Bibliometric Analysis of Social Media Marketing in Hospitals: Trends and Influences

Background: Hospitals are increasingly serving international clients, employing diverse international staff, and leveraging cutting-edge technology and expertise (Aini, 2018). In this context, social media has become crucial, enabling the sharing of user-generated content and social networking (Aboalshamat et al., 2019). As a convenient, rapid, and disruptive method of information exchange, social media has transformed marketing into the fastest-growing form of advertising. Methods: This study employed a quantitative descriptive method (Zupic Yu et al., 2020; Luo et al., 2022). The Scopus search focused on the keywords "hospital," "social," "media," and "marketing" for publications from 2013 to 2023, specifically targeting fields like medicine, health professions, nursing, pharmacology, biochemistry, immunology, microbiology, and dentistry. Data was collected on March 30, 2024, and analyzed using VOSviewer software for co-reference network analysis, citation analysis, author cooperation analysis, and keyword co-occurrence analysis. Results: The study identified 72 documents on hospital social media marketing from Scopus. The annual publication trends peaked in 2019, with the Journal of Medical Internet Research and Health Marketing Quarterly being the top journals. Ford, E.W., and Huerta, T.R. were the most productive researchers, and The Ohio State University College of Medicine was the leading institution. The United States led in publication volume, followed by India and Australia. The keyword analysis revealed "survey" as the most frequent term, forming four distinct clusters in the research network visualization. Conclusion: This study highlights the significant growth in hospital social media marketing research, emphasizing the United States' leading role and the increasing importance of social media as a marketing tool in healthcare. The bibliometric analysis provides a foundation for future research, offering insights into emerging trends and potential areas for further exploration in social media marketing for hospitals.