The Mobile Internet and the Changing Consumer Behavior
Before the widespread introduction of digital technology, most cosmetic surgeons’ marketing efforts consisted of adding listings to the yellow pages, placing ads in newspapers, and buying spots on local radio stations. But of course, times have changed. Nowadays, cosmetic surgeons need to stay connected to the Internet and harness the power of online marketing to reach more prospects.
Even the most successful cosmetic surgeons can no longer rely simply on word-of-mouth recommendations from their patients to reach new prospects. Business owners, especially cosmetic Doctors & Dentists need to understand the enormous power of the Internet for search and discovery. Whether people are looking for specific products, procedures, or local cosmetic surgery clinics, many will go online to find what they’re looking for.
According to the latest data from Internet World Stats, there are over 3 billion Internet users worldwide today. Ninety-nine percent (99%) of these Internet users utilize search engines frequently to look for information. Local searches have also seen a boom, jumping from 70% in 2010 to 80% in 2014.
Finding information through social media is on the rise, with 74% of online adults using social media sites, according to recent data from Pew Research Center. Facebook proves to be the most popular social network, dominating the social media arena with 71% of online adult users.
Meanwhile, mobile device ownership and usage continues to soar along with the rise of various online technologies. Consumer ownership of smartphones has gone beyond 143 million, and tablets are now owned by over 71 million people. People don’t just own these devices for nothing; they are using their smartphones and tablets to consume online content. Many have become multi-platform users, and use their smartphones, tablets, and desktop computers to perform searches and complete various transactions. In 2014, mobile devices accounted for 29% of the total global Internet page views, nearly doubling the figures from 2013.
‘Selfies’ Boost Demand for Cosmetic Surgery
There’s no denying the fact that the rise of the Internet, social media sites, and mobile devices have been altering the attitudes and behaviors of consumers. These technologies have given birth to the most prominent trend in social media sites today—selfies.
A recent study revealed a surge in too much concern for their appearances and an increase in cosmetic procedure requests caused by the pursuit of the perfect “selfie”.
Many patients realise that no photo editing app can smooth out wrinkles and fix facial and body imperfections better than cosmetic surgery can.
The motivation and the online technology behind the selfie, is the same online technology that more and more people use to find cosmetic surgeons to improve their appearances and—produce stunning selfies.
The message for you is clear: Your cosmetic surgery practice must be ONLINE so you can be visible to patients badly wanting a makeover.
Online Marketing Tips for Your Cosmetic Surgery Practice
Nowadays, patients are savvy when it comes to searching for information. They no longer turn to traditional means of locating a clinic or contacting a surgeon. Why should they when they can find everything they need online. And if you cannot provide them with the information they’re looking for, then they will go to another cosmetic surgeon.
Here are some tips to help your cosmetic surgery practice take advantage of online marketing.
Build a responsive website. As a medical practitioner, you need to think of your website as a representation of your cosmetic surgery office. It needs to have the feeling that you want your patients to experience once they walk through your door. Your website must be clean; it must convey beauty, comfort, and trustworthiness.
Of course, your website should also provide them with the information they’re looking for and should be highly navigable.
– Contact information, as well as directions to your clinic
– An easy-to-access list of your services
– Quick links to your blog and social media pages
– A corner where clients can post and read reviews about your services
– A mobile-responsive design to cater clients using their smartphones and tablets
Have SEO done for you. Sixty percent (60%) of patients get information about cosmetic surgery using search engines. Additionally, 8 out 10 potential patients begin at search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo when searching for a cosmetic surgeon. To ensure that your website gains better rankings on search engines, here are some important SEO practices:
– Optimize keywords, URLs, titles, descriptions, and alt texts
– Publish relevant and fresh content such as articles, blogs, videos, and infographics
– Improve your website’s loading time
Improve your local online presence
Search engines—particularly Google, Bing, and Yahoo—offer local listings for businesses so that they can increase their visibility within a specific area. By having your clinic listed on these search engines, you increase your chances of getting found by people searching online for cosmetic surgeons within their geographical location.
Aside from these listings, you can also make use of other local directories and Internet yellow pages such as Yelp, City Search, and SuperPages. You may also integrate your SEO and social media action into your local online marketing initiatives to turbocharge your campaign.
Be active on social media. Forty-seven percent (47%) of patients getting information about cosmetic surgery use social media. Simply put, your practice needs to utilise the power of social media to cater potential clients who, at the same time, are active social media users. To market your services in this area, you need to:
– Be active popular platform such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn
– Have a regular discussion about cosmetic surgery tips and guides
– Include a link back to your main site and blog
– Post photos that can attract the interest of potential patients
– Post announcements of promos and special offers
Invest on PPC (Pay per Click) Advertising. If you’re aiming for immediate positive results with your campaign, you may consider investing on PPC advertising. Using PPC, you can place ads alongside organic search results, which can increase the possibility of potential patients visiting your website. Aside from running ads on search engine results pages, you can also place ads through social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.
Manage your online reputation. Negative online reviews pose a great threat to your cosmetic surgery practice. In contrast, positive reviews have the power to boost your clientele. More than half (54%) of the total people looking for cosmetic surgery information online are engaged by reviews and referrals from friends, while 30% are engaged through online forums.
To keep a positive online reputation, here are a few reminders:
– Publish genuine consumer reviews in relevant websites
– Optimize your social media accounts
– Set up a blog and post compelling content to push down negative reviews about your services
Maintain a traffic and analytics system. So you have a great website and you publish fresh, informative content. But do you know how much traffic you are getting? Or if you’re getting any traffic at all? To track your website’s performance, you need to have a traffic and analytics system that can:
– Inform you about your website’s total traffic, with breakdown of data from organic, referral, direct, paid and social sources
– Alert you of any crawl issues on your website
– Let you know which of your campaigns are working or not
– Discover keywords that you may optimize
– Inform you of your website’s average ranking on search engines
For busy professionals like you, this is a lot of work. And, of course, you need to stay focused on more important matters about running your cosmetic surgery practice.
That is why we’re here
As technology advances and consumer behaviors continue to evolve, so you must adapt to the changes. Your online marketing strategies need to be efficient so you can ensure that your cosmetic surgery practice doesn’t end up left behind.
We can provide everything you need to boost your online marketing campaign and eventually grow your business. Here is a list of our services:
Brand Establisher
Responsive Web Design
Search Engine Optimization
Local Online Marketing
Social Media Optimization
Pay per Click Advertising
Online Reputation Management
Website Audit
Brand Booster
…and many more!
Send us an email now or call us so we can schedule a free consultation with you today.
