Nurse Leaders: How to Become a Social Media Influencer as a Nurse

Do you have a cause to promote in nursing? You can become a healthcare leader and nurse influencer to create change and generate empowerment for yourself and others. It would be best if you had passion, time, some grasp of social media, credibility, a steep learning curve, and excellent communication of ideas and knowledge.

Social media nurse influencers use platforms to affect change, establishing trust through reliable content and meaningful posts.

Credibility

You are already a nurse. Did you know that nursing is at the top of trusted professions in the United States? According to the Gallup Poll, Registered Nurses rank as the most trusted professionals, with 85% of the public, four in five Americans, rating honesty and ethical standards among nurses as “high” or “very high.”

So, nurses have a head start in terms of credibility. Still, you can gain even greater trust, and thus influence, by citing research and clinical evidence-based information from primary sources of well-founded and honest material, such as respected healthcare organizations and academic institutions. Beyond providing opinions, you may offer clinical observations, clinical- or research-based insights, and experiences, giving context to the information.

Social media provides a platform to instantly share experiences and research and engage professionals and patients in crucial discussions.

9 Ways to Become a Nurse Influencer

With the nine guidelines we share below, you can go from a beginning blogger to a rising nurse influencer in no time! 

1. Find the specific content area or niche in which you are passionate and knowledgeable, your cause in healthcare. Narrow it down to engage a particular group of followers with targeted content.
2. Start with a blog on your particular passion and your nursing niche. Blogs post articles or series of articles with more content, whereas social media, such as TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook, carry short, concise messages, and YouTube has only videos. Use your blog to share helpful content with your audience and gain their respect.
3. Choose the social media platform that is best for your niche, and reach thousands of people, linking your blog to a platform such as one of the following:
4. Instagram: A suitable platform for many photos and selfie-style videos, Instagram has over 1.21 billion users and has become one of the most popular social media platforms for teens and young adults. To keep your audience engaged, it is best to post Instagram stories and at least one photo a day.
5. YouTube: This video-sharing platform, with 2.6 billion users, ranks as the second most popular social media platform, with Facebook in the first place. It is only for videos, and most viewers are looking for education, entertainment, or, even better, a combination of both. The majority of users are in the age range of 15 to 35.
6. Facebook: With nearly 3 billion monthly users, Facebook is undeniably the largest and most popular social media platform in the world, but it has a decreasing audience among younger users. Facebook groups can be instrumental in organically creating conversation and engaging new users. 
7. TIK TOK. Although TikTok is a newer platform, it already has over 1 billion users and is the fastest-growing platform in history. It carries short videos ranging from 15 seconds to 3 minutes, is designed to empower self-expression, and is attracting more and more users among Gen Zs or zoomers (age 10 - 25).

Many top nurse influencers use several platforms, but it is simpler to begin with, and expand. 

1. Identify your target audience, aiming to understand the needs of your healthcare audience and create custom messaging that resonates.
2. Polish your profile and bio: Tell visitors who you are, about your nursing background, and what you post about in an appealing, catchy, and informative way. Invite people to follow you!
3. Make sure you create high-quality and relevant content. Content quality is the real key, the point you cannot neglect. 

Your posts, stories, or videos should be authentic, transparent, eye-catching, and well-done. And, of course, your content should always be trustworthy and relevant to your niche. 

1. Post regularly and consistently, and check the optimum time to post on your chosen platform. You can schedule your posts in advance to be published on a specific date and time. 
2. Respond to comments and emotions. Participate in conversations. Take an interest in your audience, share your passion, and they will engage with you.
3. Expand your audience. Learn to identify keywords and use hashtags relevant to your niche. Hashtags help your potential followers find you. Narrow down your specific niche, engage your audience and respond to their needs with consistent, catchy, and trustworthy posts. A consistent message on your blog and social media platforms will draw in your targeted audience.

Risks For Nurse Influencers and Leaders To Avoid

A few social media risks that newcomers may not be aware of are:

Shared Social Media Posts that incur HIPAA Violations

• Images and videos of patients with no signed authorization
• Gossip about patients
• Material that could allow a person to be identified
• Photos taken inside a healthcare facility in which patients or Protected Health Information are visible

Temptations: When working with brands, check if they are suitable and relevant to your audience. Partnering with brands and exposing products that aren’t relevant to your audience can look like a money grab and damage your credibility. 
Whatever your nursing cause and whichever technology you choose to start with, you can make your mark in nursing as a social media influencer starting today. Nursa can help you find shifts that relate to your cause and still leave you time to blog.