Whether you’re a health tech firm, consumer health and wellness brand or a healthcare provider, social media marketing has taken many twists and turns over the past few years. From increased fragmentation of social media channels to new channels like Bluesky to increased politicization to concerns about overly aggressive content moderation, it’s never been more challenging to navigate effective social media marketing. At the same time, healthcare orgs are navigating other marketing challenges, like adapting to AI, changing healthcare consumer behaviors and HIPAA rules. There’s a need to maximize ROI from every social channel. So what’s working and what’s not in 2025? Here are some do’s and don’ts. 

DO: Get Visual

With so much content on social media, it’s important for brands to stand out. Channels like LinkedIn are really leaning into short-form video, as video drives 5x more engagement than other types of content. To increase brand awareness, companies should develop quality video content of patient success stories, behind-the-scenes in hospitals, and health tips, to name a few. Executives can also share their honest, transparent insights on a specific topic in a short clip.

DO: Get Collaborative

Partnering with another brand that has a large and similar target audience is a great way to boost awareness. Matter recently developed a social media strategy for a client to raise brand awareness. It involved the client running an organic campaign to fundraise $10,000 for a NYC-based nonprofit.​ In just two days, we reached our goal and grew our client’s audience by 32%.

DO: Share Employee Spotlights

Highlighting employees’ achievements on social media not only boosts morale and team culture but also helps spread brand awareness. A Sprout Social survey of 1,110 US social media users found that over half of engaged social users are most likely to share employee updates. Healthcare companies should start an employee spotlight series, such as a “Meet the Team” or Employee of the Month to reach a wider audience.

DON’T: Post Inconsistently

How often a healthcare company should post on social media varies by platform, but we typically recommend companies post relevant content at least 2-3x per week to grow their audience and increase engagement. Publishing consistently also helps build an online community.

DON’T: Be Overly Promotional

Sharing a variety of content on social media, such as educational posts, patient stories, executive POVs and industry news are all great for building visibility and a committed following. Healthcare companies that use social media to sell or self-promote can cause followers to lose interest and unfollow the page.

DON’T: Appear Too Formal

Remember, social media is meant to be social. Don’t be afraid to start conversations by asking questions in captions. Questions can be simple, like “How do you cope with stress?” Healthcare companies can also utilize the polls feature on social media platforms, such as LinkedIn and X, to ask their audience for their perspectives about any topic. Polls can be light-hearted or more focused on products and research. 

While there are many benefits to social media in healthcare, leveraging it can be challenging due to industry regulations. Before publishing, healthcare companies must ensure the content does not violate regulations, such as HIPAA.

About HIPAA Compliance

HIPAA privacy laws protect patient health information from being disclosed publicly. Before posting on social media, it’s important for organizations to develop policies with their legal counsel and train their social team. For example, healthcare companies are required to receive written consent and HIPAA authorization to disclose personal health information from a patient before publishing stories, photos, or videos. Failure to do so may result in serious consequences. HIPAA compliance on social media is intricate, and it’s important for organizations to develop a clear plan to ensure patient confidentiality. Working with an organization like Matter that has expertise in navigating these regulations can make all the difference when it comes to a streamlined content development and review process. 

Overall, social media presents a uniquely valuable opportunity for healthcare brands. These platforms can help companies build brand awareness, strengthen trust, generate site traffic, and increase industry engagement. With almost five billion social media users globally, most looking for helpful educational content from healthcare brands, the sky is the limit for healthcare companies that engage meaningfully and authentically.