Years ago, those who wanted to significantly transform their appearance had to undergo invasive and costly plastic surgery. Now, the advent of non-invasive procedures has sparked a renewed interest in aesthetic medicine. Through his consulting firm Astra Culture, Sam R. Patel hopes to help medical clinic owners capitalize on that interest.
Patel, a medical consultant who once owned multiple practices, is now dedicated to helping medical practitioners boost revenue by adding non-invasive aesthetic procedures to their available services.
“Our specialty is non-invasive technology and wellness services,” Patel explains. “So that means hormone replacement therapy, medical weight loss, regenerative medicine, and the latest technology in skin, face, and body. That’s what we do.”
Patel notes that these technologies can be used by physicians of every specialty. “If a surgeon wants to do it and they don’t do it now, I can help them build that into their clinic,” he says. “If there’s a family medicine doctor who just does typical medicine but wants to offer aesthetic services, I can help them get established.”
Getting started with new and profitable aesthetic services is one thing. To truly see the benefits of new offerings, a clinic has to publicize them. That’s where social media becomes a powerful tool. When used thoughtfully, it has the potential to catalyze unprecedented practice growth.
Patel notes that for many clients, it was social media that first inspired them to consider cosmetic procedures. “If we think about it, all these services are on the rise,” he discusses. “Medical weight loss is on the rise in particular. Everyone wants it. It’s all over the internet. More people want hormones, vitamin therapy, all that have always been there. Non-invasive, non-surgical treatments are in demand.”
While some clients may be motivated by their peers to get these procedures, others are swayed by the original social media influencers: celebrities. “So all these celebrities are talking about non-invasive procedures,” Patel continues. “Everyone wants them. Now they just want a place to go.”
Patients and patients-to-be are already viewing social media content designed for people interested in aesthetic medicine, making social media a tremendous, untapped source of new patients. Visual-based social media lends itself particularly well to this kind of marketing. Practitioners can showcase before and after pictures, conduct brief product demonstrations, and even introduce state-of-the-art technologies.
When used intelligently, social media can be the “hook” that draws customers in, but it’s much more than that. Because of the interactive nature of social media, it’s also an ideal way for practices and even individual practitioners to start building trust with their audiences.
To do this properly, a practitioner must be willing (or have a staff member willing) to monitor and regularly post to social media accounts. If you drop a picture or video every now and then, don’t answer any questions or comments, and only log in again when it’s time to post another, you aren’t likely to see much success.
Instead, social media should be a way to genuinely engage with your current and potential customers by doing things like:
- Answering questions in the comments
- Posting a particular type of video your followers have asked for
- Simply saying “thank you” when a follower compliments your work
Interactions like these signal to your followers that you are more than just another business on a screen. Even seemingly trivial interactions can have a major impact. For instance, imagine one of your long-time followers is finally hoping to get an aesthetic procedure done. With all other things being equal, that follower is far more likely to choose the aesthetics professional who took the time to answer their questions about a particular procedure.
Individual connections like this matter, but they aren’t the only reason social media can help your company grow. When you have a strong social media presence—and especially a presence that stretches across platforms—your clinic will come across as reputable.
Most people looking for a physician do their research ahead of time, and that research is almost always conducted online. If someone hoping to get a procedure done searches your practice name and finds an older website and no social media presence, they aren’t likely to have much confidence in you. In contrast, what if their search shows them that you have a robust social media presence, especially one that shows off your work? In that case, they’re much more likely to choose you.
While social media has great potential as a long-term marketing tool, Patel is careful to warn clinicians to develop a clear strategy before diving in. As he’s seen, when a medical practitioner harnesses the power of social media in a thoughtful way, they can see beautiful results.
