Platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have brought people closer and made it easier for businesses of all sizes to find and cater to their target audiences. The healthcare sector is no different. At this point, if you are not posting to these platforms, you are behind. Hopefully, these statistics will give you some more data to get you moving forward and taking action to start being more active on social.
Social Media Marketing Trends Shaping the Healthcare Industry
- Approximately 73% of internet consumers are active social media users. That equates to 2.9 billion active global users on social media. (Source: Hubspot)
- Social media is used by 43% of Boomers to find health information. (Source: Hubspot)
- Nearly 19 million Facebook users are over the age of 55. (Source: WordStream)
- People aged 18 to 24 are 70% more engaged in health-related discussions on social media. (Source: Healthcare Success)
- Nearly 80% of users look for healthcare information online, while 50% actively seek information about particular doctors. (Source: Content Grip)
- 60% of healthcare consumers claim to believe what doctors share on their social platforms. This contrasts with the 36% of people who believe posts from well-renowned pharmaceutical corporations. (Source: Cision, 2020)
- Over 76% of Americans look up their medical symptoms on social media. (Source: Healthcare Success)
- 41% of customers say that social platforms play an active role in the doctor or hospital they choose. (Source: Hubspot)
- Over 32% of posts are made by the healthcare consumer’s close friend or relative on their experience. (Source: Criteo, 2021)
- 29% of people who use social media to access health information look for other people’s experiences with a similar ailment. (Source: WordStream)
- Health care advertisements are 25% less costly per click on Facebook than any other ads. (Source: Borrel, 2020)
- Over 78% of consumers begin their health care journey on search engines. (Source:
- Over 47% of individuals are directed to social media platforms of health care institutions or practitioners through search engines. (Source: SEMrush, 2021)
- 70,000 searches for healthcare are made on Google every minute, contributing to 7% of the total daily searches, with at least 3% getting directed to social networking sites. (Source: CMI, 2020)
- 15% of yearly queries, according to the search engine powerhouse, were new searches. This 15% is the representation of over 1 trillion searches annually. (Source: SEMrush, 2021)
- Approximately 50% of marketers assess the effectiveness of their SEO strategy through organic traffic and keyword rankings. (Source: Borrell, 2020)
- Strategic keyword placement is the most used SEO strategy for over 70% of marketers. (Source: Marketing Sherpa)
- Over 55% of users claim to use social media to do their research before making an appointment. (Source: Keller Research Center)
- According to Hubspot State of Marketing Reports, 69% of marketers invested in SEO strategies in 2021. (Source: Hubspot)
- The typical local business allocates 5–10% of its total revenue on digital marketing, whereas larger companies may invest up to 14%. (Source: GetApp, 2021)
- 50% of consumers who actively respond to social media comments or reviews approach practitioners are intending to purchase. (Source: AirTable, 2021)
- Over 94% of patients read online reviews before making a purchase decision. (Source:
- Visitors who click through via email are likelier to fill out forms and convert successfully, whereas those coming via search adverts are less likely. (Source: Criteo, 2021)
- 45% of companies send weekly emails to their leads. (Source: Muck Rack, 2021)
- Video is the most popular format that marketers employed in their digital and content strategy in 2021. (Source: Wyzowl, 2020)
- Healthcare businesses who blog see a 55% increase in site traffic, directing over 40% of them to social media pages. (Source: SEMRush, 2021)
- Over 75% of marketers make active investments in social media marketing to enhance their business and create a consistent brand reputation. (Source: Hubspot, 2020)
- Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are the top three social media platforms used in healthcare settings. (Source: Wyzowl, 2020)
- Approximately 49% of healthcare businesses have confirmed to increase their social media marketing budget in 2022. (Source: AirTable, 2021)
- The average number of posts published by marketers on social media can range between three to four posts per week. (Source: Hubspot State of Marketing Report, 2021)
- Marketers claim that video posts have a higher engagement rate than pictures. (Source: CMI, 2020)
- Over 40% of marketers claim that social listening is their leading activity on their social media channels. (Source: Edelman, 2021)
- 67% of healthcare consumers prefer to learn about product or service descriptions through short video clips rather than written content. (Source: WordStream, 2021)
- 86% of businesses consider videos as an established and efficient marketing tool. (Source: WordStream, 2021)
- Seven out of 10 visitors claim they were convinced to visit a healthcare facility or purchase a healthcare product by a video. (Source: Casted, 2022)
- 86% of social media marketers say that videos increase their visibility, whereas 80% claim it has helped tremendously in generating leads. (Source: Screwpile Communications)
- The top three digital marketing channels used by B2B marketers are:
- Social Media Advertising
- Event Sponsorships
- Search Engine Marketing (Source: We Are Social)
- Over 95% of people living in the United States of America own a smartphone or at least have access to it. (Source: Pew Research Center)
- Approximately 90% of consumers claim that positive online reviews significantly influence their purchasing decisions. (Source: B2B Content marketing Trend Reports)
- Case studies and customer testimonials are among the most effective and successful content marketing strategies. (Source: Dimensional Research)
- Over 50% of social media consumers believe the word of influencers and are more likely to make a purchase based on that information. (Source: WordStream, 2021)
- Businesses can use Facebook Ads as an opportunity to stand out in the market, since Facebook Ads have only been explored by 5% of brands. (Source: Screwpile Communications)
- 91% of Instagram users follow at least one business account, whereas 43% follow a minimum of one healthcare page. (Source: AirTable, 2021)
- 50% of Snapchat users are more likely to open a Snapchat ad and make an impulsive purchase.
- The average screen time of an adult is two hours in the US. ( Source: WordStream, 2021)
In Conclusion
Social media has become essential to our everyday lives and has made the idea of branding your practice (reputation) even more crucial. The competitive landscape is only getting worse. Your practice needs to be on social media to stay on the mind of your patients and build your practice reputation.