Content, conversations, channels and code of conduct. As noted in previous posts, these four concepts form the pillars of successful social media marketing. Yet in and of themselves they won’t help you grow your practice without the fifth C of social healthcare: Commitment. Unlike buying an ad or mailing out brochures, social media is not [...]
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The 5 Cs of Social Healthcare: Create a Code of Conduct for Online Interactions (Part IV in a series)
No doubt, you’ve heard the horror stories: In Missouri, an OB-GYN is reprimanded for posting inappropriate comments about a patient on Facebook. In Rhode Island, a doctor is fired and fined after revealing identifiable patient information on the site. And in St. Louis, a cosmetic surgeon is sued for negligence after the digital information in [...]
Infographic Friday: Savvy Doctors Use Video to Engage, Inform and Educate
Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you no doubt know that Google is the world’s largest search engine. But do you know which one is No. 2? (Hint: It’s not Bing, Yahoo! or Ask.com.) It’s YouTube, which among other things, is proof positive that consumers are increasingly turning to video to learn more about [...]
The 5 Cs of Social Healthcare: Choose your Channels to Connect with Top Prospects (Part III in a series)
When it comes to social media, all platforms are not created equal. And when it comes to marketing cosmetic surgery and other aesthetic procedures via social media, choosing the wrong one can result in a lot of wasted time, misspent marketing dollars and minimal return on your investment. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest — they all boast [...]
Infographic Friday: To Market Your Practice, Go Where the Patients Are
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 — [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
Infographic Friday: Make Your Emails Impossible to Ignore
When it comes to researching a procedure and choosing a doctor, aesthetic consumers can take months or even years to make a decision. When it comes to receiving emails from the providers they’re considering, they often make their decisions — open or delete — in a fraction of a second. Come out on the wrong [...]
Is Cosmetic Surgery Getting Commoditized?
Petroleum products. Precious metals. Plastic surgery? Technically speaking, only two of the above can be considered commodities but sometimes it can be hard to tell which two. Between industry developments, competitive pressures and changing consumer behavior, it’s not surprising that longtime aesthetic providers are feeling that a profession built on personal expertise and one-on-one relationships [...]
3 Steps to Social Media Management and Measurement
At RealSelf, we often talk of taking a three-step, Crawl-Walk-Run approach to engaging with online consumers through social media. As CEO Tom Seery explains, Most doctors 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 [...]
Infographic Friday: Content + Context = Smart Internet Marketing
You’ve probably heard marketers use the phrase “content is king” but what does it really mean? In the simplest terms, it means that providing content — words, images, video, etc. — is an excellent way to engage with consumers. In marketing terms, it’s a tool to let people know who you are, how your products [...]
Infographic Friday: Who Ya Gonna Trust? Peer Recommendations Rule the Influence Roost
Forget banner ads, billboards and the bevy of celebrities touting brands of every type. When it comes to influence, as in who people listen to when researching products and services, they turn to one source more than any other. Their peers. Check out the “wheel of influence” in this infographic from the influence marketing company [...]
