One may argue that it is important not to assume that everyone is “digitally savvy.” Someone else may say that everyone, at this point in history, is “digitally savvy.” Social media platforms are at its peak in consumer use and adaptation in societies – and its features are constantly evolving and becoming more functional for everyday use. Regardless of how integrated these social media platforms are in our daily life, each platform has its pros and cons, especially in the context of selfie culture and perceived beauty.
It’s not a long shot for someone to wonder how the selfie generation and the image-based aspect of social media platforms have influenced other aspects of our society, like how does social media influence plastic surgery?
THE BASICS: The different social media platforms
Let’s start with the intended purposes of the most popular social media platforms used in social media marketing for cosmetic surgery:
Facebook is a networking site that connects people and is designed to keep people in touch. It has also become a place for sharing news articles, events, and exclusive groups.
Twitter is a micro-blogging social media platform that lets you share thoughts through short writings called tweets. This platform has a character limit to posts. Still, it has become the place to discuss TV shows, industry news, politics, and other collective interests.
Let's Talk!
Get your free 30-minute consultation with an Aesthetic Marketing Consultant
Schedule A ConsultationInstagram is a highly visual platform that was designed around sharing photos and videos. Since it is image-based, it could be said that this platform is responsible for the boom in selfie culture. The filters and editing apps have allowed users to be more creative and enhance their photos and videos.
YOUTUBE
YouTube is a video-sharing social media platform that lets you store and share longer video content. It allows users to subscribe to their preferred channels to continue watching clips, much like tuning into a TV show.
So How Does Social Media Influence Plastic Surgery?
Social media serves as a gateway to expressing oneself, and the selfie culture has been born out of this. This habit has created a few complicated and unrealistic ambitions for some people regarding their appearance. Selfie culture and the abundance of filters and apps like FaceTune have birthed an expectation of having the perfect nose, eye shape, smooth skin, and contoured jawline.
While it seems unharmful, users have developed an idealistic way of looking at themselves on social media through these filters and apps. Even though heavily filtered selfies can be deceiving, users fail to consider that there are a handful of other things that affect a selfie’s outcome. Regardless, patients still pursue selfie-ready plastic surgery procedures to achieve the perfect selfie. Selfie culture has become so rampant that plastic surgery requests become solely based on filter selfies. Among these include the excessive fantasies for nose jobs, lip injections, and forehead lifts.
Despite social media shaping such culture and plastic surgery trends, it is still best to consult with a board-certified plastic surgeon before proceeding with any procedure. This way, patients will be guided into making wiser and safer decisions. Ultimately, plastic surgeons will prioritize their patients’ safety and only aim for the best natural-looking results.
How Does Social Media Influence Your Plastic Surgery Practice?
CONSUMER COMMENTS AND REACTIONS
Plastic surgery social media marketing offers a unique way to interact with your local market. Social media platforms not only let you share content, but it also allows your audience to engage with it. From the content you post, your business’s following can react to it, share it, and comment on it; and since it’s a highly interactive platform, content can easily go viral – may it be for the right reasons or the wrong ones. Of course, we want to go viral for the right reasons!
From a public relations standpoint, maintaining a strategic communication plan is the most crucial part of how social media influences plastic surgery. It fundamentally shapes how your audience thinks of you, your brand, and your work – a responsive, customer-friendly, and accommodating business is the gold standard. Your plastic surgery practice can achieve this by continually interacting with your audience.
A strategic communication plan should include responding to comments and answering their queries or any reviews. Some may give praise and admiration to your brand through comments, although some may also vent out frustrations. Letting these slip past you is a big no-no, and addressing them is the way to go. Ask them how you can help and how you can make it a better experience for them. Likewise, extending your thanks to those who complement your practice is equally as important. As these engagements are all public, you can see how social media influences your plastic surgery practice’s brand reputation, and in many ways it’s the new word-of-mouth.
INDUSTRY HASHTAGS
Hashtags are keywords that you use to label your content. Consider that your business’s content will vary, so each post must have corresponding hashtags that should uniquely match them. Doing so will help you capture your brand’s target audience.
Here are a few examples of hashtags:
- #PlasticSurgeryinYourCity
- #BeforeandAfterPlasticSurgery
- #PlasticSurgerybyDrYourName
Similarly, hashtags can serve as a way to link your plastic surgery practice to its services and products offered. Much like your actual posted content, hashtags can also become viral.
For example:
- #TopPlasticSurgeons
- #TummyTuckResults
- MedicalGradeSkinCareProducts
CAPITALIZE ON CUSTOMER REVIEWS
As mentioned previously, social media is now the new word-of-mouth marketing. Reviews on social media platforms play a part when considering how does social media influence plastic surgery. Regardless of how informative your content is, your practice could fall behind if your reviews are not favorable.
Feedback in the form of a Google review or Facebook review from a previous client can easily be acquired through whatever platform you have. The more organic and realistic it looks, the more convincing it is to your potential clients. In sharing the feedback across your social media platforms, remember that an audience chooses the content they only want to read.
If you are a potential client, would you be interested in reading something dull and flat? You can find alternatives to creatively present your practice reviews to your audience apart from the traditional black and white text. Some feature before and after photos, while others do quick interviews on video. Whatever way you may think of, it’s the positive and reassuring testimonials that count. Ultimately, your goal is to convince them; and you can do so by making things more interactive.
INVEST IN QUALITY CONTENT MARKETING
Because a plastic surgery practice is in the business of aesthetics and aesthetic marketing, it is inherently important to ensure that your content, photos, and videos are of high quality. Showcasing your work will require photos and videos, and it would be a disservice to your work to not have them in high resolution.
Quality photos and videos can significantly shape how social media influences your plastic surgery practice. Your photos and videos will represent your plastic surgery practice, and these can make lasting impressions on potential patients. Apart from it being eye-catching, your post becomes overall more engaging. Plus social media content is an essential and effective way for CoolSculpting marketing or marketing Botox and other new to the market services. You can do this by hiring a professional photographer if your budget permits; or by investing in editing software to beautify your photos and videos.
To conclude, the question of how social media influences plastic surgery and your practice, it is basically how you present your brand online and the content you create to represent your work. A practice that wishes to succeed should have a content calendar or even an aesthetic marketing consultant versed in aesthetic brand marketing, for that matter. But the truth is, it will still heavily rely on how you manage your social media accounts. Ponder on Facebook Marketing Expert, Mari Smith’s quote: “Content is King, but engagement is Queen, and she rules the house.”