Activity of selected healthcare entities in the Lower Silesia region through their social media activities in the context of image shaping

Abstract

Purpose: The study's main objective was to identify the presence of selected healthcare entities from the Lower Silesian province in social media. The specific goal was to assess the status of the use of social media by selected medical entities in the context of building their image. Design/methodology/approach: The author drew attention to the creation of the image of medical entities in the context of legal conditions and presented permissible (in light of the law) marketing activities shaping the idea of the medical entity in social media. Then the author, using the desk research method, analyzed the content of the profiles of selected medical entities from the Lower Silesian Province that have corporate accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube. The author based his considerations on Polish and foreign literature on the subject, studying scientific articles and electronic sources. The author used the following professional databases to collect scientific literature: Biblioteka Nauki and Google Scholar. Findings: Shaping the image of a healthcare entity on social media as communicative, engaged, and open to the patient's preferences and needs is a way to increase competitiveness in the region. Given the nature of the healthcare industry, healthcare entities should adopt a strategy to build an expert position in the region. An analysis of the content of the company's social media accounts showed that the selected healthcare entities run their profiles in a diversified manner, emphasizing one medium chosen, which is usually Facebook, and posting less frequently (Instagram) or incidentally (YouTube) in others. The least often used medium is LinkedIn. Social implications: The advantage of using social media channels by healthcare entities is direct and immediate contact with stakeholders, through which it is possible to effectively target information messages to people/groups interested in the facility's offerings. Originality/value: The author directed the article primarily to managers/directors in charge of healthcare entities and medical marketing specialists to make them aware that maintaining a medical institution's corporate social media account is necessary today. Without this, it is impossible to effectively reach a wide range of patients using social media channels daily. According to the author, it is necessary to strengthen the role of the patient in the health system as a full-fledged stakeholder and realize its actual impact on the economic situation and competitive position of medical facilities in the context of their social media marketing activities. The article's value is a comprehensive discussion of the importance of individual social media in the activities of the analyzed medical entities from the Lower Silesian Province. Keywords: healthcare entity, image shaping, social media, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube. Category of the paper: Research paper.