According to legend, the late bank robber Willie Sutton once answered a reporter’s question of “Why do you rob banks?” with the now-famous rejoinder “Because that’s where the money is.” In a way, it’s the same with social media marketing (although obviously without the criminal element): Why should you be marketing your practice on social [...]
About Rob Lovitt
Rob Lovitt is a longtime writer and editor who believes every good business has a great story to tell. He has written for dozens of magazines and websites, including NBCnews.com, Expedia.com and the inflight magazines of Alaska, Horizon and Frontier airlines.
The 5 Cs of Social Healthcare: Enhance Your Authenticity by Encouraging Conversations (Part II of a series)
At RealSelf, we often hear from doctors who say they have a hard time convincing patients to post reviews after their procedures. Frankly, we’re not surprised; after all, having completed their aesthetic journey, what incentive is there for a patient to take the time to write a post-procedure report? Compare that to the non-stop stream [...]
Grow Your Practice with RealSelf’s 5 Cs of Social Healthcare (Part I of a series)
As the owner of a small business, you’ve probably heard of the 4 Ps of marketing: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. It’s a time-honored concept that works well when you’re selling widgets or washing machines but it falls short when your “product” entails a medical service, an emotional decision and the growing influence of social [...]
Infographic Friday: To Market Your Practice, Think Beyond Facebook
So many social networks, so little return for your efforts. If you ever needed proof that marketing your practice via the major social networks isn’t worth the time you spend (or the agency fees you pay), this infographic from JumpThru puts the issue in sharp focus. The fact is that even though women dominate Facebook, [...]
Is Answering Questions Online Bad for Your (Business) Health?
With hundreds of thousands of doctor answers, RealSelf has a fair sense of how doctors view participating in online Q&A with patients. Most plastic surgeons, dermatologists, cosmetic dentists and related specialties see it as a legitimate extension of their online marketing efforts, or simply, a way to help consumers make better informed decisions about cosmetic [...]
Worth It Ratings Add Fresh Insights to ASAPS Cosmetic Surgery Statistics
More than 10 million procedures, consumer expenditures approaching $11 billion and a whole lot of satisfied patients. Those are among the key findings to be found in a just-released report from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). In fact, according to the organization’s analysis of multi-specialty statistics for 2012, the 10.1 million procedures [...]
Infographic Friday: It’s the Economy, Doctor!
Perhaps you heard the little news item earlier this week that the Dow topped the high it set in 2007 when it closed at 14,253 on Tuesday. Needless to say, the new record was welcome news from Wall Street to Main Street. Whether you’re invested in the market or not, it should be considered good [...]
Making Time for Social Media Saves Time for More Important Things
After a full day of consults, surgeries and staff meetings, you could be forgiven for thinking that adding more to your workload by maintaining a presence in social media is a time suck you just can’t afford. Truth is, though, that approach has it exactly backwards because social media can actually save you time in [...]
Facebook Faux Pas: It’s not about Acquiring New Patients
As the world’s largest social network, Facebook is all about connecting people with one another. Unfortunately, for small businesses, including cosmetic surgery practices, it’s often the setting for a major disconnect, as well. All too often, business owners view the site as a way to generate new business rather than as a means to build [...]
Infographic Friday: To Net More Patients, It Pays to Nurture Internet Leads
The Web is a wonderful thing. It puts a wealth of information at consumers’ fingertips, introduces you to potential patients from around the world and can prompt them to contact your practice via phone or e-mail. But there’s one thing the Web can’t do and that’s convert those people — “leads” in marketing parlance — [...]
Cosmetic Surgery: the Cure for Unflattering Profile Photos?
Remember the old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words? These days, a good photo may be worth a lot more than that, especially when it’s posted as part of an online profile on a social media site. From making new friends to landing new jobs, people are discovering that how they look online [...]
Infographic Friday: Achieve Great Internet Results with SEO, PPC and Social
To the uninitiated, the intricacies of Internet marketing can be a confusing alphabet soup of unfamiliar acronyms. SEO? PPC? Chances are you already know that they stand for search engine optimization and pay per click, respectively, but digging deeper into their meaning can leave you feeling overwhelmed and ready to give up. That’s why we [...]
Buzz Index: BBL Sisterhood Is Serious about Butt Lifts
Say what you will about social media but one fact is inescapable: When it comes to cosmetic surgery, what were once considered “whisper conversations” are being talked about like never before. And while the online dialogue is ongoing on dozens, if not hundreds, of subjects, you’d be hard-pressed to find a subject that inspires more [...]
New Statistics Confirm Cosmetic Surgery Is a Leading Economic Indicator
What do home sales, car sales and cosmetic surgery procedures have in common? According to new statistics from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), all experienced respectable growth last year. Cosmetic surgeries in the U.S., in fact, were up 5% over the year before, hitting an all-time high of 14.6 million procedures. That, along [...]
Claim your Google+ Profile for Increased Credibility and Better Search Rank
If you’re a socially savvy doctor, you probably already have a Facebook page and, perhaps, a Twitter feed or some photos up on Pinterest. Claimed your Google+ profile yet? If not, you should. Although the search giant’s social network doesn’t generate the media buzz that its competitors often do, it’s growing fast. In fact, according [...]
Infographic Friday: Aesthetic Procedures through the Ages
It’s often said that true beauty is ageless but, let’s face it, we could all use a little help as the years add up. Likewise, as this infographic from the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) suggests, the number of candles on patients’ personal birthday cakes plays a significant role in the types of [...]
Should Cosmetic Surgeons Post their Prices Online?
As we’ve noted before, aesthetic consumers are smart, social and increasingly analytical when it comes to making decisions about procedures and providers. In fact, thanks to the abundance of information on the Internet, they’re using the same criteria — reading reviews, comparing providers — to evaluate tummy tucks that they do for tablets and TVs. [...]
The Future of Healthcare Marketing: 4 Trends to Watch this Year
Wondering what the coming year portends in terms of marketing your practice? The folks at healthcare marketing agency Franklin Street have given it some serious thought and identified four trends that will reshape how consumers find, select and interact with their providers in 2013 and beyond: Mobile Matters It’s official: There are now more smartphone [...]
Infographic Friday: Are You a Good Friend on Facebook?
With more than a billion users, Facebook is many things: A messaging service for keeping up with friends and family. A place to share photos and funny videos. A way to reach out to old flames and former classmates. For businesses, though, it can also be a minefield: Misunderstand how and why people use the [...]
Paging Dr. Google: Search Still Matters for Patients and Doctors (but Social Does, too)
You don’t have to be a software engineer to realize that millions of people turn to the Internet every day to research products, services and the businesses that provide them. That’s true for shoes, consumer electronics and, increasingly, for health information. In fact, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center, 72% of [...]
