This year I spoke at the annual meeting of the American Society for Dermatological Surgery on how social media and Internet marketing are now one-in-the-same. The web is social, and social activity and data influences nearly everything we do with the Internet, including the display of search engine results. After my presentation I held a number of one-on-one discussions with attending dermsurgeons, and these conversations revealed 3 common themes:

1. Dermatologists consider their practice websites sub-optimal. In the 2012 ASDS Member Needs and Opinions Survey, the statement “My website is the best of breed, optimized for maximum performance” was agreed to by just 56% of doctor respondents. 83% agreed or strongly agreed to “I would like to get more patients from the web.”  I heard this echoed at the ASDS meeting, where dermatologists expressed concern that they’re not keeping up with the changes in the web and how consumers prefer to learn about a practice, such as with a mobile device. The advice I offered was that, as a starting point, it is essential to build a high quality website that is indeed mobile friendly (over 40% of RealSelf visitors arrive by a mobile device). But quality is a loaded term. Quality means delivering an online experience that consumers find helpful to getting informed and confident in their aesthetic decision and you as their doctor. My friend Eva Sheie developed an awesome checklist of website must-do’s that illustrates the vast number of considerations to making a website closer-to-optimal:

Design:

Ways to reach you:

• Contact form on every page
• Phone number obvious on top of every page
• Phone is plain text, so mobile users can click to call

Photos:

Critical features:

Written content:

Basic SEO Standards

•           Good page title tags (appear at the top the browser, headline of Google result)
•           Links between pages
•           Headings within content
•           XML sitemap
•           Do you have Google Analytics?
•           Healthy links from other sites to yours

The takeaway is probably obvious: the busy doctor needs a forward-thinking and innovative website vendor to drive the activities that are required to build a great online experience. You may want to talk to a vendor about your current site–and marketing goals– by contacting one of RealSelf’s recommended website vendors who are experts at building websites for plastic surgeons, dermatologists, and other aesthetic specialties.

2. Many dermatologic surgeons are disappointed by their attempt to buy a web presence.  I heard from numerous doctors that expensive Google keyword buying campaigns and online ads were not producing great results. Frankly, they should be disappointed because they have seen so little data to support their marketing investment. Not one of the doctors I spoke with had access to their Google Analytics (this is a must to measure ROI), nor did they cite getting access to metrics from their web vendor that helped them understand the conversion of the purchased web clicks into practice contacts or other desired activities (like signing up for the practice newsletter). With aesthetic patient acquisition costs ranging from $1,000 to $4,000 (per person showing up for an appointment), it’s simply a must to have click and conversion metrics and reporting.

3. There is smart resistance to investing in Facebook and Twitter. Facebook is like yelling into a canyon; Twitter, like tossing your insights into a raging river. To gain a meaningful presence it means two things that few doctors want to take on. First, you need to be accessible and responsive.  Secondly, you need to post often, and with compelling content. Tweets and Facebook posts have exceedingly short shelf lives and many go unseen by fans and followers. The good news is that these social media tools are rarely used to find a doctor, so I simply don’t believe a doctor is missing out by lightly investing in either platform. Aesthetic consumers value their privacy and don’t necessarily want to broadcast their plans. They’d rather take their research to places like RealSelf where they can maintain anonymity and get support from people who can relate to their needs and situation.

I left the ASDS  meeting even more convinced that when it comes to online marketing and social media, doctors thoughtfully approach it in one of three forms of engagement. Most dermatologists are at what can be called the Crawl stage, where they see the value of protecting their online reputation but aren’t ready to promote on the web. A growing number are at the Walk stage, where they’ve decided to build a meaningful presence in social media, following a patient-centric strategy that allows them to share their expertise in non-promotional ways. Then, for the rare doctor who seeks to build a large, international audience and following on the web, they are attempting the Run stage.

As I cautioned the dermatologists, should any vendor push you to skip the walk stage and take on a run-like social media marketing plan, ask two questions. “What kind of car do you drive and how many square feet is your house,” because the vendor is likely to be the only one getting an ROI from your marketing expense.

We try to talk them out of this approach, pointing to the fact that these ad formats are less effective in a social environment like the RealSelf community. This video explains how, indeed, social advertising is where all brands will have to look to get a positive ROI. The banner may eventually be a relic of the past.

