This weekend, the directors of the MatrixTrilogy return to the big screen with their new release Jupiter Ascending. In the film, a genetically-engineered, interplanetary warrior (Channing Tatum) comes to earth to find, rescue and protect a lost Intergalactic princess (Mila Kunis). The film promises to “expand your universe,” but what struck me most, as a digital marketer, was the following discussion on how best to protect the princess:
Stinger (Sean Bean): “We need a plan.”
Caine Wise (Channing Tatum): “We need fire power.”
Well, both men are on to something, and not just in terms of protecting the would-be Queen of the Universe. When it comes to protecting and building your practice, especially for plastic surgeons or other physicians in aesthetic practice, you do indeed need both a plan and fire power. In short, you need a platform. A digital marketing platform.
What do I mean? A digital marketing platform isn’t just one tool. Having a digital marketing platform involves multiple tools, giving your practice (as the character Caine would put it) real fire power – even as it forces you, albeit gently, to create a plan.
This is what a total digital platform can offer your cosmetic medical practice:
- A responsive web design that works seamlessly and beautifully across all devices, especially the mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) that are increasingly coming to dominate user markets, and thus searches and social media. In short, more and more activity is taking place in mobile space. Your website needs to work there.
- Multiple social media outlets: Your practice’s presence needs to be felt in different key markets, which means using different social media outlets, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ to name a few. Depending on your practice, you may choose to emphasize one over the others. For example, if you’re a cosmetic dermatologist who treats a lot of teens and twenty-somethings for acne, you might spend more time on Twitter. However, if you’re trying to get more Baby Boomers in for a laser resurfacing, amplifying that message on Facebook would be the way to go.
- Blogging: Whatever the emphasis of your aesthetic or wellness practice, you will want to share your expertise. You want to be seen as the go-to person for information about the services and products your practice offers. Content-driven blogs can be used on your website as a library for current patients. Even better, they can be posted through social media to amplify your message, and thus reach current AND potential patients.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): All of the above contributes to SEO. Whenever you post a new blog using key words and phrases for your desired audience, you will increase SEO. Having a well-built, responsive web site will also improve SEO. Posting to and linking from different social media sites will do the same. In fact, all of the above tools should be used with SEO in mind.
- Planning and Measuring: But even the best tools won’t work if you don’t have a plan in place or a means of measuring the effectiveness of that plan. The beauty of engaging multiple tools at once is that it almost requires you to think strategically. Because you are activating so much digital firepower, you’re much more likely to make sure that your tools (or “weapons”) are all aimed in the same direction. Just as important, having a digital marketing platforms allow for the pain-free collection of very detailed metrics, because metrics are already integrated into your overall platform.
I hope the following makes clear why a platform provides both the plan and the firepower you need to build and retain your practice. But if you have any questions or if you simply want to hand the whole challenge over to us, just fill out our form or call. While we can’t promise to expand your Universe, we can help grow your practice easily, effectively and affordably
