Ask Alex

Clinic digital marketing specialist Alex Bugg answers your questions

Q: I OFFER A MINOR SURGERY SERVICE AS WELL AS AESTHETICS, BUT I FIND THIS IS HARDER TO MARKET. WHAT SHOULD I DO?

A: Firstly, I’d make sure you have plenty of information about minor surgery on your website, so you can rank on Google in your area – or even nationally – for each concern. Know who your target patients are – what do they know already, what are they searching for answers to, what do they want as a solution? Then see if there any alignments with your current patient base. These databases are usually the quick win.

Then, it’s about creating awareness campaigns for minor skin lesions; most people have some sort of concern but aren’t exactly sure what it is, or the solution. Double down on education through video, text and audio. Case studies for minor surgery are usually very visual, so where you can get consent for anonymised images to be used, do. Share awareness campaigns on social media and email, contact local press (remember, print journalism often goes online) and keep local TV and radio in mind, as they can often be underestimated.

Once you’ve got your marketing messaging, you could advertise. If you’ve got a strong landing page with case studies for minor surgery, you can switch on paid ads via Google or other channels to generate leads. Don’t write off “traditional” ads either; print in local media is one option, but who hasn’t wanted to buy an ad on the back of a bus one day? With such visual treatments which are relatable, why not explore this?

Remember, some minor surgery patients would have zero interest in aesthetic treatments, so you have to go and find those patients and tell them you’re here and offering this (where a GP service might no longer). This is why understanding your patient and building awareness are the building blocks to successfully marketing any treatment, be it skin tag removal or toxin injections.

Q: HOW DO I MAKE MORE SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT WHEN I ONLY HAVE A FEW PATIENTS WHO CONSENT TO THEIR IMAGE BEING USED?

A: Especially when starting out, creating content for social can zap a lot of time and energy. This is where repurposing can help. As well as creating educational posts – be that words on an image or video – you can repurpose one client’s consented image into multiple social media posts which you can use across the space of weeks or even months. One well-planned appointment with image and video can make the following posts: 

1. Before-and-after single image 

2. Photos or video showing the treatment process 

3. The products – discuss the products you used for this case

4. The follow-up – when you follow up with the patient, show the difference between post treatment and two or four weeks after (whatever is appropriate) 

5. In my bag – if they left with skincare products, ask them to snap what’s inside 

6. The video testimonial – or the written one 

7. The key testimonial quote in an image 

8. Any user-generated content posted by the patient

That’s a week’s worth of posts from just one patient. These can be posted in order or mixed in with other posts. They don’t just need to be feed posts either; these can also go on stories or be spread across multiple social channels.

ALEX BUGG

Alex Bugg works for Web Marketing Clinic, a familyrun digital agency, which specialises in medical aesthetics. They build websites and deliver marketing campaigns for doctors, nurses, dentists, distributors and brands. Contact her: alex@ webmarketingclinic.co.uk or follow her on Instagram: @webmarketingclinic