Attracting New Patients With Facebook's New Local Awareness Ads

Digital methods of marketing are changing the way we communicate with potential customers, resulting in innovative new ways of locating and retaining them.

In the past, if you were a drug store or an urgent care center, you would probably display a sign somewhere publicly or rent a billboard when trying to attract a local audience. Now all you need to do is market your product or service digitally on Facebook to increase your client base. That’s because the world’s largest and arguably most influential social network just announced that its Local Awareness Ads are now open to all advertisers!

These ads can be created simply by entering your business’ address and drawing a target radius around it. Facebook will then serve ads to users based not only on where they live but also on where they traveled geographically in the recent past. This means that people who checked in at the local restaurant in the shopping plaza near your hospital a few days ago will start seeing your advertisements about seasonal flu shots pop up on their Facebook pages, for example. The ads include a call to action button allowing interested parties to “Get Directions,” sending them directly to you.

These highly targeted ads serve as a powerful reminder for locals about the services your facility offers right in their backyard. Yes, they can opt out of them on Facebook, but we suspect the majority will enjoy being informed about healthcare services in their neighborhood.

Social media for medicine is rapidly and continually evolving with tools that place you in front of the right audience with immediacy and accuracy: learn how to employ them.

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