You can’t be camera shy in the new social media age.
Photo sharing, LinkedIn profiles, and social media in general are fueling a larger need to look better once only reserved for celebrities frequently on television and in movies.
Now that we’re all essentially in the spotlight on our social media profiles, 27/7/365, looking our best is becoming more and more important. This is especially seen in plastic surgery practices as business has grown despite a lack of job growth and a poor economy in recent years.
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons even reported in their 2012 Plastic Surgery Statistics Report that social media has been cited as a driving force behind the increased business plastic surgeons are seeing in their practices.
Which begs the question:
Why aren’t more plastic surgeons utilizing social media for aesthetic medical marketing to drive business when there’s clearly a demand on social networks?
HIPPA Violations
Social media is fraught with news of privacy violations, so it’s natural to feel concerned that using social networks to market your practice could be risky for patient privacy.
Solution: Since the AMA began publishing regular standards for using social media for medical marketing, we hear these concerns less often. Our social media experts, and any social media marketing company or individual, should be well versed with the AMA standards before starting a medical marketing campaign on social networks.
It’s Too Time Consuming
Doctors are far too busy to do marketing, and much of their staffers are busy managing patients and dealing with day-to-day operations of the business. Who has the time to post on Facebook, or even know the best way to do it for the best results?
Solution: Outsourcing your efforts to a firm or an aesthetic medical marketing contractor with the knowledge necessary to successfully market your practice on social media resolves this problem. Make sure you have open and regular communication & meetings to ensure your needs are being fulfilled, progress is being made, and ROI is successfully measured.
Negative Reviews & Comments
Many medical aesthetic practices are very anti-Yelp and review sites, as they’ve heard many horror stories about negative reviews that have destroyed businesses. Unfortunately, not taking control of your online reputation by avoiding it can be more detrimental to your practice. Additionally, the negative experiences with social media as reported by other medical aesthetic practices are actually the exception to the rule.
In a recent study conducted by the Journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, only 1.5% of respondents said they felt social media negatively impacted their businesses.
Solution: Become an active participant in social media! Ignore the stories you hear about negative social media experiences and how Yelp destroyed the medical aesthetics practice down the road from you. Take an active role in your social media so that you can respond to negative comments & reviews and take action to correct any issues that come up.
Can’t Measure or Show ROI
Money in and money out is important to you, as it is to most plastic surgery practices. So how do you know if your Facebook page is making any money? Most social media marketers tell you that ROI is all about engagement and community. While engagement and community is definitely an important piece of the puzzle, it doesn’t pay the bills. Therefore, it’s not true ROI.
Solution: Come up with a way to measure your ROI through increased phone calls and appointments into your practice directly related to your online efforts. Contact us to find out how we do it, and we’ll get you setup on a campaign that we can generate GUARANTEED ROI for your practice.
You want to be where the demand is!
If social media is fueling higher demand for cosmetic surgery, then you need to be on social media to make sure you are the first surgeon they see when they decide to act on this desire to look better and feel better about their appearance on social networks. Being active on your social spaces and having a community of loyal fans & followers who actively participate on your spaces and recommend you personally, in addition to coming in for your services, fuels business through that ever important word of mouth buzz. Go where the demand is and get started on your social media campaigns today.
