Facebook Advertising For Your Cosmetic Practice - Results From A 3 Day Trial

Facebook marketing for your cosmetic practice: Is it worth advertising your clinic on Facebook?

I've advertised with facebook before and thought it to be somewhat useful.  I liked how it didn't waste paper.  I already think there's too much waste in this world.  But at the same time, these online ads don't sit around for a long time like some advertisements in physical print. This time, I decided I was going to try a 3 day experiment and see if I thought facebook ads were worth the investment.

Advertising format on facebook

The ad format I chose was one of those ads that show up on the side of the screen.  Currently, facebook has rotating ads in this area so that more ads could be shown. One downside to this method of advertising for facebook is that currently these ads don't show up on mobile devices. There are other ways of advertising on facebook which involve getting a status update to show up as sponsored notices - this does show up on mobile devices in the standard newstream (which is essentially the main page of facebook).  The reason I didn't choose this format for myself was that I couldn't customize the audience reach as much as I could if I had chosen one of the ads on the sides.  Thus I chose the side ads. Then I also chose the link to be that of my own facebook page for my practice rather than my own webpage. This means that when they click on the ad, they will be directed to my facebook page.

I made a few ads that were very similar but they would bid through the facebook system via different methods. One was a pay per click and the other was pay per view. Then I also added a few different pictures - one was our logo and the other was the picture of our plastic surgeon (my wife).

Intended audience

I narrowed my audience to women, age 20-50, located within 50 miles of my practice's city, and not associated with my facebook page.

Budget

I assigned a budget of $50 a day to be spent per on all the ads that I had created (pay per click, pay per view, picture of logo, and picture of surgeon), and the ad was to run for 3 days.  Thus I spent $150 on this brief ad campaign with facebook.

What was I advertising?

My wife normally charges $200 for breast related consultations.  She decided for the month of October to charge $25 instead, since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.

What did I get out of this facebook advertising campaign?

I got 20 more new members on my facebook page.  Sometimes these members are called "fans."  I think these are potentially new patients in the future.

More importantly, I got 3 calls which all turned into consultations. These were 3 calls that could be tracked back to directly seeing this advertisement on facebook. There were other consultations that booked as a result of seeing free status updates on our facebook; these consultations were not counted as part of this experiment. 

Was it worth it?

It was worth it to me. $150 for 20 new facebook members and 3 consultations in 3 days.  The immediate measure of the worth of this advertising campaign would be the conversion rate of our practice. If even one of the 3 consultations turns into a surgery.  It would have covered the $150 expense of the advertisement.  I stopped the advertisement because we didn't have any other spots available in October for any more consultations.

There's so many other strategies one could employ to get more patients. The $50 limit per day x 3 days was my self imposed limit. I can imagine that others could set a $200 per day limit and run the ads for a month. Furthermore, one could advertise via the promoted (non-free) status updates which then would have a broader reach, but I would rather narrow down my audience to women only, age bracket, etc.   I'm sure that facebook would welcome more aggressive strategies. I have advertised several times with Facebook before, but it got somewhat addicting and I found myself being happy to spend more and more money as I saw the clicks roll in. In many respects it felt like tracking stocks with graphs that facebook provides. I thought I'd try a disciplined approach this time and I'm happy to share the experience here.

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Media Training Boot Camp For Health Care Professionals - A Wow Experience

Media training for doctors (or medspas)?

The media loves covering the cosmetic medicine industry.  The public hunger for this information is insatiable.  For providers of these coveted services, the media can serve as a powerful tool to spread the word to the masses of the latest and greatest – what’s hot and what’s not.  It can also help define WHO is hot or not.  In the competitive tussle of the cosmetic medical marketplace, whether or not your business is successful is determined, in part, by the media ‘footprint’ you cultivate over time.  With so much competition, those who conquer the visibility factor can separate themselves from the fray.  A good web site and blog , smart use of social media and speaking to groups of potential patients are critically important.  Yet, as the competitive heat continues to rise, there may be a need to transcend to the next level.  Becoming a media ‘personality’ is a great way to achieve this end.  This requires a unique skill set that we are all capable of acquiring but whom many find intimidating. 

