Establishing a strong and wide-ranging online presence is essential for effectively marketing a plastic surgeon or plastic surgery practice. First, your practice needs to be easily discoverable by those who are seeking information about plastic surgery services through search engines like Google and Microsoft’s new Bing or social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram or YouTube. You can achieve this by offering informative content, optimizing it with the right search keywords, and utilizing advertising to target your audience. Essential to success is implementing comprehensive and cohesive marketing strategies that rely on employing surgery practice marketing strategies that communicate consistent messages across all digital platforms.
Preparing for success
Begin by clearly defining your target audience with your marketing team.
Answer the questions:
- Who are the people most likely to become my patients?
- Which people most often convert into patients after a consultation with me?
Geographic location plays an important role in plastic surgeon marketing. Be sure to mention the geographic regions in your content that represent where your existing patients come from as well as the areas from which you hope to draw new patients. Click here to see Forbes in-depth look at the importance of reaching the right audience.
Once you’ve defined your target demographics, develop a style and tone for your marketing content that is reflective of your brand. Ensure that your messages are aligned and consistent across digital platforms – enabling a “surround-sound” experience. Similarly, your pictures and images should reflect your “brand” when it comes to your practice and the patients you serve. Pictures of your office need to be bright and welcoming. Surgeons and staff must appear in professional dress, and they should look engaged and approachable.
Finally, your plastic surgery practice marketing must comply with the guidelines, regulations and ethical standards surrounding advertising and promotion of medical services, including HIPAA. Do not over-promise results. Communicate realistic expectations for your services.
1. Maintain your online reputation
Every message and image must communicate competency, authenticity, and integrity. Use these principles to guide all content development and online interactions.
Prospective plastic surgery patients often research surgeons online; taking longer than a search for a general practitioner, as they are not driven by urgent medical needs. They are looking for the best possible solutions and reputable providers
To establish your credibility, claim or create business profiles and practitioner listings on online platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, Bing, and Facebook. These profiles also enable you to collect ratings and reviews from your clients. Respond to both positive and negative feedback in a professional and timely manner, showcasing your commitment to a positive patient experience. Online reviews play a significant role in potential clients’ decision-making process, so maintaining a positive reputation is essential for attracting new patients.
Prepare comprehensive profiles on healthcare professional directories for each plastic surgeon in your practice. Be thorough when completing these listings as it builds credibility. In contrast, incomplete or missing listings can reduce patients’ confidence.
You can find more tips for enhancing your online authority here.
2. Build and maintain a website and blog
A professionally-designed, user-friendly website that includes a regularly updated blog is the foundation of your online presence. Think of it as your online waiting room. A primary purpose of the website and blog is to collect emails and social media followers, enabling you to stay in contact with current patients and prospective clients who have explored your services online.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is also critical for a successful website. Here are the 6 most important SEO tips for plastic surgeons. It is essential to Identify and incorporate content-relevant keywords that your prospective patients use into your website content. As a result, keyword research becomes a critical success factor.
Your website menu should clearly present information about your services and physicians, including professional headshots and credentials. Add a frequently asked questions page and information about financing, if available.
Incorporate a “before and after” photo gallery of patients who have consented to the use of their images and is HIPAA compliant. If possible, produce videos with this content and place them on your website and YouTube channel. In addition to the gallery, feature a testimonials page of satisfied patients.
Throughout the website, invite people to subscribe to an email newsletter, recognizing they may need more time to consider plastic surgery. By offering additional information, you can maintain engagement.
Alongside building the email list, include links to your social media pages as some people may prefer to follow your practice on social media instead of providing an email.
You can find Top Healthcare Marketing Agencies here.
3. Tell stories and answer questions on social media
You can get people scrolling on social media to engage with your content by telling stories and answering questions. For example, along with blog posts, use a variety of formats like articles, answers to frequently-asked-questions, videos and infographics to inform your audience about plastic surgery procedures you offer, as well as risks, benefits and recovery tips.
Mix in promotions for your practice alongside the educational content. By sharing valuable information, you position yourself as an expert in your field and build trust with your audience.
4. Choose relevant topics for email marketing
Email marketing allows you to engage in personalized communication with those patients and prospects who have chosen to receive your emails. To ensure the success of your email campaigns, it’s important to choose topics that are of interest to your audience. You can segment email lists based on interests in certain procedures and those who are existing patients versus prospective clients.
Establish a regular email schedule – consistently sending out emails on a weekly or monthly basis to maintain engagement and ensure you and your practice stay top-of-mind. Feature updates on innovative techniques, industry trends, and exclusive promotions. You can craft content around seasonally relevant topics, such as holiday festivities, summer beach outings, or reunion events.
Include links within your emails directing readers to blog posts or dedicated landing pages designed to prompt them to schedule a consultation. You can ask patients to leave reviews on your business listings too.
5. Acquire fresh leads with paid advertising
Paid advertising brings more people into your sales funnel by reaching more potential clients. You can purchase ads on social media to grow your follower base, or invest in ads on search engines like Google, websites, or YouTube to connect with more people looking for information about plastic surgery.
Just as keyword research is key for your website’s search engine optimization (SEO), selecting the right keywords and demographics when buying advertising is crucial. When you get these two elements right, your advertising budget is laser focused on the most promising prospects.
Implementing these five strategies successfully takes expertise and significant effort. Continuous refinement of keywords, updating blogs and social media, crafting relevant emails and coordinating activities across all digital channels to maintain a strong and cohesive online presence are just a few of the essential tasks required.
For this reason, many medical practices opt to partner with an experienced and specialized plastic surgeon marketing agency, like Advertising for Surgeons. Professional digital marketing management allows you to attract more clients and grow your practice while allowing you to stay focused on what matters most – your patients.
