
Don’t believe that any post is ever private. Remember that if communication between yourself and a client (or potential client) is happening via social media it is never truly private. If there is anything you wouldn’t want your colleagues, clients or competitors seeing, don’t post it on social media.
When advertising your business…
Do ensure and check that all of your advertising complies with AHPRA’s requirements under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law as outlined in AHPRA’s Guidelines for Advertising Regulated Health Services, as well as the Physiotherapy Board of Australia’s Social Media policy.
Don’t assume that your advertising is compliant with the above-mentioned Guidelines. Failing to be compliant is a criminal offence and the consequences of this can result in large fines as well as damage to your professional and personal reputation.
For more Risk resources, visit Guild Insurance. Or, to find out how Guild can help protect your business get a quote online today.
Guild Insurance Limited ABN 55 004 538 863, AFS Licence No. 233 791. This article contains information of a general nature only, and is not intended to constitute the provision of legal advice. GLD4574 Ultimate Physio Blog Social Media 05/2018