I was fortunate to attend the “Dr. You” Media Training Boot Camp for Doctors program presented in a joint effort by the Discovery Channel and Harvard Health Publications held October 19 – 21 at the Discovery Channel Global Headquarters.  This excellent course is designed for health care professionals who want to step up their media exposure.  It is ideal for those who either want to stand out more visibly in their local market or are interested in advancing to become a nationally recognized "Go-To" expert and thought leader.  Features of this course included:

• Live TV interview practice
• Video sessions using a teleprompter
• Tips on how to become a sought-after professional speaker or “Go-To” expert
• Insights in obtaining and working with a publicist
• Radio interview coaching
• How to become a best-selling author
• Strategies to maximize your online presence

 A tall order indeed, and they delivered!  Their top notch faculty included a 15 year producer for the Oprah show who also works with Dr. Oz, the Chief Medical Expert for the Discovery Channel, the Chief Editor of Books at Harvard Health Publications, and several top notch media experts, web strategists, and literary agents.  The training was very personalized and the immediate feedback was right on (sometimes painfully so!). The class mix ranged from rank amateurs (most of us) to savvy professionals wanting a little polish.  The faculty went over and above to 'bring us along' and made this a great experience.  We all ended the program wanting more – and hopefully they will let the huge success of this 'pilot' program convince them to expand upon this even further in the near future.

 If and when this course is offered again, I recommend you jump on it.  You will be very glad you did.

Facebook Offers Aesthetic Practices A Chance To Put Their Best Face Forward

Facebook has become a prime marketing tool for aesthetic practices.

Facebook has become an internet addition to our aesthetic websites. It's the interactive version of a website. Just like on our websites, we can share pictures, share practitioner biographies, and share directions on how to get to our office. But facebook offers more interactivity. It is offers a record of our customer service. It shows how we handle questions and it shows specials that we've offered before. And it can also show the human side of our practices - such as pictures or videos showing our birthday celebrations of our staff, etc.

Facebook shows our human side

Why not show off our staff's accomplishments and celebrations as human beings? I think many patients are attracted to practices that value the fun side of life. When patients come to us, they want a great experience, and to be treated as human beings by other kind individuals. Facebook gives us a chance to show that. Patients are also used to facebook being a bit on the lighter, less formal side. How about showing off some staff hobbies too?

Facebook requires good customer service skills

Like a telephone which likes to be answered before the 3rd ring, facebook comments are probably best answered within a few hours. This also shows good custmer service. If we have farmed out the job of facebooking, I would recommend that we regularly check our facebook pages to make sure questions are answered appropriately, and that impressions made are in line with our own brands of customer service. Poor customer service on facebook could cause us to lose patients. Facebook requires a time commitment, but I really do think it pays off.

Facebook has worked well for me

I run my own facebook pages. It takes me about 6-7 hours a week.  But I think it is well worth it and I have fun with it. I know my involvement style may not be right for others, but I do think that someone on the staff can help grow our facebook presence. I have a personal page and two plastic surgery related pages.  But I think one page is enough. I have different pages so that I can experiment. About once or twice per week, I'll get someone who inquires about a procedure through facebook and turns into an actual patient at the office. A few weeks ago, we ran a special event with Obagi with their Blue Peel Radiance. I posted about this special on facebook (free posting - not even considering the $5-15 advertising fee that facebook offers currently). Within 3 hours, the event was filled up with 18 chemical peel patients. Obagi reps said that they have done special events with many other offices with the same setup, but we had the most successful result (in terms of Obagi product sales that day) that they have seen so far. We had flyers printed, but we ended up not using any of the flyers because there was no more space for further peels that day, and I wasn't willing to do any additional peels - due to a bit of laziness on my part.

I do think that if someone wanted to be focused and have a facebook page 2-3 hours per week would suffice for a wonderful aethetic practice's facebook page. I spend more time on it because it has become a hobby for me.

Facebook is a record of prior interactions

Always be polite on facebook and know that patients can scroll down on the facebook timeline and see how others were treated.  If there are spammers - sometimes they needed to be treated gingerly. There's also a "hide" button that can be used.  It's never wise to get into a public war on facebook.  I have to remind myself of that at times.  We can use facebook to put our best face forward.

Add Allergan's Brilliant Distinctions Program To Your Website's Social Media Buttons

What is the Allergan Brilliant Distinctions Program?

Brilliant Distinctions (BD) is a frequent user program by Allergan for their products of Botox, Juvederm, Latisse and their skin care line. This program gives the patients coupons and rebates. Many practices in the US who inject Botox have the opportunity to join this program. Your Botox/Allergan representative would have more information. In my location, Brilliant Distinctions is well utilized.

