The topic of health and healthcare is one of the most difficult to communicate. On the one hand, it requires a traditional approach and there is a lot of science in it, on the other hand, the explanations should be simple and understandable to everyone.
Today, most pharmaceutical companies, clinics, brands of medicines and healthcare devices have pages on social networks. There they talk about themselves, remind them of the importance of taking care of their health, and inspire both grandmothers and teenagers.
On the eve of International Medical Day, which is celebrated in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus on the third Sunday of June (this year – June 16), we have prepared an overview of the approaches used by global healthcare brands in their social media communications. All of them are collected below, along with 10 great medical templates.
5 approaches to revitalize medical brand SMM
Show expertise
It is important for large clinics, pharmacological concerns and laboratories to show their expertise. This is part of their professional image and, in many ways, the basis of respect. Of course, no one will tell Instagram followers about the intricacies of formulas or tell in detail how the raw materials are extracted, but they must feel: the company employs the best specialists, and they are definitely on guard for the health of the whole world.
For example, British pharmaceutical giant GSK regularly shares photos and videos from its laboratories. He also launched a special tag (#behindthescience), which can be used to track what is happening in their laboratories.
Another pharmaceutical giant, Novartis, does short interviews with its specialists so that subscribers can see exactly who creates the drugs for them. This approach is not unique, many other companies also share their “faces”, but Novartis is now focusing on this. And this is a success: one of the most recent photos with an employee has four times more likes than page subscriptions.
Simplify
Talking about science in simple terms is not an easy task. But it is necessary to fulfill it if you want to be heard. Many medical companies try to make information about themselves and their achievements as visual as possible.
For example, the American pharmaceutical company Merck publishes infographics – numbers about important things – in the most lively and even a little hipster format. So they not only provide subscribers with important data about health, medicine and ecology, but also show that they can work with big data: they are ready to collect, analyze and share it, albeit at such a simple level. This is very important – big data has been among the most important trends in communications for several years.
This is how, for example, they talk about the fact that the human brain is 72% water:
This approach is easy to follow, even if you don’t have graphic designers on staff. Crello has hundreds of templates in the same style, you can use any of them. In addition, you can change the design in the template for yourself and add your own font to make the inscriptions branded and memorable. If you want to animate the numbers in your infographics, that’s also possible. To do this, just select the appropriate objects in the tab with animation (on the left panel).
Explain
This approach overlaps with the previous one: in order to explain something scientific, you need to simplify it, decompose it into its components and package them as clearly as possible. Here too, infographics are suitable, but a little more detailed. For example, this is how you can draw up instructions for passing tests or explain the prevalence of diseases, as the Sinevo network of laboratories did:
Some brands draw whole cartoons that immerse subscribers in the story and clearly show the importance of certain actions. For example, like this – with the help of a cartoon – the French pharmaceutical company Sanofi explains the importance of vaccinations.
Some people prefer to make the cartoon concise, but no less informative. This is how the fitbit fitness tracker explains what the average rates of the menstrual cycle are. Just a few slides – and you got a small but nice video brochure:
Inspire
When health is not very good, support is very needed. It is not necessary to bombard subscribers with motivating phrases, but it is necessary to show that they are not alone in their situations and possible experiences.
So, for example, the American organization Weight Watchers, which promotes the concept of a healthy weight, urges not to count hysterically calories, but primarily to think about physical and mental balance. For example, on Instagram, she often publishes ironic pictures on the topic of the fact that it is wrong to exclude all delicious foods or engage in all sports at once:
Under Armor sportswear brand MyFitnessPal is literally geared towards motivation. Although the brand is not directly related to medicine, it raises the topic of health – not only specific sports activities, but also proper nutrition and attitudes towards physical activity. On their Instagram account, they regularly publish posts that support people on diet and in sports – explaining that you do not need to exhaust yourself in order to be fit. For example, they show what 1,500 calories look like on a vegan diet (more than satisfying):
And yet, most medical professionals choose more traditional methods of motivation and inspiration. For example, the brand of vitamins and supplements Solgar in its French account shares beautiful and energizing pictures of beautiful nature and happy people:
Entertain
Medical topics can seem boring, especially when it’s not about applied things, but about viruses or complex reactions. But even such a topic can be coolly expanded if you find the very secret element that fascinates.
For example, the pharmaceutical concern Pfizer shows how bacteria, infectious agents, blood clots, the transmission of nerve impulses and much more look like when magnified many times. In the photo below, for example, the flu virus in the human respiratory tract. Looks like a Bvlgari jewelery:
It’s not easy to repeat Pfizer’s approach, it requires high-quality laboratory photos. But you can make a comic strip or a picture with an animated element – and there tell a story about how the same influenza virus arises and enters the body.
All of this can be realized with the help of Crello templates – choose the one that suits your style, or build your story from scratch using design elements in the editor. In Crello, you can create multi-page designs – very handy if you are going to make a comic strip or frames for a future GIF.
Let’s summarize
The medical topic is serious and sedate, but global pharmaceutical companies and health centers are changing everything, at least in their communications on social networks. Here are the approaches they actively use:
- It is interesting to show expertise. It is important for subscribers to see how seriously everything is arranged in the company and how high the quality standards are, but not to get bored.
- Simplify. The easier the information is presented and the clearer it is about the complex, the better. For all.
- Explain. It is important to tell you exactly how the human body works and how you need to take care of your health – step by step, using examples, with pictures and animation.
- Inspire. We all, at least a little, but need support and inspiration – give it to your subscribers. Motivate them to become healthier and happier.
- Entertain. Medicine can hardly be called an area where you can have fun, but it is quite possible to find something unusual in it. Track it down in your thread and show it to your subscribers.
All these approaches will help to quickly revitalize the page of a medical brand on social networks, but they will still take a little time – you will need to develop a concept, choose templates and formats in which you will implement it. If you need a solution now, use our medical templates. Search for them by keywords “doctor”, “medicine”, “hospital”, “drugs” and others similar.
