Social media information for pharmacy owners

Community Pharmacy Nottinghamshire – social media support for pharmacies

 Please note: If your pharmacy is part of a group, then please check with your line manager before embarking on a social media strategy.

 Introduction

Social media is all about having conversations with people and, if you’re a business, those people are your customers. If you’re not already using social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram to promote your pharmacy, then you really should consider doing so. All you need is one member of your team to set up and manage the platforms by creating weekly content and replying to any comments or messages that your posts may receive. However, if your pharmacy is part of a group then please check with your line manager before embarking on a social media strategy.

We recommend starting simply. Select one platform to begin with and see how you get on. And don’t make it onerous. Aim to create two or three posts each week, no more, and do them well. Social media is definitely a case of less is more!

You know your customers and patients so you will know what makes them tick. Use that knowledge to create posts that they will find informative and interesting. Images are always well received but DO NOT lift them straight from Google. Use royalty-free image sites such as Pixabay or Unsplash. Community Pharmacy England and NHS England also have graphic resources you can use, such as this pack to promote Pharmacy First. People also love to see people so include some photos (or videos!) of you and your pharmacy team in action (if they’re happy to do so) in your posts.

Above all, think before you post. Ask yourself will our customers benefit from reading this?, is this information useful to them? and will it bring them into the pharmacy? If you can answer yes to at least one of these questions, go for it!

Objectives

• Communicate important and relevant information to your customers
• Engage with your customers
• Raise the profile of your pharmacy

Platforms to consider using (these are all known as ‘business-to-consumer’ platforms)

Facebook, Instagram and X (Twitter)

Content creation

Create content such as posts and photos (and videos if you feel comfortable doing so) that are succinct, informative and helpful to your customers. Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself: “what do I need to know about my local community pharmacy?” “what do I need from my local pharmacy?” “what is Pharmacy First and how can I access it at my community pharmacy?”

Overview of each platform

Facebook

Have you got a business page on Facebook? If not, all you need to have is a personal Facebook account and you can set up a business page for your pharmacy from there using your login details. Simply click on ‘menu’ (the nine dots logo) in the top r/h corner of your profile page, then select ‘page’ under Create in r/h part of the page. From there, follow the instructions to ‘create a page’.

Instagram

You can also create an Instagram page this way and link the two accounts together. The benefit of doing this is you can schedule the same posts to appear on each of the two platforms at certain dates/times. It makes life much easier. Consider utilising ‘Meta’ to manage both Facebook and Instagram. In doing so you will be able to access page analytics and insights and place ads etc. if you ever need to.

X (Twitter)

To set up an account on X simply head to www.twitter.com, click ‘create account’ and follow the steps

Jargon buster

Not particularly familiar with social media? Don’t worry, here’s a brief insight into what it’s all about and some of the terminology used

 Feed – the place in which all posts appear – that’s what people are looking at when you see them scrolling on their phones!

Posts – a mix of text and photos/graphics (or videos or reels) to grab the attention of the audience and engender a reaction

Likes – on the majority of social media platforms you can ‘like’ a post. That basically means you give it a thumbs up. You can also ‘love’ or ‘care for’ a post, ‘laugh’ at it or deem it  worthy of a ‘wow’ emoji

Comment – if you have something to say about a post or you’d like to respond to a question posed, you can reply and write a comment that anyone who reads the post will see. Great way to engage in a conversation or offer your opinion on something

Repost another company or organisation’s (such as Community Pharmacy Nottinghamshire) post – reposting ensures that the original post will also appear in your personal feed so your connections will also have the opportunity to see the post

A quick word about content generation

Social media is always hungry for content. Posting every day (or every other day) will get you traction and will encourage engagement – it’s all about getting your pharmacy noticed for all the right reasons.

Spend half an hour each week drafting and planning two or three posts for the following week. And don’t worry about repeating a post you did a few weeks before. People don’t see everything so it’s worth repeating important posts and messages every few weeks.

Summary

• Get on board if you want to but don’t feel forced to – there are many businesses out there that are not on social media that are doing very well
• Don’t worry about doing something wrong, it’s pretty difficult! If you’re new to social media, just have a general look at the platforms discussed above, maybe ask your colleagues (or, better still, your customers!) what platforms they use on a regular basis and why
• Don’t make it onerous – once you’ve set up platforms, don’t be a slave to them. Two or three posts per week are ideal, it shouldn’t be a full-time job
• Don’t forget to reply to any comments you get on your posts. Your customers will expect a response – not immediately – but they will want to hear back from you
• Start liking, reposting and engaging with your peers once you’ve set up a page
• Try it and see how you get on – it’s actually good fun, honest!