New Patients look for Brilliant Distinctions

I have also found that when experienced Botox and Juvederm patients move to my area, they sometimes come armed with Brilliant Distinction discounts which they would like to use. They have called my office asking whether we take Brilliant Distinctions  These patients usually come from different states, and the transition process is painless. We just need their name, zip code, and birthdate. With that information, the patients can use their points and earn new ones at our practice. With any patients who have somehow created multiple accounts, a quick call to the toll free hotline provided by Brilliant Distinctions usually solves the problem.

Creation of the Brilliant Distinctions Button 

I thought it would be useful to create a button that goes along with some of our social media buttons. I presented the idea to Allergan, and they actually helped me create some of their logos that matched the size of frequently used social media "buttons." By buttons, I mean those icon or logos that represent Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. I have had links from my website before to Brilliant Distinctions, but they were big clunky pictures, and I've never matched it up on the page with the Facebook or Twitter logos. I asked Allergan about the idea and they sent me basic BD logos to work with. I spent some time trying to make these logos match, and I've shown them to Allergan.  Allergan has a section on their website for physicians which has logos to use on their websites, but when I contacted them, they didn't have ones of this design. I thought I'd share these logos with you so you can put them on your websites yourself or have your trusty webmaster do it if you like the idea.

Please feel free to copy the Brilliant Distinctions Buttons (ie. Right click/save-as). 

I've seen many beautiful websites out there with beautiful social media buttons. Now you can also add a matching BD logo to the collection.

I made a website displaying the logos that Allergan and I tweaked to match most common social media buttons which are already used on many plastic surgery, dermatology, and aesthetic websites.

What's Your Gimmick Doctor?

Anyone running a private practice in plastic surgery now should be quick to realize that the media can be a powerful resource. 

The sad fact is that the public does not know of your talents unless you let them know about them. My father's long held statement that "the cream floats to the top" is naïve to say the least. People do not know the best. They only know the doctors of whom they have heard. They just assume that they are the best. Sometimes they are. Sometimes they aren't.

Early in my interactions with the media, it was apparent that they prefer to feature "breaking news items." Their definition of breaking news is something new and different.  Most of us in medicine know that these "breaking news items" we see tend to more often be not-so-new news. Some are factually incorrect. You may also add unadulterated bull pucky. Breaking this news to your friends in the media will get you rarely featured unfortunately.  They want what they want.

When dealing with the media, they in essence want to know "what's your gimmick?' They want a pitch. They want a story. Those who are more successful with them give them what they want. I give them the truth branded somewhat with my opinion. So I have made the truth my gimmick. It may not be so frequently successful, but I sleep well at night.

Medical Spa Marketing: The Rise Of The "Social Shoppers"

How active are you in attracting new patients through your social networks?

The growth in the online ad market is undeniable. Double digit gains of over 20% for 2011 were seen and 2012 will likely follow suit. This mega trend in marketing has changed our marketing strategies in our practice as well as how consumers are choosing their cosmetic provider. I have seen many mature practices where 60% or more of their patients come from internet sources. I have several colleagues who currently grow their practice through web related activities or word of mouth referrals exclusively.

Patients seeking cosmetic services have evolved their research methodology considerably from simple web site searches a few years ago to a search that is much more comprehensive. Patients want much more information about their providers outside of a curriculum vitae and a smiling photo. Three years ago, outstanding patient result photos were enough (btw, most practitioners fail to remove outdated photos or marginal results). In the age of social media, I refer to a certain group of internet savvy patients as “Social Shoppers”. This means that essentially if they don't have a best friend that has personally experienced your practice, then they need to perform enough research to feel like they know your practice personally. An outstanding website with great results is a large portion of the picture, but patients want unbiased affirmation that you have the expertise and track record of results for their particular procedure of interest. In our practice, we have always emphasized specialization and core expertise. By only performing certain types of procedures and literally refusing potential patients, we have grown our practice in core areas and augmented our expertise. There are reams of data to support better outcomes when people focus on certain tasks repetitively. Variety is the spice of life but repetition is the sugar!

A task list to satisfy “social shoppers” 

1. Encourage your patients to review you online. You have great results and there should be evidence of this online for your patients to see.
2. Actively blog about topics relevant to your core expertise and interest area. Focus on being an expert in your community and region.
3. Become involved in social media cosmetic services forums Realself.com.
4. Find your voice. As your writing volume increases, you will find a voice that demonstrates your expertise, attention to detail, and empathy. 

