Social media is taking the healthcare industry to a whole new level, so much so, that outsourced marketing services is becoming as popular as outsourcing physician services, with many healthcare organizations outsourcing marketing matters.

Because marketing and physician services are two completely different animals, it is understandable for patient care providers to feel they are stepping in to foreign territory, when it comes to choosing a suitable company to manage its marketing efforts.

“Healthcare IT News” published an article last week that aimed to help providers make the right choice when shopping for outsourced marketing services (you’ll want to choose one that meets the needs of your organization, while staying within the limits of your budget).

Some of the following tips will help when negotiating with a companies that outsource marketing services:

1. Set clear goals for social media based on what you want to achieve (attracting new patients, displaying patient testimonials, or growing your social network).
2. Don’t choose a service solely because it guarantees a certain number of fans or followers (more times than not, those followers won’t be real fans of your business).
3. Be sure the company follows HIPAA compliance and other regulations.
4. Maximize usage of at all social media options (rather than relying on Facebook and Twitter, alone).
5. Use social media to drive people back to your website and help retain or convert them to customers. This can be done by utilizing keywords that link directly to your website.