An example of one of Barry and Don’s Posts on Social Media to let patients know how important the community is to The Medicine Man Pharmacies
It’s about being social.
It’s about connecting with people.
It’s about building a relationship.
Sharing fun events and local causes engages customers, breaks down barriers, and helps them feel more comfortable when it comes to asking important questions.
“As we saw what was going on with TV, we knew we needed to get a different presence out there,” says Don Smith, Owner and Pharmacist of Medicine Man Pharmacy.
“At first, we didn’t think social media was that big of a deal because we thought we were rural enough, it didn’t matter. But as we’ve seen our Facebook page grow and the likes go up, we’ve realized we have to use this to keep getting the word out at each of our stores.”
Scroll through any of the nine Medicine Man Pharmacy Facebook sites with nearly 6,000 followers and you’ll see cartoons and pets among product posts and good strong visuals from Good Neighbor Pharmacy Brand Central Station.
They have begun exploring what they can do on Instagram as well. Barry Feely, Owner and Pharmacist of Medicine Man Pharmacy, explains, “When people come through the drive-through with their dog, we’ll take a picture of them and their dog hanging out the window with a big smile on his face. We post that and people just eat that up. They love it because that’s social. It’s not talking about pharmacy services. It’s people interaction. It’s relationship building. And we’ve learned that’s what it’s all about. Our whole business is relationships.”
“When we’ve boosted posts about some of our unique products, sales in our front end have shown growth,” says Barry. “They’re up 20–40 percent month over month. When those people walk in, they’re seeking those products. We can see them moving and the only way we’re promoting them is on social media.”
Dog pictures aren’t the only thing that Medicine Man Pharmacy is posting on social media. When they highlight products on their page, they utilize Facebook’s user-friendly targeting functionality to boost their posts and reach people in their community who will be most interested in each item. By specifying the gender, age range, and proximity of the individuals they want to see each post, Medicine Man Pharmacy has earned exceptional—and measurable—results.
Don adds, “We also have data that shows we had this many likes and comments. Instead of just throwing your advertising dollars out and hoping they come back, we have analytics and we’re able to see what we’re getting out of it.”
Quantifiability aside, the return on investment for social media advertising benefits tremendously from its comparably low cost. Reaching 1,000 people with a Facebook ad costs about 3 percent of what it would cost to reach the same number of people with an ad on TV. Barry says, “When I look at the amount we spend on Facebook, it doesn’t even register. It’s just a minor fraction of our marketing budget. It’s very reasonable and very targeted.”
Medicine Man Pharmacy plans to continue expanding its social media presence and is looking forward to the new program offering from Good Neighbor Pharmacy. Don sums up his thoughts on the evolution as follows: “You can’t count on one type of media to get your word out. It’s time to open up different avenues so you can target different people. You might think you’ve got the older people watching TV and the younger ones doing Facebook, but that’s not the case. And you need to address the whole gamut if you want to keep your brand visible in your community.”
At ThoughtSpot 2018, Good Neighbor Pharmacy announced it will be shifting its marketing program from traditional print advertising to digital and social media advertising in 2019 to support the evolving market.
The Good Neighbor Pharmacy social media resources on Brand Central Station give you the tools to get started or continue building your social media presence. Learn how to set goals, schedule posts, and manage feedback on your accounts. You can also download the monthly social media editorial calendar and infographics to offer your patients need-to-know health information and news.