Microderm + Chemical Peel Giveaways As A Marketing Tactic

In our Canyon Lake Med Spa practice, we are always looking for ways to attract new patients, and to give existing patients a “value-added” service. 

We’ve been doing microdermabrasion and chemical peels for many years. April Turner, our medical aesthetic RN, discovered that the 2 procedures done together were mutually complimentary, and could be performed with a minimal amount of time and material cost. We charge $99 for a combination treatment of a microdermabrasion and a medical-grade chemical peel, and do fairly well at this price. But since it is quick and inexpensive to perform, we decided to also make this a “giveaway” at our seminars and marketing events.

This strategy has served us well. We give away this combo treatment to anyone who attends one of our events, or anyone who comes into our surgical or Medical Spa office for a consultation. Some people don’t take advantage of it, but most do. And most of the time they are so happy with the outcome that they follow up the complimentary treatment with regularly scheduled (and paid) future treatments.

We found that this is a great way to attract people to our Med Spa and surgical office events, and it creates an additional revenue source for our business. If you perform these procedures at your facility (and chances are that you do,) you might want to consider this approach for your business.

Dealing With Anonymous Patient Reviews As A Physician

The internet is a double edged sword to the Plastic Surgeon.

Patients from near and far can read about and research our skill and services but at the same time a handful of malicious people can significantly tarnish a great reputation which we have strived to achieve and maintain.

As a surgeon and as a human I have always strived to maintain the highest ethical and moral pathway. Most of us went into medicine to help people. What we do as cosmetic surgeons may not save lives but it does save quality of life and that is evident in our patients' smiles and behavior after successful cosmetic surgery. As doctors we strive to achieve and maintain a pristine reputation but as in anything else in life, it is impossible to please all the people all the time.

The internet has given a voice to everyone but it seems like angry, bitter, malicious people take advantage of this soap box and platform much more often than normal happy folks. You can see this on comments on YouTube or blogs or chat rooms of all kinds - not just medical or plastic surgery related.

But in our field, we depend on our reputation and while you may have thousands of happy patients, a small handful of unhappy ones can affect your reputation. Personally I have seen that the vast majority of my negative online anonymous patient reviews or ratings are from people who I have either never seen in my office or have seen but refused to operate on as patients. I recently had a "1 star negative review" on YELP from a person who has never even come to my office nor met me but decided that she did not want to pay $100 for an hour of my time for a consult and felt obligated to give me a negative rating for not offering free consults! We have all had such occurrences. But how do you deal with it?

My method has always been dealing straight forward with any and all comments.  If it is out there then it begs clarification and a reply from my staff or office managers or even myself.  There has to be accountability.  In the restaurant industry, restaurants can actually review and rate their patrons, not just vice versa! As physicians, we have to respect patient confidentiality and HIPAA but that does not mean we must be silent and let any anonymous person's comments go without a reply or clarification especially when most of us work so hard to do the right thing and practice with skill, ethics and integrity.

Resources for physicians:

• Read: Reputation Management Part 1: Understanding what not to do online.
• Podium Special Offer for Members

The Very Best Bang-For-Your-Buck Cosmetic Marketing: Waiting Room Video

Video marketing to patients in your waiting room the single most effective way to educate your patients about your entire offering and drive more sales.

Waiting room video marketing educates and informs patients that are already inside of your clinic about all of your treatments in a way that generates interest and sales without pushy hard sales tactics. In fact, its the best ROI marketing I know of since it's usually a one-time flat fee to get set up and running.

If you're not already using video in your waiting room you're missing the easiest and most effective way to increase every business metric you should care about; patient satisfaction, referrals, and revenue. Educational marketing in to your existing patient base has been proven time and again to be one of the very best ways to increase referrals (new patient traffic) and create additional and add-on sales (revenue per patient).

Take a look at this demo video from Frontdesk (one of our Select Partners) that demonstrates how waiting room video marketing works and imagine just how effective it could be for your clinic. 

View more Frontdesk waiting room videos for cosmetic clinics

There are all kinds of industrys that are already using video marketing in their waiting areas since they've been proven across all verticals to increase sales and customer satisfaction with wait times. Videos are being used in waiting areas to sell home equitly loans in banks, run real estate tours for brokers, upsell wiper blades at tire and oil change shops and educate patients about porcelain veneers in dentist offices. In fact, waiting room video marketing is so effective AutonetTV launched an entire TV channel just to broadcast into automotive center waiting rooms. So where are you?

