A Guide to Plastic Surgery Advertisement

It’s no secret – advertisements are everywhere, and we consume them every day of our lives. It is nearly impossible to live in a world without these ads. Many businesses rely on advertisements to drum up sales in their local markets. Many consumers rely on ads to learn about new products, services, or to find out when their favorite products or services are on sale. Advertisements are a vital aspect of keeping an economy and local market booming. 

Here’s how to leverage aesthetic marketing and advertisements for your practice. We will discuss important points on implementation and best practices for plastic surgery advertisement strategies.

TODAY’S ADVERTISING OPTIONS

Advertising, by definition, is a process for transmitting messages from a business to its consumers – in your case, from your aesthetic practice to your potential and existing patients. The goal of a plastic surgery advertisement is to influence and generate an action from your practice’s target audience. Among the most used advertising mediums are as follows:

PAID SEARCH ADVERTISING – Paid search advertising is the act of positioning your brand and making them appear at a high traffic position in search results. When consumers search for keywords related to the product or service you are advertising, your brand’s ad will be strategically placed at spaces where consumers will easily see. Check out more plastic surgery advertising ideas here!

SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING – Social media advertising is an intelligent way to encourage a sale. If done correctly, it is more casual and doesn’t come across to “sales-y” or “pushy.” When a consumer browses through a particular social media platform and clicks on a paid post or plastic surgery social media marketing post, it will redirect them to the brand’s preferred hyperlink – e-commerce store, blog, video, just to name a few. 

NATIVE ADVERTISING – Native advertising is done by using a middleman that serves as a “front” to entice consumers. Brands will partner with other web-based brands to advertise on behalf of them. Typically, the brands choose web-based brands based on their audience, ideally having the same target audience as theirs. With an agreement in place, brands can sponsor content under another web-based brand. 

Advertising is used by any and every business today. Mainly because it is highly effective at assisting businesses in attracting new consumers and inevitably more sales, that said, plastic surgery advertisement in any given local market has become more competitive. While it is common for other businesses in the aesthetic industry to have an advertising plan, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons has set standards to uphold honest and principled ethics in the plastic surgery’s local market for all plastic surgery advertisement. Each of these has specific advantages and disadvantages, but here is an overview of what you can and cannot do when making your practice’s plastic surgery advertisement.

THE DONT’S OF PLASTIC SURGERY ADVERTISEMENT 

Your plastic surgery business should be mindful to avoid bad advertising habits as these tend to backfire. Bad advertising habits have the potential to turn off prospective patients and can even kill your existing base of patients. When considering the current Code of Ethics authored by The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, it is crucial to apply this code to your plastic surgery advertisement. 

Keep in mind the following and avoid these lousy advertisement habits:

UNETHICAL PRACTICES

• Political Activism – The overuse of social awareness can sometimes come across as imposing your viewpoints on patient’s values or orientation. When your practice overdoes it with politicking, it gives the impression that your practice is not open to those with conflicting views and opinions. An ethical practice can still take a stand relating to social issues. Still, when advertising your practice, it is important to consider the diverse beliefs and backgrounds in the community your practice services as not to offend.

• Exploitative and Distasteful Gimmick – An ethical practice should not capitalize on other people’s struggles nor misuse their pains. This cultivates an illusion that your practice can be a patient’s “saving grace.” Certain stunts like this try too hard to appear concerned for a patient by appealing to their emotions when all in all, its only motive is to generate a sale. 

UNREALISTIC RESULTS

Initiating unrealistic beauty standards breeds an unsettling idealism among patients. It causes patients to have toxic goals and beliefs relating to aesthetic procedures. This pushes patients to lose confidence in their practice and services, and even worse, it has the potential to damage someone’s self-esteem and self-worth. Others’ well-being is not something a practice can profit on.

THE DO’S OF PLASTIC SURGERY ADVERTISEMENT 

While you are careful with your plastic surgery advertisements, you should also be innovative with how you plan to pursue your advertising plan. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons encourages good advertising habits, and this will be impactful to your patients and encourage them to support your practice even more. As you move forward with this, remember to make the most out of these things:

CONSISTENT COMMUNICATION

When your practice takes time to maintain communication with patients, you are indirectly maintaining a relationship with them. Being consistent in communicating with your patients is an act of showing your genuine involvement with your patients’ lives and that you care. Regardless of the topic, your patients will feel their importance, even on a non-aesthetic related perspective. It reassures them that they are not just your practice’s goldmines for profit. Advertisements do this by relating to the audiences’ wants and needs, and by sincerely affirming them. Through the use of promising ads, your practice builds not just its brand but also its identity. 

REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

Plastic surgery advertisements should be transparent and meet the audience’s need for straightforward and direct information. When your practice does this, you must establish your credibility first. First and foremost, you want to advertise that you are a board-certified plastic surgeon. Being accredited by The American Society of Plastic Surgery constructs your practice’s reputation as certified and credible. As you advertise your practice’s credibility, you guarantee that patients are in reputable hands and set yourself apart.

HOW TO GET STARTED

Advertising can quickly be used against a practice if executed poorly. Your practice will easily stand out in your local market through the help of an aesthetics practice marketing consultant. Your aesthetic marketing consultant will look over your advertising plan – from the style, the medium, the placement, and even its purpose – all while acknowledging the ASPS’s code of ethics.