Social media is taking the marketing world by storm.
Sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have turned into some of the biggest platforms for digital marketing. Social media offers a great opportunity to spread the word about your business. You have the potential to get massive reach, and it is an exceptionally user friendly platform for marketing.
Dermatologists have a lot to gain from using social media. Regularly posting interesting and relevant content gives you the opportunity to gain followers who could potentially become patients or referral sources. You can use content to gain trust and make a great first impression of your practice to new audiences.
If you’re a dermatologist who wants to break into the social media sphere and see results for your practice, then you’ve come to the right place.
Let’s look at the different platforms and best practices for social media marketing for dermatologists.
Instagram for Dermatologists
Instagram is a world of visual content. Everything is image and video based, although captions are also a part of the game. Instagram is a great place to market your dermatology practice, especially since skin care is all the rage and has a huge following on Instagram.
On Instagram there are thousands upon thousands of photos being uploaded on a daily basis. Therefore, your biggest task is to get people to notice your posts. In order for you to be successful on the platform, people need to stop and look at your posts when they scroll through their feed. So how do you stand out?
One tip is to make sure you upload quality content. Don’t post grainy photos or cheesy clipart images. Try to mix your feed up and upload things that may interest your audience. You can upload before and afters, publication material, creative shots of procedures you offer, or pictures of your team or office.
Check out Dr. Tanya Kormeili’s feed above – she has a great mix of material as well as high quality images of herself. Remember, the best way to stand out is to let YOU shine through your social media feeds. People love to see the face behind the page.
Another tip is to make friends with different influencers. Influencers are the kings and queens of Instagram, and often generate hundreds of thousands of likes per post. They have a wide reach and a loyal following. Strike a deal with a local influencer – they can promote your dermatology business in exchange for your services.
Facebook for Dermatologists
Facebook is the grand daddy of all the social media platforms we’re going to talk about. It’s the oldest among the three platforms and is the most well known. There are billions of people who use Facebook and it has a wide demographic – you can connect with both young and old. However, the largest age group on Facebook is 25-34 (about 30%). Keep this in mind when you post content on Facebook.
Facebook is best used as a marketing tool when you take advantage of its many features. Going “live” and using video is a huge part of this. Video has become the most successful posting format on social media – it gets the most engagement and reactions.
Going live is a great idea for dermatologists because it allows your audience to see raw, unedited footage of you and your practice. This establishes trust because your audience feels like they see the real you, not just what you want them to see. You can go live to talk about different procedures you do, tips on how to avoid skin problems, and to introduce yourself and your staff to your audience. The best part about live videos is that people who are watching can comment “live” as well, so you can answer questions and interact with them on the spot!
Other ideas for Facebook posts for dermatologists are photos of you with your clients, videos of procedures actually being done, and before and afters with a paragraph to go along with it to educate. Many people find skincare procedures extremely interesting, so the more you can show, the better!
Facebook is the best when it comes to social advertising and lead generation. If you do your ad well then you can turn leads into actual customers. Facebook has a highly effective system for targeting their ads, so you only show them to people who are likely interested in your business. Their ads are customizable, which makes paying for one a great investment.
Twitter for Dermatologists
Meet our third and final social media platform, Twitter: the place for all things short, punchy, and relevant. Twitter is a social media platform where you can only post within the character and photo limitation. Although Twitter has updated its new character limitation, going from 140 to now allowing 280 characters, it’s still a challenge to stay within the limit.
A tip to maximize this platform is to jump on the various trends. Twitter features a great trending page that helps you easily navigate what most people are talking about. Choose trending topics that are relevant to your field, this helps you gain more followers who are actually interested in your services.
You can also try posting jokes related to dermatology, sharing news and articles posted by other accounts, and anything new and interesting related to your practice. The more intriguing your content, the more reach you’ll get because people will “retweet” you.
Guidelines to Successful Social Media Marketing for Dermatologists
Now that we’ve looked into the top three social media platforms, let’s talk about social media marketing best practices. Here are some of the general rules of social media marketing to follow when using any platform.
If you build your credibility online as a dermatologist, you will see the results sooner or later. Statistically, chances are that all of your future patients are hanging out on social media. Establish who you are and what you represent in order to gain results from social media. It may seem like a small thing, but it can help your brand grow big time. Try out these tips and best practices and let us know how it goes!