In the most recent Medical Spa MD Physician Report, physicians running cosmetic clinics were asked what kind of marketing is most important in generating sales and if they're already marketing to patients in their waiting room. Here's what they told us.

What do you consider to be most important to generate revenue/sales for your practice?

How are you currently marketing in your waiting room?

(To be honest I think the the numbers here are a little off and that both of these questions should have and even more direct link to internal patient marketing and waiting room marketing.)

What's really interesting about this is that patients that are sitting in your waiting room are actually looking to be sold to, but you're probably doing a pretty poor job communicating to this captive audience. Most clinics have some brochures that are provided by technology providers or injectable reps, and you might have a flyer or two, but video marketing moves your marketing to an entirely new level. Look at that second chart; 25% of responding physicians indicated that they're using video marketing in their waiting room and that they're 'killing it'.

(Note: I don't believe that 25% of all cosmetic clinics are already using waiting room videos. I think that our responding physicians are skewed towards a much more proactive and business savvy group than the average and that accounts for the seeminly high percentage.)

Effective waiting room video marketing does 3 critical things immediately:

• Reduces perceived wait times for patients. (Increased patient satisfaction)
• Educates patients about additional treatments, services, or offers. (Increased referrals)
• Generates questsions about other treatmens and services. (Increased revenue per patient)

Reduce perceived wait time for your patients.

Have you ever actually had to sit in a waiting room with nothing to do but contemplate your navel? (If you're a physician you probably haven't had to sit in another doctors waiting room but imagine yourself at the DMV.)

Putting a great video in your waiting room gives your patients something to watch and minimizes the perceived wait, making for happier patients even before they get into the consultation or treatment room.

Educate your patients while they wait.

All of your patients are stuck in your waiting room for at least a little while if only to fill out paperwork. You're missing an opportunity if you're not educating them about all of your services and treatments while they're at their most receptive. 

Patients who know what your entire offering is are more likely to ask questions about additional treatments and think of friends and family that might benefit from them, increasing your referral rate.

Increases revenue per patient immediately.

Unlike most forms of advertising, great waiting room vidoes can boost your revenue immediately without any additional activity or cost by generating questions about additional treatments that your staff can answer without any hard-sell tactics, making both your staff and your patients more comfortable. You're moving the conversation from one that's initiated by you or your staff and that raises your patients buying barriers, to a conversation that your patient initiates. It makes up-selling and cross-selling easy.

Patients don't want to be sold, but they do want to buy. Treating them to a beautifully crafted and entertaining marketing message while they're already inside your business helps them do just that.

If you're interested in increaseing your revenue per patient right now or you just want to learn more, you can take a look at some more waiting room DVDs and videos here.

The 7 Deadly Sins Of Medical Spa Email Subject Lines

Make sure your medical spa's emails get opened by avoiding these deadly email sins.

Email is easily the most simple and effective way to let your patients and clients know about what's going on at your clinic, so making sure that your email is opened can mean thousands of dollars in revenue. Craft your email subject lines and you'll increase your open rates while running afoul of one of these email sins will ensure that your message is deleted or sent to the spam folder.

If you're a Medical Spa MD Member you'll have received the occasional email from us announcing a new free deal or a special offer for your medical spa.

Here's the list of don'ts that we run through before we hit send.

1. Hubris (haughtiness, pride, or arrogance): Nothing will make you look like a stuck-up snotty-ass quicker than talking down to your audience. You're asking for a favor from someone. Don't ask like they owe you one.
2. Boring: Dull little subjects aren't whipping your patients into a frenzy, are they? How many 'Botox On Sale This Week' emails can anyone be expected to open? Add a little zest without going overboard and make sure that your subject speaks to your patients needs and interests, not your own.
3. Length: Most email software will cut off subject lines after 60 characters (including spaces), but who want's to read a subject line that long anyway? Stay under 10 words if you can. If you can't... do it anyway.
4. Ambiguity: Don't hide your intent or make someone work to figure out what your email is about. Write a subject that's clear and direct.. like the headline of a news story.
5. Redundancy: Simply repeating your medical spa or laser clinics name isn't building your brand. Your emails subject line is the one thing that is sure to be read and it's valuable space. Make sure you're making it short and action oriented, not simply redundant.
6. Spammy: If there's a hint of spam you've got multiple problems; first, you may not even make it into the inbox since everyone now has email filtering software that will assign your email to the trash, and remember the sending address as being spammy. Second, it hurts your reputation with the recipient and makes you look like you couldn't care less about the recipient.
7. Just because: There are many clinics that send a monthly email 'newsletter' just because they've seen others do it but they don't take the time to actually say anything or provide value (and just promoting yourself shamelessly isn't value). It may seem like a good idea but make sure that you actually have something to say before you open your mouth. Send drivel and your open rates will drop into the basement.

