Marketing Tips for Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery Practices
Gone are the days of simply relying on one-and-done TV commercials, billboards, and word of mouth to grow your business. The tried-and-true marketing of days gone by can’t compete with the new technological power of the internet. To make your presence known on the information superhighway, you have to know your potential clients inside and out, target your marketing strategies, and be consistent in your efforts.
It’s All Online
Our lives have increasingly moved from real-world interactions to online interchange. We socialize, shop, apply for jobs, seek out services, and often do our work online. According to a Pew Research Center survey in 2019, 28% of adults in the US say they are online “almost constantly.” In the same survey, 81% of people in the US say they go online every day. Only 8% of people reported going online just a few times a week, while 10% say they stay off the internet altogether.
It’s pretty clear that if you are looking for plastic surgery marketing strategies, you are going to need to include digital marketing as a vital piece of your plan. There is a lot of potential for growth by reaching new patients online. You can be specific and target the type of prospects you want to attract. By following the advice in this post, you’ll be well on your way to putting yourself ahead of the competition.
Who Are You and What Makes You Standout?
Cosmetic procedures and plastic surgery are on the rise, even with pandemic-related lockdowns. In fact, some patients are seeing this as an unexpected benefit—they can get their procedures and recover without having to worry about social gatherings while they heal. The pandemic is also forcing even more people than usual to be online. Now is a great time to capture viewers’ attention, but how can you stand out in an already-populated industry like plastic surgery?
The first step is establishing, understanding, and consistently communicating your brand. Your brand is who you are, why you are, and what sets you apart from others. If you don’t have a brand identity already clearly established, start by writing down your origin story, what motivated you to get into this field, and what makes your practice different from other practices that offer similar services and procedures in your area.
Once you understand who you are, why you exist, and what sets you apart, start looking for ways you can communicate this both verbally and aesthetically. What are the colors and fonts you will use when representing your brand online and in print? What do your images look like? Are they bright and airy? Dark and moody? What are some keywords you want people to start identifying with your practice? Be specific as you nail this down, then be consistent every time you market your business with your logo, colors, font, keywords, and imagery. Over time people will start to recognize your business based on these points.
Defining Your Ideal Client
Who is your ideal client? Define them and be specific about who they are. You can use your favorite clients as a model to start building this definition. Once you understand who your ideal client is, you can begin targeting potential clients online via Google Ads or social media using specific parameters like interests, age, location, and income level.
Referrals are a great way to get new clients. The best ads are the free and genuine boasts of a happy client telling their friend about the great experience they had while showing off their results. Make referring friends an easy thing for your clients to do and be consistent about asking for referrals. You may consider building a referral program with incentives like a gift card for referring a client who meets with you.
The more you know about your ideal client and what motivates them, the more effective you can be at attracting them in every part of your marketing, from your website to your online ads to the specials you run. Spend a lot of time looking at your website from the perspective of your ideal client. In the first few seconds after arriving on your website, can you easily identify what your practice does and what sets it apart from other similar practices?
The Top 7 Steps for Growing Your Plastic Surgery Business Online
Search Engine Optimization: SEO increases traffic to your site and can help keep your website high in search engine rankings. Use meta-data, keywords, and links throughout your site to increase your search engine ranking.
Blogging: Blogging isn’t just for millennial influencers. Medical professionals can harness the power of blogging to make sure that when someone searches “Tummy Tuck Atlanta” (for example), their website is one of the first ones a prospective client sees.
Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tik-Tok, and other social media platforms can be a lot to take on all at once, so figure out where your ideal client spends most of their time and start posting regularly and interacting with people on that platform. Once you’ve built an audience on one, add another.
Paid Ads: You can pay for ads on social media and on search engines to help increase your organic reach. When you pay for ads, you specifically target your ideal client based on key points of data. You’ll also get analytical results regarding how your ad performed that can help inform you on what types of ads are most effective for your business.
Online Directory Sites: There are many online directories for plastic surgery services, so make sure that you claim your profile on them and keep your contact information up to date.
Collect Contact Information: Make sure your website is proactively prompting visitors who are interested in learning more to fill out their contact information. Keep this contact info and use it to build your mailing list for email campaigns and special offers throughout the year.
Reviews: Positive testimonials are one of the most powerful pieces of a marketing plan; include these on your website and on your social media regularly.
Implementing Your Plastic Surgery Marketing Strategies
Make an easy-to-follow plan to implement your plastic surgery marketing strategies and set goals so you can gauge your success. At the end of each year, review what is working best for you and where you can improve.
At Plastic Surgery Marketers, we provide lead-generation services for plastic surgeons and medspas. Our services range from plastic surgery social media marketing and website design to paid ads and copywriting. For further details Contact us today and book an appointment!
