But there’s a bigger problem down the pike: Surgeons who do have an active social media brand but who aren’t seeing real results – that is, more patients reaching out and setting appointments.
If plastic surgeon social media feels like a waste of time, something is missing.
It could be any of these:
- You haven’t hit on the right strategy yet (or aren’t following a cohesive strategy)
- You aren’t creating the kind of content that appeals to enough of your followers
- Your updates don’t reach enough people due to inconsistency or technical issues
No matter where you stand, though, social media can become a huge part of your lead generation strategy. Many plastic surgeons find it even more effective than online advertising – it may take longer to gear up, but costs are minimal and positive buzz lasts beyond an ad campaign.
Social Media Might Just Eclipse Plastic Surgeon Websites By 2025
The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has conducted plenty of research on social media.
Their findings might amaze you: Social media may actually be on its way to eclipsing standard websites as the biggest source of brand recognition and lead generation for plastic surgery firms.
Google is the #1 source of referrals for plastic surgeons, surpassing word of mouth and referrals from other physicians. In the last five years, though, there’s been a big shift: People are spending less time on practice websites and more time checking out surgeons’ social media.
Websites aren’t going anywhere – not now or for a long time. But plastic surgeons should follow their patients to social media. And they should focus on engagement, that quality of taking action and getting involved in the conversation that’s usually measured in likes, comments, and shares.
Plastic Surgeons See The Highest Engagement On These Social Platforms
One thing that makes social media marketing tricky is all the different platforms. Luckily, when it comes to plastic surgeons, there are clear winners.
They are Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. If you want to make the most of every minute you spend on social media, you can focus on them … and that makes things a lot more manageable.
The platform with the lowest engagement? Twitter. Although Twitter is great for certain online-only businesses, its free-for-all nature and lack of geographic focus makes it a hard sell for you.
On the other hand, Instagram is an incredibly powerful place for your best before-and-after photos. Facebook helps you easily cultivate a community of past patients who can send referrals your way. And YouTube is the #1 video content platform on the planet, bar none.
Three Kinds Of Content That Win Patient Goodwill For Plastic Surgeons
So, you know what platforms future plastic surgery patients are interested in.
What social media content do they want?
The research is in. Patients know what they want to see from your brand:
- Contests to win a free treatment procedure or a free product
- High resolution before-and-after photos of your patients
- Information about the practice, the doctor, and the team
Social media followers also love patient testimonials, treatment videos, and video blog led by the doctor. With this in mind, there are three things that any plastic surgeon can do right now to start moving the needle on social media:
- Develop a monthly contest that keeps people watching your feed and interacting
- Add a standard release form to your patient paperwork so you can get more photos
- Make sure you are sharing all of those before-and-after shots on a rotating basis
This gets you on the road to highly shareable and exciting social media content.
The Doctor Is In: Put Yourself Front And Center In Your Practice Marketing
In most industries, what companies say they can do is regarded as less trustworthy than what customers say about them. But plastic surgery flips this on its head.
Most of your clients don’t know much about medical education. They won’t be checking into how prestigious your degree or residency was. But they need to know you are a true expert.
How do they find out? Increasingly, they look to doctor-led video marketing.
Video marketing humanizes any expert. When people watch a video, they feel like they know you. That’s crucial in plastic surgery, where trust is paramount. Without it, patients will never go forward with a procedure they’ll be looking at in the mirror for years to come.
In video marketing, the big winners are live videos discussing treatments and other relevant topics. Although these might be streamed live initially, they can be shared after they’re complete.
Trust goes down when the messenger is someone else in the practice other than the doctor.
It goes way down when video marketing is performed by a spokesperson. Formats that don’t have a personal focus, like animations, are effective in helping patients make decisions, but they’re not nearly as useful for building confidence in your quality of care.
Don’t Wait For Research: Get Active On Social Media And Build Your Brand
As a doctor, you know that research-based practices need time to take shape. Good surveys and studies can be few and far between. For your digital marketing, you want the best of both worlds: A scientific focus on continuous improvement combined with the creativity to be flexible.
New York Ave has the experience you need to reach your goals.
To learn more or get started, just contact us today.