If you want  results - and email can create great results - have a strategy and a plan that avoids these sins and craft your maketing message before you click 'send'.

Oregon Chiropractors & Dentists Ban Groupons

The Oregon Board of Dentistry has banned the use of Groupons by the states dentists... and Oregon's chiropractors have followed suit.

Groupon seems to be an either love them or hate them marketing tactic as shown in the very strongly worded comments on our post Are Groupon Deals Killing Your Medical Spa.

Here's the Groupon that started the debate:

And here's the Board of Dentistry's newsflash banning Groupons for Oregon dentists.

!!NEWSFLASH!! Internet Coupon Advertising!!! Please Read!!

The Board has recently become aware of different companies soliciting Oregon licensees to enter into contracts for marketing promotional services between the licensee in the company to promote voucher systems for potential patients. The Board has preliminarily determined that these may violate the unprofessional conduct rule OAR 818-012-0030(3) which prohibits offering rebates, split fees, or commissions for services rendered to a patient to any person other than a partner, employee or employer.

The Board suggests that until this can be fully reviewed by the board, licensees proceed with caution and if they feel necessary seek legal counsel on this matter or contact board office at (917) 673-3200.

Source: Oregon Board Of Dentistry

Of course the Oregon Board of Dentistry is not the only professional organization to come down against Groupon. The Oregon Board of Chiropractic Examiners (OBCE) also decided not to amend its fee splitting rule to exclude such sites as Groupon and Amazon's Living Social.

OBCE decides not to amend fee-splitting rule

Groupon Issue July, 25, 2011

The Oregon Board of Chiropractic Examiners (OBCE) declined to begin rule making to amend the prohibition on fee-splitting on their July 21st meeting at the University of Western States. This decision means Groupon type fee-splitting arrangements are still prohibited for chiropractic physicians.

The OBCE has been reviewing the issues of group bond and similar Internet or other marketing programs for several months. They had potential draft language produced by the administrative rules advisory committee along with the dissent by one of their members outlining the potential problems with the language. (Note: The Summer 2011 Back Talk quoted testimony in support of Groupon.)

Arn Strasser DC, appeared before the OCBE and made a statement in opposition of changing the rule stating, "... the question is what the schemes such as group on, where we would join restaurants, nail parlors and tanning salon, along with medical providers such as dentist and cosmetic surgeons, due to our credibility and how the public perceives us? In my opinion, offering discounted services in the fee splitting away with companies such as group on undermines our credibility..."

OCBE members were concerned that changing the rule with the potential for problems and unintended consequences. They cited the difficulty in trying to craft a workable exemption.

The OCBE also heard that two other such marketing programs have changed their set up for health professionals from a fee splitting arrangement to vastly marketing program ( living social and Fox 12 daily deal). OCBE members wondered why group on could not do the same thing? (The question has been posed the group on but no answer has been received yet. ) they felt it would be better if the advertisers change their program for health professionals, instead of the OCBE amending the fee splitting rule prohibition.

Source: The Oregon Board of Chiropractic Examiners (OCBE)

So is this it? The start of a global Groupon boycott that will eventually spread from Oregon dentists and chiropractors to medical spas and laser clinics in every state and end the daily deals industry?

I doubt it. We expect this is pretty much a medical industry issue--perhaps one that will be limited to Oregon (although we suspect other states will now be looking at it, too). But it does impact Groupon's total market opportunity somewhat.

It does surprise me that it's the dentists and chiropractors that seem to be taking the lead on this and not the physicians.

Thoughtful comments welcome.

Recommended reading: Are Groupon Deals Killing Your Medical Spa

Relaxed Patients Will Generate More Revenue For Your Medical Spa

Does a relaxing waiting room actually generate revenue for your clinic?

Retailers have known for a long time that happy, relaxed customers leave feeling more satisfied, but new research from Columbia Business School concludes that relaxation does more than just make for a satisfied client. It also produces a client who is willing to pay more.

