How to Use Facebook Events for Your Patient Education Seminars

Whether you’re a healthcare professional working with a medical device company, or a medical device company helping doctors, patient education events can bring together people interested in new information to help educate patients.

The question remains – how do you get the word out?

Since social media emerged, one of the simplest ways to reach the masses without having to shell out major money to TV stations and the like, putting together digital event invitations has gained popularity.

You’ve most likely received invitations, whether personal or professional, in the form of a Facebook event. In fact with around 40 million events created by Facebook Pages, it would be surprising if this had never happened at some point – provided you actually have a Facebook profile.

Facebook events create a sense of community, help the organizer communicate with potential and committed attendees, and help us plan for attendance.

Let’s explore some tips to help you launch a Facebook event for your patient education seminar.

First – Start with the Design in Mind

The design of your event page is important for a couple of reasons. First, we tend to be visual creatures so if it looks nice it gets our attention. Also, a well-designed page tends to build trust more than a “hacked-together” mess.

The visuals on this page template are prime real estate. Make sure to use an engaging photo for your main cover and add additional photos on the page to pique interest. The cover should be friendly, eye-catching, warm and inviting.

Of course we have to play by Facebook’s rule, and that’s no different for images. The image sizes affect different placements: on the Newsfeed of audiences, on the event page, and on the ‘upcoming events’ page. The following dimensions are recommended for each:

• 785×295 pixels – for the event page
• 470×174 pixels – for the Newsfeed
• 150×100 pixels- for the upcoming events section

Keep in mind, sometimes relatively simple is best, while other times you may want to go all-out. Here are two examples:

Next – Build the Community

Get people involved. The more people comment on your event page and its posts, the more impact it will make. As audiences judge the importance of Facebook Events by their activity, you want them to get involved in the most important conversations.

As a result, you should make efforts to get a conversation going on the event wall. On the event page, you can ask questions, create posts with previews of the event, conduct polls, and respond to comments to spark engagement. 

Then – Build Social Proof with RSVPs

Let’s face it. A restaurant with a full parking lot and the need for reservations makes us think it’s a great place to eat, driving the desire to go there – for most of us. We want to go where the group goes.

There’s a psychological effect when it comes to social proof, and that holds true for people when they see others attending a Facebook event. After audiences RSVP and comment on your event wall, thank them personally by writing on their personal wall or sending a direct message through Facebook Messenger.

People will see you, the event organizer, interacting with attendees, building awareness and buzz. You can also edit your event information and check the box that says ‘show guest list’. People want to know who else is going, and this is a great way to leverage the numbers to your favor.

Finally – Promote the Event

For promotion, start with the usual and share the event on your own Facebook page. Then send out invitations to people on your contact list. Encourage those who are attending to share the event and invite their friends.

You can include the link to the event in your emails to your contacts, as well as create a QR code or short link for any printed material. Combining online and offline promotion can help with building your attendee list.

Of course there’s also Facebook ads for precise targeting. It has always been a successful way of getting more visitors to your events and pages, so don’t forget to make it a part of your event engagement strategy.

For the more advanced users, here’s an article with 5 Facebook event marketing tips – a more in-depth look.

No matter what your strategy is to promote your next patient education seminar, Facebook events can help add another layer to it. And leveraging these tips is a great way to boost that visibility.

Meanwhile, you can continue posting great content on your event wall to build and maintain important relationships with attendees.

What has your experience been so far with Facebook Events? Feel free to leave comments. Also, check out the patient education seminar event template below for more help planning your next event.

Live event photo by MD Duran on Unsplash
Birds photo by Alex Jones on Unsplash