Key takeaways:

  • The right social media tools for health marketing can save time, improve content quality, and enhance audience engagement.
  • Tools like Hootsuite, Sprout Social and Canva help streamline scheduling, analytics and visual content creation for healthcare teams.
  • Choosing the right tool requires considering your goals, budget, team size and integration needs.


Author: WG Content
Last updated: 9/20/24

It’s 5 p.m., and your to-do list is still full. You’ve been strategizing campaigns, reviewing content and somehow—scheduling tomorrow’s social media posts keeps slipping to the bottom.

If this feels familiar, you’re not alone. Social media is a crucial component of healthcare marketing, but managing it all can be overwhelming. The good news? The right social media tools for healthcare marketing can save you time, improve content quality and even make ROI reporting easier.

Here, we’ve rounded up the best tools to help your healthcare marketing team simplify workflows, engage your audience, and deliver measurable results.

How to choose the right social media tool for healthcare marketing

Before investing your time or money into a social media tool for health marketing, it’s essential to consider a few key questions:

  • What are your goals? Do you need to expand audience engagement, analyze campaigns or simply streamline scheduling?
  • What’s your budget? Some tools offer free or low-cost plans, while others are premium enterprise solutions.
  • Who will use it? Consider your team’s size, tech-savviness and workflow needs.
  • What integrations matter? Ensure the tool works with your CRM (like Salesforce Health Cloud) or project management platforms.

Once you’ve identified your must-haves, narrow it down to three or four options. Look for free trials or demos to test how well they fit your needs before committing.

Popular social media tools for health marketing

1. Scheduling and publishing tools

Stay consistent with tools that make planning and posting easy:

  • Later: A visual-first scheduling tool perfect for Instagram and TikTok. Use it to map out your calendar with drag-and-drop functionality and optimize post timing.
  • Buffer: A classic scheduler with an intuitive interface and built-in analytics. Its free tier supports multiple platforms, making it great for smaller healthcare teams.
  • Hootsuite: A robust all-in-one tool for scheduling, engagement and analytics. Hootsuite also offers healthcare-specific solutions for compliance and patient privacy.
  • Sprout Social: An all-in-one social platform that gives social teams the power to manage multiple accounts and engage with users across each account. Sprout also provides analytics to help drive decision-making and listening tools to inform your social strategy.

2. Social listening and analytics tools

Monitor brand mentions, analyze trends and improve audience engagement:

  • Sprinklr: A powerful enterprise tool that integrates with CRMs and offers real-time social listening and sentiment analysis to guide your campaigns.
  • Keyhole: Track conversations around key healthcare topics like wellness campaigns or flu vaccines. Its AI sentiment analysis helps gauge how your brand is perceived.
  • BuzzSumo: Research trending topics and track top-performing content to inspire your next campaign.
  • Reputation: A popular choice in healthcare, Reputation provides real-time social media monitoring.

3. Visual content creation tools

Engage your audience with eye-catching graphics and videos:

  • Canva: A go-to tool for non-designers, Canva offers templates for healthcare campaigns, including Instagram Reels and TikTok posts.
  • Kapwing: An easy-to-use video editor for creating GIFs, explainer videos or branded visuals.
  • RiteTag: Get real-time hashtag suggestions based on engagement metrics to maximize visibility on Instagram and Twitter.

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4. Collaboration and content calendar tools

Simplify planning and approvals with tools that keep teams on the same page:

  • Trello: A flexible project management tool that helps organize content calendars, editorial workflows, and approvals.
  • CoSchedule: Ideal for larger teams, CoSchedule combines content planning with social publishing to ensure deadlines are met.

Why social media tools matter in healthcare marketing

For healthcare marketers, social media isn’t just about posting; it’s about connecting. Whether you’re raising awareness for public health initiatives, showcasing patient stories or engaging donors, the right tools can amplify your impact while saving your team hours of manual work.

Your partner in social media marketing

If you’re ready to take your social media strategy to the next level, let’s chat! Contact us to learn how we can help you build a social presence that works as hard as you do.

Editor’s note: This post was originally written in April 2018. It was last updated in September 2024.


Follow-up questions about social media:

It’s hard to know which platforms to invest in, especially with so many changes. Here are some tips on how to decide if you should join a social network or not.

Many of the tools mentioned offer sentiment analysis and most use AI-powered analysis today. Essentially you need to track brand mentions and gauge perception by analyzing if mentions are positive, negative or neutral.

Navigating patient information while using social media requires following HIPAA guidelines. Always receive written consent before sharing any patient-related information or images.

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