According to the report, "Relaxed consumers think products are worth more than less-relaxed consumers because relaxed individuals tend to think about the value of products at a more abstract level. For example, when bidding for the camera, relaxed participants focused more on what the camera would enable them to do (e.g., collect memories) and how desirable and advantageous it was to own it, whereas the less-relaxed participants focused more on the concrete features of the camera itself (e.g., the number of megapixels it had, the shutter speed)."

All this being said, you may want to make sure that you're creating a relaxing and comfortable enviroment in your clinic even before the treatment.

Here's one example of how you can use video to create a relaxing atmosphere while also sending a powerful marketing message and communicating about your other offerings.

Watch other waiting room videos.

How To Run A Facebook Contest For Your Medical Spa

Facebook marketing is becoming a necessary marketing arm for successful medical spas and laser centers.

By Cary M. Silverman MD

There are several reasons a medical practice should consider setting up a Facebook fan page:

• It's free.
• It gives you another way to communicate with potential patients through updates that will appear on their news feeds.
• You can promote events and services in your office.
• You can boost your SEO.
• You can promote brand awareness for your practice.
• Facebook can act as a funnel to your main practice web site.
• You can build a community for your patients.

Once you decide to set up a fan page for your practice, the next task is to build a fan base. A Facebook contest is an excellent way to achieve this goal. These contests offer several benefits:

• A highly cost effective way to build a database.
• 50% of online users enter a contest once a month.
• Contests can be highly targeted.
• Creates positive brand awareness for your practice.
• Patients can further spread word about the contest to all their friends.

Make Your Idea Social “Well my contest is on Facebook – so it’s social, right?” Wrong. Your Facebook fans are more excited to participate in a contest where they can help determine the outcome, than one where you pick the winner. Furthermore, when you require voting or involvement of some sort, that means your fans must find friends to join in their quest to win (hence “social word of mouth marketing”).

Keep it Simple

Do you fill out every field of surveys you get trapped into taking? Didn’t think so. Contests are the perfect way to gather important information about your fans (remember to tell them how you intend to use it), but only ask for the essentials so that you don’t miss out on any entrants. Remember that users will give you more information if you make it enjoyable, functional, and easy.

Originality

This one should be a given, but you’d be surprised how many times organizations run extremely similar campaigns back-to-back. Fans don’t want to enter the same contest or participate in the same campaign over and over again on Facebook, and if you don’t catch their attention, they sure won’t tell their friends about it. The greatest Facebook contests are the most creative and memorable ones (just don’t over-do it and forget to keep it simple).

Know the Rules

If Facebook catches you doing something illegal they will delete your page and ban your practice from using the platform. So remember first and foremost that you must run your contest on a third-party application. We use Shortstack, which is fully customizable and affordable. Others include: Offerpop, Wildfire, and many more. You cannot require Facebook users to submit any content or take any action on Facebook itself (i.e. posting a photo to your page’s wall, liking, commenting, or re-posting content, etc.). You cannot announce a winner on Facebook which is actually a good way to drive people to your blog or website. Here are the current Facebook Promotions Rules and Guidelines so that you can remain compliant (they are always changing, so be watching).

It Starts In-Office

What better access do you have to potential Facebook fans and contest entrants than your own office? In a past contest we ran on EyeCare 20/20's Facebook page called “The Eyeball Challenge”, we started by attracting the patients in the clinic. We filled a large glass jar with candy eyeballs, posted a photograph of it on our Facebook contest tab, and directed fans to guess how many eyes were in it in a commenting section on the tab. The winning guess would receive a pair of sunglasses. This way people who knew us both offline and online could participate.

We had in-store signage at the front desk with a call to action and QR code taking patients right to the Facebook page to enter. We trained the entire staff to know what the contest involved, rules, and prizes so that they could urge patients to submit their guesses. We also designed takeaway collateral pieces so that those without smartphones could be reminded to enter when they got home.

This was an exciting way for us to inform our patients that we were on Facebook, and for some was their very first introduction to the social network. [As a side note: remember to speak in laymen’s terms, and be prepared to assist novice Facebook users.]

Come With All Guns A’ Blazing

Just as it helps us to have all parts of our bodies to perform at our highest level, our social media presence and success depends on the coordination of many factors. Plan your contest launch with a timeline marked with a dedicated email blast to your current database (don’t hide this in a regular email, give it its own special delivery date, if you are able to, without inundating your recipients). Be sure to include Twitter updates (reaching out to influencers in your niche, or local organization/people), digital and social media press releases, maybe an image or interchangeable banner linked to the tab, and utilization of any other platforms or people that you have at your disposal.

