Executive Summary
While opening her pediatric clinic on the heels of a global pandemic, Dr. Melinda Beavers tried to balance business operations, patient care, patient acquisition, and social media management herself. Quickly, she realized the business model wasn’t sustainable, so she turned to Social Cascade for support. With Social Cascade onboard, Dr. Beavers watched new social media followers convert to new patients, and one year later, her new pediatric clinic was running a new patient waitlist.
At a glance
Dr. Beavers reduced her time on social media each week from 15 hours to 15 minutes.
The practice grew to 1,200 patients in less than 12 months without spending a single advertising dollar.
Each month, Dr. Beavers reaches approximately 42,000 local families through social media by using Social Cascade.
Relationships with Medicaid patients have improved due to Social Cascade’s content strategy.
Today, 1 out of 3 patient families follow the clinic on social media.
Scaling and sustaining a high-quality pediatric clinic requires more than one physician can provide.
In 2022, Dr. Melinda Beavers opened Bloom Pediatric Partners in Angier, N.C. As if opening a medical practice on the heels of a global pandemic wasn’t enough, Dr. Beavers was busy juggling between establishing her practice, acquiring new patients, and providing high-quality care in one of the most uncertain seasons of medicine. With a significant portion of her time spent on patient acquisition, Dr. Beavers knew she needed to lean into social media to scale and sustain her pediatric clinic.
“It’s impossible to ignore the value of social media in today’s society,” said Dr. Beavers. “I knew that social media could be our megaphone for reaching patients, but for us to break through the noise, I was spending a significant amount of my time creating content and engaging with patients online, which isn’t sustainable.”
When Dr. Beavers realized she was spending 15 hours (or more!) each week on social media—15 hours that she could have spent caring for patients or at home with her family—she knew she needed to make a change. That’s when Dr. Beavers reached out to Social Cascade.
Social Cascade proves a strategic social media strategy is a direct investment in patient acquisition.
Dr. Beavers handed the keys to Bloom Pediatric Partners' social media accounts in 2022 to Social Cascade. Social Cascade used its AI-powered platform to develop relevant content for Dr. Beavers' patient population. In less than 12 months, Bloom Pediatric Partners' social media followers grew exponentially, and that growth was all organic. Dr. Beavers has never spent a single advertising dollar on social media, yet the practice has reached 42,000 local families.
The clinic's new social media followers quickly led to new patients, and in 2023, Dr. Beavers moved her pediatric clinic to a larger office to accommodate the growing patient population. By the end of that same year, the practice had grown to 1,200 pediatric patients and implemented a patient waitlist.
"If you told my fresh-out-of-medical-school, aspirational self that I'd one day open a clinic in the middle of a global pandemic and not only survive but quickly have a waitlist of patients who want to join my practice, I wouldn't have believed you," said Dr. Beavers. "But that's the reality of where we are today, and I'm incredibly grateful for it. I don't know where Bloom Pediatric Partners would be without social media, primarily Facebook, and our partnership with Social Cascade."
But for Bloom Pediatric Partners, patient acquisition doesn't come from daily content posts alone. It also comes from personal recommendations made by parents.
Picking a doctor, especially a doctor for your child, isn't a decision that happens in a vacuum. Every day, parents seek opinions and recommendations from other parents they know and trust, and they often use social media to reach the largest pool of opinions. That's why pediatric practices need to have an active social media presence. With Social Cascade, Bloom Pediatric Partners has 1 out of 3 patient families following them on social media, which directly funnels the practices' recommendations.
"Our patients are our biggest advocates, and they recommend us daily," said Dr. Beavers. "When parents move to our community and inquire about local pediatricians, or when they prepare to welcome their first child and need to get established with a provider they can trust, they find our existing patients recommending us on social media."
Current patients often tag or comment on social media about Bloom Pediatric Partners, which leads prospective parents directly to Dr. Beavers’ page, giving parents a chance to get to know her before they ever walk into her practice. With trusted and reliable content posted daily, parents immediately experience a provider who cares about their child’s well-being and the many different drivers of health.
"That's been one of the most valuable aspects of our partnership with Social Cascade," said Dr. Beavers. "The team aggregates the best and most useful information on our behalf, whether that's how to cook a nutritious meal for picky eaters or how to take advantage of government subsidy programs, and they push the content directly to families in our community."
While Dr. Beavers knew visibility on social media would eventually lead to new patients, she was surprised by the effect social media would have on her relationship with Medicaid patients outside the office.
Access to trusted information is important for all patients, and it's particularly important to Dr. Beavers' rural community of patients, many of which come from low-income families or are on Medicaid. Historically, reaching these patients at scale has been difficult. Today, it's nearly impossible without social media.
Bloom Pediatric Partners has found that roughly 20% of Medicaid patients change their phone number or address each year, making it incredibly difficult for providers to stay connected to patients. That's where social media becomes incredibly useful. Patients may change their Facebook password, but their account remains the same, which means it's the most consis
A word to other healthcare providers: This is how individually owned practices stay intact.
Social Cascade has helped Dr. Beavers and many other pediatric clinics disseminate accurate, timely, and quality information to the right patients at the right time. With Social Cascade's AI-powered technology, providers can break through the noise of misinformation and reach patients with credible, reliable information in the moments they need it most.
“My patients often ask if I plan to accept offers to expand or join a larger organization," said Dr. Beavers. "While those offers can be tempting, I know it would change how I serve and care for patients. The culture I have created in my practice includes connecting with families inside and outside of the office, and that wouldn’t be possible without social media."
Learn more about how Social Cascade is helping providers like Dr. Beavers stay top of mind and create meaningful and authentic patient relationships year-round. Contact us or start your 30-day free trial now.
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