Ask any plastic surgery internet marketing consultant about the state of the industry and they will tell you the same thing…change is the one true constant.
Long before the coronavirus came along and reshaped how marketers appeal to patients, the plastic surgery world was always highly competitive and innovation was the order of the day.
While it’s a lucrative business, today, elective patients are incredibly informed about your practice and are likely going to use metrics like affordability, benefits, and convenience before deciding to go under the knife.
With this in mind, you must adopt the best plastic surgery marketing strategies out there to enhance your ROI and thrive.
If you’ve been thinking about rejuvenating your marketing aesthetic services approach, then you’re in luck because your search ends here.
Here’s the lowdown on the top 10 marketing channels that plastic surgery internet marketing consultants swear by.
1. Referrals and Reviews
Among marketing channels, this is the one that seems to constantly be on top. Requiring almost zero financial investment, referrals and reviews tend to bring valuable warm leads to your doors and should be an essential element to your reputation management for plastic surgeons strategy.
To succeed, the trick lies in improving how you ask patients for referrals.
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Schedule A ConsultationIdeally, you want patients to still be excited about your practice before you ask them for a referral. For this, you need not wait too long before making the move. After all, there’s no rule against asking patients right after a procedure.
Hitting while the iron is still hot is likely going to inspire patients to use word of mouth marketing to recommend friends and colleagues to your practice.
Also, you shouldn’t be too quick to take no for an answer. You can always probe further and see where the conversation goes. The odds are that you’ll succeed since you’ve already closed a sale, the referral is nothing but the icing on the cake.
2. Email and SMS Marketing
A good number of plastic surgery internet marketing consultants believe that uniting email marketing with SMS is a no-brainer. This is because these channels serve as the perfect conduit for you to grow your patient base and build relationships with existing patients.
You can use emails to send long-form messages and newsletters before switching over to SMS when you want the message to be short and sweet.
Interestingly, with email and SMS marketing, nothing is really off the limits. You can let your imagination wander and send out a range of messages from birthday texts to special offers. Objectively, the goal is to nurture your patients and lead them further up the sales funnel.
3. Local and Medical Listings
Your plastic surgery business needs to be visible to all and sundry to make a dent in the highly competitive field. This may mean building a network that ensures that you’re able to rope in patients both on online and offline platforms.
If you’re running a local practice, then you need to need to appeal to patients in your region. In this instance, having your practice listed in local directories and review sites is likely going to augur well for your business.
To crack the code with listings, make sure that your business listings are always updated with your address and phone number. This way, patients looking for plastic surgery services will always be able to access you as they please.
4. Search Engine Optimization
Admittedly, you may not have an easy time landing new patients. This is because there are millions of plastic surgery businesses all vying for the same eyeballs. As such, it’s prudent that you ensure your practice is visible in search engine results.
How do you do this? By creating and sharing relevant content about the plastic surgery industry. This way, you will have more prospective patients looking to learn more about your services.
Since search engine optimization doesn’t happen overnight, you must make a deliberate effort to learn what’s trending in the plastic surgery industry and at your local market level. From this, you can formulate keywords and create content that appeals to prospective patients.
As you keep sharing backlinks to your work in each post, there’s good chance your hard work will get noticed over time and you’ll become revered as an authority online.
5. Social Media Management
Here, it’s all about interactions. This organic side of social media can do your brand the world of good if you play your cards right.
In contrast to advertising approaches, the social media game tends to leave lasting impressions that keep patients coming back for more.
To win at social media, you need to learn to share fresh engaging content regularly. By doing so, you’ll realize that you can have extended conversations and form a solid relationship with patients.
6. Branded Paid Search Ads
While conventional wisdom will have you thinking that you need to promote your business using specific keywords about your practice, this is not the safest option.
As alluded, there are a plethora of different businesses out there promising the world to patients. In such a setup, things can get a little bit murky if you’re not careful.
To sway patients to your favor, you need to create branded paid search ads. This is a unique approach that can help differentiate you from the masses. Since no other company is competing for your brand name, you’re more likely to notice improved ROI than if you were to decide to stick to traditional search ads.
7. Multi-Channel Retargeting
Admittedly, not every prospective patient who gets to your landing page after clicking on a search or social ad will be ready to commit to a cosmetic procedure.
If you realize that a good host of patients are on the fence about whether or not to go through with plastic surgery, you need not despair. It’s normal behavior.
At times, patients will need a little nudge to get them further down the sales funnel. When this happens, we recommend sending them simple reminders that you’re ready to help. Since you want this to be subtle, the best way to do this is deploying multi-channel retargeting ads.
8. Highly Targeted Search Ads
With search advertising, you can broadcast the details of your brand for all and sundry to know.
If you’re looking to narrow to your target audience of patients, you can set your campaign to be triggered when people key in specific search terms like “facelift”, “liposuction”, “hair transplantation”…you catch the drift.
9. Highly Targeted Social Ads
With so many people logging onto various social media platforms world over, it wouldn’t hurt your practice if you adapted highly targeted social ads as part of your marketing strategy.
Not only will you be able to expand your brand’s reach, but you’ll also be able to connect with them and learn about their pain points.
For better results, it’s best to take on a targeted approach. This way, you’ll know for sure that the prospective patients who’ve got your brand message are likely going to be open to doing business with you.
10. Multi-Channel Brand Campaigns
Becoming an authority online takes lots of dedication. To have your brand name on people’s lips, you’re likely going to have to embrace multiple-channel brand marketing campaigns.
While these campaigns are usually expensive may take time before you get to see any real results, they’re worth it if you’re in for the long haul.
Over time, patients will be able to resonate with what you represent and they will trust your brand enough to vouch for you on different platforms without you having to tell them.
Get Started Today with Plastic Surgeon Internet Marketing Consultants
With increasing public interest in aesthetic enhancement, it’s safe to say that the current age is one of the best times for plastic surgeons to take advantage of these plastic surgery practice marketing trends. Given the rate at which tech is growing, the future seems quite promising. However, to avoid becoming irrelevant, you need to adapt with the times. You can start by embracing the aforementioned top marketing channels plastic surgeon internet marketing consultants swear by.
If you’re not well-versed in the world of marketing, then you need not fear. You can always take on the services of an aesthetic marketing expert or aesthetic consultant who will help you map out your winning strategy.