The Buddy System

Join forces with another party (maybe a prize sponsor). Bring traffic from their website, stores, brand name, etc. to increase traffic to your contest tab. Maybe a few months later you can offer to sponsor a contest for them. You can even offer your contest as an on-site giveaway at a major community event where people must enter on Facebook, and you announce the winner at the end of the event. Get creative. Just remember that the buddy system expands your network exponentially. It’s Okay to Spend a Little $

Facebook ads are a very effective way to gain not only entrants, but fans in general. When we initiated an advertising campaign for EyeCare 20/20, we increased our fans by more than 60%. And our contest entries quadrupled! Ads can be tricky, so play around with titles, ad copy, images, landing pages, and your bids until you get the right combination. These ads are great for local practices and organizations, so set a little money (and time to monitor) aside to find out what will work best for you! Converting New Fans to Patients

Some people become so consumed with getting new fans in running their contests that they forget to focus on bringing in potential leads. Focus on spreading the word with your current patients, local places where your target market can be found, and use ads that involve ad copy that will catch the eyes of prospective patients. Although numbers are important for establishing credibility and providing an audience for your later initiatives, remember to make each fan count.

Effects of a Campaign

Although your campaign may not make the Top Ten Promotions of All Time list… remember to take with you what you learned. Yes, you are going to get those few fans who are “Contest-Hoppers”, liking you, winning or losing, and then unsubscribing. Prepare to lose a few fans, but not to worry, the majority will remain with you. Remember to thank all of your participants, maybe even post a few examples from your entries (if you have permission in your rules), and continue to speak in your fun voice, building anticipation for your next campaign as soon as your current one ends to keep fans engaged.

Bonus Point: When overwhelmed, Get some Help

Sounds like a lot of work? Trust me – it’s worth it! For years, we did all our social marketing at EyeCare 20/20 in house. When we saw how much time and energy we were expending we decided to seek the aid of a professional online marketing team. We still spend a lot of time with our social marketing, but having this professional support has helped you to attain social media perfection. There are many excellent ones out there.

About: Cary M Silverman, MD, MBA is Medical Director of EyeCare 20/20 in East Hanover, NJ. He specializes in LASIK and refractive cataract surgery. You can read his blog or connect with him on LinkedIn.

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Palomar's Creepy Adivine Postcard

Palomar sent out this creepy postcard promoting their Adivive autologous fat transfer system.

Evidently, it turns you into an eyeless zombie.

Here's some quotes from Palomar's new zombie creating technology. From the postcard:

Autologous fat transfer has never looked this good.

Patients are eager for dramatic, longer-lasting results. The Adivive Fat Transfer System can help meet their expectations - and your desire for aesthetic success.

Autologours fat transfer has never looked this good?

Wow.

Here are some more from the ranks of the undead.

I'm not sure who you're going to impress with these before and after pictures but you'd expect some better marketing from a market leader like Palomar.

I'm also guessing that they'll provide you with these before and after images to 'help you grow your business' if you buy a Adivive system. I'm not sure it that's such a good idea...

The challenge of taking good before and after pictures has just as much to do with expression as it has to do with reproducing the lighting. The object is not to try to remove all expression, but to reproduce the expression.

There's a proceedure for taking before and after pictures in the Members area that you may want to take a look at.

And who's idea was it to cut out the eyes?

This  is by far the creepiest direct mail postcard that I've receved from Palomar in my memory.

I wonder what Cutera, Cynosure and Sciton are up to? Vampires perhaps?

Link: Fat MD has started a discussion of the Palomar Adivine autologous fat transfer system here.

The Very Worst Medical Spa Names

There are some terrible medical spas and some even worse names out there.

I've seen some really bad medical spa names that range from the insulting to the embarrassing to the 'I don't get it' to the just plain dumb.

Naming your clinic or medical spa is an important marketing consideration. If you aren't quite sure that you've hit the nail on the head, wait until you are. You don't want to get on this list.

(If you are on this list, I'm sorry, but you have an atrocious name.)

Here's my list of the worst that I'll add to from time to time as I run across terrible names.

• Elegant Skin: Trite, corny, lame, and just plain tired.
• Feel Worthy Aesthetics: Just plain insulting.

If you've got a favorite 'worst medical spa name' just add it as a comment with a link to the site...

Rules: It has to be a real medical spa... no made up names.