If you’re a brand manager at Solta, Allergan, Medicis, or Cynosure, it pays to look for ways for your brand to contribute to the consumer’s research process, helping them get empowered with reliable information. Marketing copy is rarely regarded as reliable information.

Clearly the FDA has a chilling effect on what these firms can support or market when so much conversation is “off label”, yet when it’s a patient-centric campaign, the promotion of product features and benefits should always take a back seat to content that’s regarded as helpful.

If you’ve ever considered doing a Groupon or other daily-discount offer, you already know that it can do some serious damage to your bottom line. That’s because such sites typically demand discounts of around 50% and then take half of what’s left.

But did you know your reputation could also take a hit?

That’s among the intriguing results of a study conducted by researchers at Harvard and Boston University. Starting with a sample population of 16,000 Groupon deals, they correlated the data with Yelp reviews — 56,000 reviews on almost 2,500 deals — and found that business’ average-rating scores dropped in the months after the deals were redeemed.

Specifically, they found that reviews that mentioned either “Groupon” or “coupon” were 10% lower on average than reviews that didn’t and that reviews that mentioned both terms were more than 20% lower.

The lower-on-average rating scores in those reviews mentioning Groupon provides a cautionary note, wrote the researchers. This could indicate that a more critical audience is being reached or that the fit between the merchant and these new customers is more tenuous than with existing customers.

Either way, the research suggests that the deals that are so great for consumers may be as bad for your online reputation as they are for your bottom line.

Does that mean you should avoid daily-deal sites altogether? Not necessarily as the research also showed a significant increase in the overall number of post-deal reviews, suggesting increased exposure and interest from consumers. (Exposure was further enhanced as people shared deals via Facebook “likes,” although there was no evidence that that expanded audience translated into increased sales.)

Instead, doctors should approach Groupon and similar sites with caution and eyes wide open as to the pros and cons. On the one hand, they can bring lots of new visitors to your website and to your practice. On the other, they can also attract a clientele that comes for that one-time deal and never returns.

As we’ve said before, if you’re going to offer a Groupon or other daily-deal, you need to have a plan in place to turn deal-seekers into regular customers. At the same time, based on the above research, it may be even more important to consistently monitor your online reputation and engage with reviewers, wherever they are and whether their reviews are good, bad or otherwise.

It’s one of the biggest Internet sensations in online marketing but is it right for you? “It,” of course, is Groupon, the deal-of-the-day website that provides big discounts to online shoppers, and it presents unique opportunities and challenges for you and your practice.

Groupon can be difficult to work with, says Eva Sheie, director of client strategy for Strategic Edge Partners (and a new guest blogger here at medibeauty). On the positive side, it can drive tons of clicks to your site.

Consider the case of a Strategic Edge client who offered a $400 IPL procedure for $99. Although a potential loss-leader, more than 1,800 people visited the site the day the offer ran and 81 signed up for the practice’s email list. “It was completely worth it,” says Sheie, “just for the web traffic and conversions alone.”

On the other hand, working with Groupon also presents unique challenges. Generally speaking, the company dictates the terms of its deals — the standard arrangement calls for a 50% discount, with Groupon taking roughly half of what’s left — and the site’s snarky style may be better suited to fast-food restaurants than long-term beauty treatments. Touting Botox as an alternative to “cryogenically freezing your face” because it “doesn’t impact the patient’s ability to be alive” may not project the image you want.

There are also significant questions as to whether Groupon actually builds repeat business or simply attracts one-time visitors seeking a good deal before moving on. The same is true for LivingSocial, Yuupon and other daily-deal sites.

Bottom line, says Sheie: “You should not expect to make money on your Groupon deal but rather, view it as a tool for exposure.”

Doctor Takeaways

1. Daily deals are best used for aesthetic, not medical procedures

When daily deals are structured as compensation-per-lead arrangements, they amount to fee-splitting, which is illegal for medical procedures in many jurisdictions, notes Tracy Drumm in Plastic Surgery Practice. The law, as usual, lags the fast-paced world of the Internet but until specific rules are developed, limit Groupon deals to products and services provided by aestheticians and other office staff.

