May is National Skin Cancer Awareness Month—the perfect time for dermatology professionals to encourage social media followers to take sun safety seriously. Here are five tips from the myDermRecruiter social media team to help you get those content creation juices flowing!
Share the Facts
Use statistics to illustrate the dangers of not practicing sun safety and teach your followers about skin cancer treatments. A few facts from the American Academy of Dermatology that you may like to use:
- One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetimes.
- Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the US.
- When caught and treated early, skin cancer is a highly treatable disease.
Skin cancer is a serious matter, but do your best to keep the tone of your posts positive to leave your readers inspired and hopeful rather than fearful and depressed.
Sun Safety How-Tos
How-to posts are one way for dermatologists to provide immense value to their followers on social media, which helps to build authority and audience trust. Here are a few topics you could cover…
- How to choose an effective sunblock.
- Differences between various types of sunblock.
- When to apply sunscreen and how often to reapply.
- Covering up and seeking shade when in the sun for lengthy periods.
You could also go into specifics like sun safety for babies or elderly populations.
Skin Cancer Basics
Social media is an excellent place to teach people about skin cancer—what it is, what to look for and the benefits of seeing a dermatology professional annually for skin checks. Remind your followers that the best outcome is catching and treating skin cancer early. You could also explain how to do skin cancer self-checks and what to look for across various skin colors.
Ask for Skin Cancer Survivor Stories
Asking patients to share their skin cancer stories from diagnosis to treatment and what they do to take care of their skin as survivors is a great way to spread hope and encourage a sense of community on your page. There are a couple of ways to do this. You could ask patients for their stories in a video or written format to share on your social media pages. You could also create a graphic that says, “I’m a skin cancer survivor.” Then ask for followers to share their stories in the comments. Just be sure to take the time to respond with a personalized comment thanking them for sharing their story.
Use Trending Hashtags
Lastly, you’ll want to use appropriate hashtags when sharing your content across social media platforms. Here are some to consider…
- #SkinCancerAwareness
- #SkinCancerAwarenessMonth
- #SkinCancer
- #ShareTheFacts
- #SkinCancerPrevention
- #SkinCancerScreening
- #PracticeSafeSun
- #SunSafe
- #SunSafety
- #Sunscreen
- #SunscreenEveryDay
- #SunScreenAlways
- #ThisIsSkinCancer
Hashtags categorize your content, making it easier for people to find it.
Specialized Social Media Support for Dermatology Practices
Creating valuable content that connects to your audience on an emotional level is the key to using social media to grow your dermatology practice. Hopefully these tips will help you get started!
And if you don’t have the time to devote to social media but still want to utilize it for all of the amazing benefits of having an engaged online presence, myDermRecruiter’s Social Media Management services are what you need!
If you have any questions about how we can help, contact Jessica Dickens, our social media manager at 636-239-1787 ext. 180 or Jessica@myDermRecruiter.com.