Do you feel panic when you think about your practice not having a TikTok account? If so, then this article is for you.
Social media is a powerful tool for acquiring new patients, but it requires more resources than people often realize. In the early days of social media, it was possible to have large organic reach on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. As the platforms have become more monetized with time, social media is best viewed as a paid channel, instead of a form of free publicity.
That said, social media can deliver significant results with little investment if targeted correctly. You can target by zip code and interest in your offerings for instance. Narrowing down your audience profile will also increase the efficiency of your ads. For example, focusing on women 40+ in the zip codes within 30 minutes of your office would be a better strategy than the default setting of males and females aged 18-65+ anywhere in the U.S. You can also select other demographics such as interest in plastic surgery, skin care, or luxury goods to further refine your target audience.
Focus on the platforms where your customers spend their time. Just because a certain social media channel is enjoying a buzz, that doesn’t mean that you have to be on it. Fifty percent of TikTok’s user base is under 34, for example, when the average age when people first consider cosmetic procedures is 41.
As you probably know, younger patients lean toward Instagram and older ones toward Facebook. People generally use LinkedIn and Twitter for professional rather than personal reasons. Also, many marketers have a “phone first” design ethic as the vast majority of web traffic, even in professional markets, is through smartphones and not desktops any more.
The most important thing in marketing a service offering is to capture contact info from your patients and keep the data in an actionable form. Emails and, increasingly, text messages are the best ways to keep your current patients informed about special offers or promotions.
These contacts can be easily managed and professional looking emails sent through services like Constant Contact and MailChimp. Setting up a landing page to capture contact information should be one of your first steps. Then you can include the link to this page in a call to action with your promotions to capture client information. Even if they don’t initially choose your service, they are valuable leads because they have expressed an interest and you can continue to market to them.
In Part II, we will discuss the importance of setting marketing goals as part of a social media strategy.
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