Healthcare industry is no exception where social media has become an important tool for consumers to remain updated about the recent developments in the industry and for healthcare organizations to receive feedback from the consumers. The global health care social media marketing market is expected to grow significantly due to the increased adoption of social media platforms by the healthcare organizations to reach the masses. 

According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, as on January 2014, around 74% of online adults used social networking sites. The percentage of people using social media platforms is expected to increase massively in the coming years. This will be the primary factor driving the global health care social media marketing market in the near future. 

Healthcare professionals and service providers are seeking social media websites such as Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, and others as means to network with targeted consumer segments. Consumers can easily access healthcare information through social media platforms, subsequently assisting the healthcare companies to attain market growth. The increasing expenditure on web advertisement by healthcare companies is also fuelling the growth of the global health care social media marketing market. 

However, social media platforms carry the risk of creating mistrusts among the users since, not all information available on the internet is authentic. Privacy also poses as a susceptible factor while engaging and associating with patients through social media. 

The global health care social media marketing market has been segmented into five key regions: Asia pacific, North America, Middle East and Africa, Latin America, and Europe. North America has evolved as the largest market for health care social media marketing owing to the presence of a large pool of tech savvy consumers. It has been noticed that the pharmaceutical companies are increasingly taking up the social media platform to interact with the consumers. Europe closely follows as the second largest health care social media marketing market. 

However, in the coming years, Asia Pacific is expected to emerge as the most attractive market for health care social media marketing due to increasing number of internet users and developing technological interface in countries such as China, India, Japan, and Australia.

Some of the key players operating in the global health care social media marketing market are Johnson and Johnson Inc., Novartis AG, Bayer AG, Pfizer Inc., and Novo Nordisk AS. Johnson and Johnson has resorted to social media for crisis management as well as idea generation. Novartis has increased the sales of their over the counter products by promoting them through social media platforms.