social media for lasik marketing

In this day and age, social media isn’t an extracurricular activity for LASIK and refractive surgery practices – it’s a prerequisite to a strong Internet presence.

People, especially those in younger demographics, see a strong digital presence as the mark of an engaged, active, and trustworthy business that understands technology and keeps up with digital trends. Social media is an integral part of that.

That said, it can certainly be a hassle.

In the day-to-day rush of treating patients, it’s tough to remember to post every day and even to know what to post. There are plenty of tools out there that can simplify your social media management, but it’s still a lot to handle for an otherwise-busy practice owner.

That’s why, if your social media is lacking – or nonexistent – Patient Pipeline is here to help. Not only do we manage the basics for you, including creating and posting interesting content on a consistent basis, but we also stay on top of new developments that will help your social media stand out from the pack.

If you’d like to chat with us about your social media, get in touch today. And if you’d like to know more about how social media can help LASIK & refractive surgery practices build their businesses, keep reading.

Before getting into specific, return-on-investment-oriented points, it’s important to reiterate that simply having a social media presence is important.

In a way, it’s similar to running TV ads. Part of why TV ads work is not just because they build awareness of a business and what it has to offer, but because they naturally enhance the legitimacy of a business.

This is called signaling, meaning the very act of doing something – such as buying ad time on TV – is in and of itself significant, showing your audience that you’re a trustworthy, valid business.

The same is true of social media. The very act of being present and engaged on social media tells your audience something important about your business and can help establish trust. People begin to feel like they know you before they ever schedule an appointment.

That said, there are plenty of specific things that social media can help you do beyond building trust and awareness.

One of the big reasons people check out businesses’ social media accounts these days is to find and read reviews. While there are a lot of places to do that online, including Google and Yelp, it typically seems more legitimate on a platform like Facebook.

I not only can see who left a review, but I can look at their profile and know that they’re a real person.

What’s more, Facebook prioritizes these reviews on the top of your business’ page, and they encourage page visitors to leave reviews or recommendations right from your page.

For a local practice, this can be extremely valuable. If someone sees a friend leave a review for your LASIK or Refractive Surgery practice’s page, then they will be much more likely to consider your practice for themselves, which isn’t nearly as likely with reviews on a platform like Google. Those are still extremely valuable, of course, but it’s a different experience on Facebook.

Some of the best business social media accounts are those that show a human side of the business.

When someone is looking for a LASIK or refractive surgery practice in their local area, they often feel uncertain or even intimidated by the idea of talking to surgeons about refractive surgery or LASIK.

But, when they find a practice that has an active, interesting social media presence, it can instantly cause them to feel more comfortable with you.

Beyond humanizing you, it can also be a great opportunity to humanize your current and past patients, displaying success stories and testimonials and providing a level of social proof above and beyond written reviews.

Generating new business is, of course, the ultimate goal of any marketing initiative. While you might not always know if someone got in touch with you because they found your social media accounts, Facebook is integrating new features that makes getting new business from the platform a viable strategy.

For example, they recently rolled out a Recommendations feature, in which people can ask their friends for recommendations for a specific product or service. So, if someone asks for a recommendation for a LASIK or refractive surgery practice, one of their friends can link to your page. If you aren’t on Facebook, then it requires someone to actually leave the platform to learn about you, which is certainly not ideal.

Also, if you’re also looking at running Facebook Ads for your refractive surgery or LASIK practice, then having a strong business page will only improve your ads’ performance.

Of course, having a weak page that doesn’t have fresh content or appealing graphics is almost as bad as not having a page altogether, which is why it’s so important to take your social media seriously.

Then get in touch with us today!

All we do is marketing for LASIK and refractive surgery practices, and we’re ready to help your practice grow through sound social media tactics.

reach out below:

7109 Hickman Road

Urbandale, Iowa 50322

515.707.6593

caitlin@thepatientpipeline.com