2. Limit deals to single-treatment procedures

Imagine the results if 100 people accepted a Groupon deal for a multi-treatment procedure like laser hair removal. Add up the time and salaries involved and the heightened toll on your equipment and there’s no way to make a profit when you’re only netting 25% of the revenue. Stick to single-treatment procedures (or products) instead.

3. Lay the groundwork to facilitate upselling or cross-selling

Ultimately, Groupon deals are a means to introduce potential patients to your practice so it’s important to make them feel welcome when they visit your website and your office. Sheie recommends running a “Welcome Groupon” banner on the former and solid sales training in the latter: “If they come in for the Groupon deal, you want to ask what else are you interested in or did you know we also do provide this service?

Guest Post by Bill Fukui, Chief Operating Officer at Page 1 Solutions

When it comes to online advertising, you may pay per click (PPC) but you earn per conversion. And since Google doesn’t negotiate the cost to be the top listing for a particular search, it’s important to ensure you’re getting the most bang for your PPC dollar.

Focusing on two key elements can help: Your campaign and lead conversion.

The Campaign

• Keyword psychology: To get the most from your PPC budget, keep searchers’ thought processes in mind. Certain phrases, such as “plastic surgeon,” are of high value because people who use them are looking specifically for a provider. The same is true for targeted or niche searches like “breast augmentation.” It can be worth bidding high for these types of phrases. Conversely, general, high-volume phrases — “plastic surgery,” for example — are often used by people who are just seeking information. They may be great for organic listings (which are not charged by the click) but generally don’t convert very well. They also tend to be expensive.

• Ad descriptions: What your PPC ad says and how effective it is impacts your click-through rate. On Google, it can also impact your placement because the site uses a proprietary Quality Score to reward ads that get more clicks. Make sure your ad copy is not generic or automated and utilizes customization, particularly depending on the scope of your keyword phrases and the quality of your Landing Page (see below).

• Management fees: Finally, it’s essentially to know how much of your monthly PPC budget is actually going to the search engines. Traditional media placement (TV, radio, print) agencies charge about 15% to research, strategize, place and manage ad campaigns and PPC media buying should be similar. If your provider is not willing to share this information with you, you’re probably paying more.

Lead Conversion

• Keywords: Online consumers today are both destination-focused and impatient; they use the Internet for convenience, immediacy and fast results. Given that, there are certain “magic” words that get them to act. When developing your call-to-action strategy, include key conversion words, such as free, instant, easy or convenient.

• Landing Pages: As the destination pages for your PPC ads, landing pages are designed to do one thing — convert visitors by getting them to call, email, sign up for your newsletter, etc. To facilitate that goal, a good landing page should:
• Have minimal navigation: Avoid excessive links, multiple navigation buttons and long, scrolling text.
• Be promotion-driven: Include strong “next step” interactive elements.
• Be customized to visitors: Be as specific to the particular interest of the visitor as possible. Click here to view samples.

• Video: In the fast-paced world of PPC, separating yourself from your competitors needs to happen almost immediately. Video can help make your landing pages compelling, build rapport and encourage interactive engagement. It can also:
• Break down psychological and social barriers and help you “connect” with visitors.
• Quickly communicate more details and emotion. (Limit videos to 60 seconds or less.)
• Project an appropriate image: Professional production quality — music, graphics, animation, etc. — can make a big difference.

• Instant Chat: Increasingly, online users are communicating through digital texting rather than email or even calling. Furthermore, studies have shown that visitors interact more frequently with landing pages that have chat services than those that do not. As a result, an “Instant Chat” service (available 24/7) is essential to any PPC campaign. To maximize your Chat ROI:
  • Have chats managed by trained agents, not you and your staff.
  • Pay only for working leads — those that provide a name and email or phone number — that the chat service converts. The cost per lead should be as little as $12.

One last thing…mobile

Although mobile browsers account for only about 15% of Internet usage today, it’s growing exponentially, which means you may want to start thinking about Mobile-Only PPC campaigns. We’ll share more details about this emerging strategy in a subsequent post.

Bill can be contacted at (800) 916-3886, ext. 1209, via email at billf@page1solutions.com or via Page 1 Solutions’ website: http://www.page1solutions.com/.

Branding in the New World