At Awesome Medical Marketing, we talk to cosmetic and plastic surgeons, daily. Our objective is to help surgeons market themselves better online – to gain exposure and patients. Because there are so many ways to market to the masses and target patient audiences, there is a lot to learn and a lot to know. It is an educational process. This is true with any business, surgeons must consult with patients to help them understand more about cosmetic and plastic surgery procedures, and we have to consult with surgeons to teach them new ways to market their practices and clinics.
Imagine life today without the worldwide web or mobile devices. The Internet changed the way we access information about products and services, and also changed the way consumers make purchases.
In these modern times, if you do not have a website, you are virtually non-existent. In addition, if you do not harness the power of the Internet and social media to gain impressions - to make an impression, then you are missing out on prospective patients who might be looking for you.
For years many cosmetic and plastic surgeons relied on their reputation, word-of-mouth referrals and ad campaigns to make their living. Now, it is more complex and there are many layers to marketing success.
Now, a majority of surgeons have websites that feature their services, images of their facilities, news and media coverage, professional profiles, surgical experience, professional affiliations, information about procedures, patient case profiles and links to photos and videos.
In today’s market, it is vital to feature as much content as possible, and you must be accessible through multiple channels to attract patients to your site.
As Internet junkies, we have been trained to research online, first, before a major purchase. What we find, learn and see will more than likely help develop and solidify our decisions about brand awareness and loyalty. In addition, the number of times you come up in a search matters, too. The more links you have on directories, the easier it is to find you. But once patients get to your site, you better be able to show them proof of your skills or they will move on to your competition.
You can learn more by reading our recently published article, which discusses the importance of viral marketing with videos and by using social media and other outlets to your advantage: "Easy to View Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery Videos Help Patients Learn and Engage, Online."
As an example, one of our featured surgeons, Dr. William Hall, founder of Infini Cosmetic Associates has had unbelievable success with a brief video he produced, featuring his patient “Kelli” before and after her lipo procedure. It is titled: Lipo Procedure with Dr. William Hall - Kelli Documentary.
To date, this video has been viewed more than 59 million times. It was so popular and well done, we asked Dr. Hall if we could feature the videos for prospective patients to view on all of our Liposuction Guides, including:
Smartlipo.com
Smartlipotopdocs.com
Laserlipoguide.com
Liposculptureguide.com
Lasersculptureguide.com
Liposuctionguide.com
Lipoguide.com
Tumescentliposuctionguide.com
The success of the video can be attributed to the tutorial nature that takes the viewer from Kelli’s home on the day of the surgery to her results three months after her lipo procedure. The video helps patients understand the consultation process, and Kelli helps the patient identify with what it may be like to have the surgery. Also, notice how Dr. Hall is personable and how he explains the details to his client. He addresses the patient, not the camera, which helps the audience focus on the patient too.
Visibility does not have to cost you a fortune, but your presence or absence online can “make” or “break” your clinic or practice. For example, Dr. Hall filmed his video with a $200 camera using only one production person to do it. All it took was his time, his patient’s time and some innovation to produce it and post it to YouTube and his sites.
The Internet is changing and so is the business of converting patients. In our Smartlipo.com Case Study we learned about a team of surgeons who posted video content, and to their surprise, attracted more patients, who spent more time their sites viewing the video, and increased patient conversion rates, dramatically. In this case, the video was animated and in 3D.
For surgeons who do not feature their own video links to content about procedures, there are services that allow you to feature virtually animated cosmetic and plastic surgery videos for a monthly or annual fee, such as www.understand.com.
The moral of this blog is this: Now is the time to engage and rely more heavily on the Internet for marketing and outreach to pull patients to your site, your services and your practice. More than 87% of your patients should come from online and mobile searches. The more visible you are online, the easier it is for patients to find you when they search keywords related to cosmetic and plastic surgery procedures. If you do not have a strong presence online, then consider yourself absent from the big picture. Patients will most likely find your competition, instead of you.
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