How did a Van Nuys chiropractor attract more than 9,300 Twitter followers to his practice? For starters, Dr. Anthony Silva, owner and operator of Skyline Health Group, hasn’t been afraid to post tweets on his own. The doctor authors each post himself, sometimes putting up two or three tweets or Facebook posts a day. The posts include tips on posture, exercise or diet as well as consistent promotions for his practice. All those tweets add up to more patients. “Ninety percent of people find you on search engines,” Silva said. “It’s either Facebook or Twitter. I have seen an increase in business because of that.” For comparison, major hospitals in the San Fernando Valley region, such as Glendale Adventist Medical Center and West Hills Hospital and Medical Center, have fewer than 1,000 Twitter followers each. And chiropractory isn’t a natural attention grabber in 140 characters or less. Silva specializes in regular chiropractic therapy, spinal decompression, rehabilitation, nutrition and massage. He claims his comprehensive approach sets him apart, as he tries to address the underlying cause of a health problem by recommending lifestyle changes. Silva said Facebook is his favorite social media outlet, where he has 4,600 “likes.” The best way to gain followers, he said, is to become an active user. “Using (hashtags), retweeting, sharing other people’s stuff and following them back,” are all beneficial tactics, the doctor advised. Will Simpson, project manager at L.A. PR agency Giant Spoon, said social media marketing has become integral for most businesses, but especially for medical practitioners. “A lot of the brand is based on reputation and client reviews. Social (media) is the epicenter of conversation about the quality of business services, so it’s important for doctors to be present during the conversation,” he said. However, privacy regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or HIPAA prevent doctors from actively participating in the conversation, because it could be considered a breach of doctor-patient confidentiality. Therefore, physicians must be mindful of how they write posts and respond to customer reviews via social media. Yet at the same time, these online outlets are important to grow a business. George Athan, chief executive of New York PR firm MindStorm Strategic Consulting, said businesses should utilize as many social media outlets as possible to reach different demographics. Doctors in particular, he said, should not sit back and wait for patients to walk through their doors. “The more people doctors connect with, the more opportunities they can create for themselves,” he said. Silva sees more medical practitioners turning to social media as a marketing tool, and Athan said at some point every business will use social media or risk losing credibility. “Imagine a successful business today without a website,” Athan said. “Very rarely does this happen and the same will be true for social media.” – Stephanie Henkel
