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Healthcare social media benchmarks: Q3 2024 research

These stats for the healthcare, pharma, and biotech industries will help you understand how your social results stack up right now

Karolina Mikolajczyk September 11, 2024 3 min read
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How do you know the “right” number of engagements to expect on your social posts? Is 100 likes a lot or a little? And when is the best time to post?

The answer is, it depends — on your industry, the social networks you use, your audience demographics, and many more nuanced factors.

But social media benchmarks can help you get pretty close to a more concrete answer. This industry-specific data tracks the norms or averages for specific metrics like social media engagement and follower growth. It gives you an understanding of how businesses similar to yours are doing — and a better sense of what those 100 likes really mean.

Keep reading for fresh 2024 benchmarks for the healthcare, pharma, and biotech industries that will help you understand how your social results stack up right now.

Psst: Once you grab your benchmarks, head to our guide to using social media for healthcare marketing to find out how to action these insights.

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Best times to post on social media for healthcare

Below, you’ll find recommendations for the best times to post on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn for maximum engagement.

Note: Time of day was localized across 118 countries where sample data came from, i.e. the graphs are accurate across time zones.

Best time to post on Facebook

According to our research, 2-5pm on Tuesdays and 2-6pm on Fridays are the best times for healthcare organizations to post on Facebook.

Heatmap illustrating the best times to post on Facebook in the healthcare industry for maximum audience engagement.

Best time to post on Instagram

Traditional work hours (8am to 5pm) on Tuesdays and Thursdays are the best times for healthcare organizations to post on Instagram.

Heatmap illustrating the best times to post on Instagram in the healthcare industry for maximum audience engagement.

Best time to post on LinkedIn

According to our research, 8 am on Tuesdays and Fridays are the best times for healthcare organizations to post on LinkedIn. Surprisingly, content posted after 10 pm on Thursdays and Fridays also seems to generate higher than average engagement.

Heatmap illustrating the best times to post on LinkedIn in the healthcare industry for maximum audience engagement.

How often should you post on social media in healthcare?

Every organization’s posting schedule is unique, and you should test different posting frequencies to find out what works best for your audience. That said, these industry-specific stats will help you find a data-informed starting point.

Our research found that healthcare, pharma, and biotech organizations post on Facebook more often than on any other social platform — an average of 20 times a week! TikTok sits on the opposite side of the scale, with only 2 weekly uploads.

Average posting frequency on social media in the healthcare industry: Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and TikTok, September 2024

Below, you’ll find network-specific data that illustrates how posting frequency corresponds to overall engagement rates.

Posting frequency and engagement rates on Facebook: Healthcare Industry, September 2024

On Facebook, performance depends on the content you post more than it does on how often you post. Organizations that posted only twice a week have seen similar engagement rates to those posting up to 17 times per week.

Posting frequency and engagement rates on Instagram: Healthcare Industry, September 2024

On Instagram, you’re most likely to keep your audience engaged if you keep your posting schedule busy and consistent. 13 posts a week seems to be the sweet spot!

Posting frequency and engagement rates on LinkedIn: Healthcare Industry, September 2024

On LinkedIn, companies posting 9 times a week see the highest average engagement on their posts…

Posting frequency and engagement rates on X (Twitter): Healthcare Industry, September 2024

… whereas on X (formerly Twitter), 3 posts a week are enough to keep engagement rates high.

Average engagement rates in healthcare

Wondering if your engagement rates are high enough? Here are the industry averages across all major social networks as of September 2024:

  • Facebook: 5.9%
  • Instagram: 5%
  • X (Twitter): 3.4%
  • LinkedIn: 2.2%
  • TikTok: 2%
Average social media engagement rates in the healthcare industry, September 2024: Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, TikTok

What should healthcare organizations post on social media?

Different social networks offer different content formats — but how do you decide which should dominate your content mix?

Here’s what our research says.

Most engaging types of content on Facebook: Halthcare Industry, September 2024

On Facebook, album posts generate the most engagement — followed by posts with links, photos, and videos.

Most engaging types of content on Instagram: Halthcare Industry, September 2024

Instagram users particularly enjoy carousel posts, which — in healthcare — generate double the engagement of Reels.

Most engaging types of content on LinkedIn: Halthcare Industry, September 2024

On LinkedIn, posts with photos and videos outperform posts with links or text only.

Healthcare follower growth rate

If your social media strategy revolves around growing your audience, make sure you’re setting realistic goals. Here is how other healthcare organizations are doing in Q3 2024:

  • LinkedIn: 0.55%
  • Instagram: 0.56%
  • X (Twitter): 0.26%
  • Facebook: 0.17%
Weekly follower growth in the healthcare industry: September 2024, LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and Facebook

Hootsuite is the most trusted social media management tool for healthcare organizations. Schedule content and reply to comments across all your social profiles, use powerful social listening tools, and stay compliant with Proofpoint security — all with ROI-proving analytics to push growth to the next level. Try it today.

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By Karolina Mikolajczyk

Karolina Mikolajczyk is a Team Lead on Hootsuite's Inbound team and an associate editor of the Hootsuite blog.

After completing her Master’s degree in English, Karolina launched her marketing career in 2014. Before joining Hootsuite in 2021, she worked with digital marketing agencies, SaaS startups, and international enterprise businesses, helping brands and social media content creators grow their online presence and improve conversions through SEO and content marketing strategies.

Karolina lives in Vancouver, BC. She likes to spend her free time bike touring wine bars and hanging out with her two cats, Juju and Tuna.

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