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The dawn of the artificial intelligence (AI) era is changing the way healthcare marketers engage and interact with their audiences, according to insights presented at Hootsuite's Annual Social Trends 2024: Healthcare Webcast (November 30). It's changing. The findings were presented by Hootsuite employee Sarah Dawley Sr. Content manager. Giordana Rapuchi, Senior Copywriter. Julia Escano, campaign strategist. And Trish Riswick, team lead for social marketing, said:
Some of the information presented echoes common concerns previously shared by social media marketing leaders, such as regulatory concerns and getting healthcare companies to recognize the true value of social and invest more. It matched the refrain of In fact, the biggest ROI concern of social media for healthcare companies is the time and expense it takes to maintain a multi-platform presence.
To have an effective online presence, it's essential for marketers to stay ahead of new features and updates while keeping in mind the changing demographics and characteristics of their target audience. Fifty-seven percent of survey respondents said they struggled in this area, and 63% said they were already completely overwhelmed with tasks and responsibilities.
New information surrounding AI creates additional challenges to address. For example, according to Hootsuite trends, next year, healthcare organizations are expected to see a 375% increase in their use of AI in customer support activities, while their use of AI in image editing will increase by 356%. Meanwhile, 62% of consumers say they are less likely to engage with or trust content if they know it was created by an AI application. Additionally, many respondents admitted that it is difficult to tell which information and images online are real and which are fake/created using AI. However, the main reason why organizations use AI for social media is to reduce staff workload.
According to Hootsuite trends, healthcare organizations are most confident in realizing ROI from LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. But I'm staying away from Pinterest, Threads, and Twitter/X. Specifically, 64% of healthcare marketers say engagement is the top metric they use to demonstrate ROI. The hurdle to engagement lies in the type and frequency of posts. Currently, 79% of healthcare organizations are active on LinkedIn, but about half of them post less than once a week.
Hootsuite also predicts that LinkedIn will become the new healthcare hub on social media. Nearly 80% of Gen Z respondents said they are interested in following more companies and organizations on LinkedIn and using social media to research health-related information. According to Hootsuite, nearly 40% plan a career in the medical field, making LinkedIn a gold mine for the newest generation entering the workforce.
Social media users are looking for more than just connection. They long to be entertained. More than half of the consumers surveyed expressed that their organization would benefit from being more empathetic on social. Coincidentally, 34% of consumers say it is a major hindrance when an organization focuses too much on self-promotion.
The final trend centers around privacy, compliance, and regulatory hurdles. Hootsuite pointed out that 63% of healthcare social marketers admit that industry regulations actually make their jobs harder. Additionally, more than half of healthcare companies surveyed said compliance rules are their biggest concern regarding social media safety, while 47% of them have company policies regarding what employees can post. It is set up.
Further insights are available in the full report and on-demand webinar.
References
Futsui. Social trends for 2024: A glimpse of the future. Webinar. November 30, 2023.
https://www.hootsuite.com/webinars/social-trends-2024
