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What is worth knowing about marketing and advertising in the aesthetic medicine industry?

26 October 2020

Is aesthetic medicine an area closer to medicine or cosmetology? It is difficult to find a clear answer to this question, because aesthetic medina offices offer both care treatments and those which, according to the professional nomenclature, violate the continuity of tissues, i.e. they involve injecting substances and using preparations that can only be applied by doctors. The classification of this type of activity is important insofar as it is important in the selection of promotional activities.

Both aesthetic medicine treatments and cosmetic services are becoming more and more popular in Poland, which means that competition in the beauty industry is growing every year. Fighting for the customer's attention, beauty salons decide on various forms of advertising and promotion. What is worth knowing about marketing and advertising in the aesthetic medicine industry? You can read about it in this article.

From the article you will also learn:

  • Is advertising an aesthetic medicine clinic allowed?
  • how to advertise an aesthetic medicine clinic on the Internet?

Law and advertising of an aesthetic medicine office

Aesthetic medicine has become the domain of doctors. So, like other categories of the medical services market, is this category also subject to advertising restrictions? The answer is yes, because although aesthetic medicine treatments do not use a scalpel, they significantly interfere with the human body and if performed incorrectly, they involve the risk of complications. Clinics minimize this risk by using proven preparations, high-quality specialized equipment, and employing experienced doctors who diagnose the patient before the procedure. All these factors make aesthetic medicine closer to health care than superficial cosmetic treatments.

The issue of advertising medical activities, including aesthetic ones, is regulated bythe Act of April 15, 2011 on medical activities and the Code of Medical Ethics (Article 63). These regulations prohibit doctors from encouraging and persuading patients to use their services, making promises, or using evaluative phrases such as best, safest. It is also prohibited to provide assurances about the effects of treatment, provide information about the quality of equipment, appear in advertisements or use forms of self-promotion. However, if we carefully analyze the legal regulations and definitions of advertising, it turns out that they leave doctors the possibility of, among others:

  • informing about your activity, education, specialization, competences, opening hours, prices and payment methods;
  • health promotion and health-promoting behaviors;
  • education of patients regarding procedures and treatment methods based on facts;
  • discussing treatments, presenting the expert's opinion.

To sum up, just like in the case of medical activities in the field of health care, in aesthetic medicine it is also possible to use various online marketing tools. What is important for this industry and what may influence advertising activities on Google is the presence of information about pharmacological agents on websites and in content, such as Botox or hyaluronic acid. If the names of these substances appear in links or in the content of Google ads, the campaign may be blocked.

Aesthetic medicine office website

Poles pay more and more attention to health, but also to appearance. The use of aesthetic medicine treatments is no longer reserved only for the elite. A wide range of services and a higher standard of living mean that not only the wealthiest people benefit from the benefits of treatments. So how to reach a wide group of recipients?

More and more of us use the Internet regularly (according to data from the Central Statistical Office, in 2019 it was as many as 78.3% of people aged 16-74). 77.4% of respondents look for information about products and services on the Internet, including, of course, those related to health and beauty (47.7%). Virtual space therefore seems to be a natural channel of communication with potential customers. The first step to having an online presence is a functional and transparent website of an aesthetic medicine clinic.

What should be included on such a website so that it can compete for the attention of Internet users? Let's look at some additional data. From studies ICAN Institute "Healthy and aesthetic" it shows that when choosing an aesthetic medicine clinic, customers are guided by: ię:

  • the clinic's experience in performing procedures (90%);
  • the way of talking to customers and the atmosphere in the facility (63%);
  • education of medical staff (57%);
  • knowledge of the latest trends and treatments (53%);
  • whether the clinic performs the treatments requested by the client (44%);
  • the appearance of patients (40%);
  • commands (24%);
  • presence in the media (21%).

Having such knowledge, there is nothing else to do but post this type of information on your website. As part of the website, in addition to the description of the clinic's activities, contact details, location, opening hours and offer:

  • introduce your team of specialists along with their education, specialization and experience;
  • present the interior of the clinic and the way of serving patients in the form of a photo or video gallery;

Example: Photo gallery on the Tazbir clinic website

  • in an informative way (i.e. based on facts), present on the website the scope of treatments performed and the methods used;

Example: Description of the procedure and FAQ on the Tazbir clinic website

  • show the effects of treatments in the form of case studies or patient metamorphoses
  • ask customers for opinions and post reviews on the website in the form of quotes

Example: Opinions of satisfied customers on the Spire Clinic website

  • post information about press articles, interviews and other forms of media activity in which you participate.

When adapting the website to customer requirements, do not forget to make it mobile-friendly, i.e. display well on phones, be legible and transparent, and ensure that the content loads quickly. An interesting solution that makes it easier for customers to find the multitude of available treatments and procedures is to include a search or filter option on the website.

Example: Mobile version of the Prime Clinic website

[From the 2019 Central Statistical Office report titled “How do Poles use the Internet?” shows that almost 90% of people aged 16-24 and almost 50% of people aged 16-74 use the Internet on a smartphone.]

SEO strategy and positioning

When designing a website for an aesthetic medicine clinic, it is important to pay special attention to positioning in the Google search engine. This requires a well-selected SEO strategy, i.e. optimizing the website and its content for the search engine. We must ensure that in response to the customer's query entered in the search engine, the clinic's website appears at the top of the results list. How to do it? The SEO strategy is based on the selection of key phrases appropriate to the clinic's domain of operation and the needs of patients. If you know that your potential clients are looking for information on the Internet about smoothing facial wrinkles, and your salon offers such a treatment, content rich in this phrase should be included on your website. It is also important whether the website contains synonyms for a given phrase and whether it includes, among others: in headers, image titles and the so-called meta descriptions. Positioning is not only about the content of the website, it is also about the appropriate technical configuration of the website: loading speed, correct reading of the content by search engine bots, complete descriptions of meta data, no errors.

Example: Organic search results for the phrase smoothing facial wrinkles

A good idea to enrich the content of your website is to run an aesthetic medicine clinic blog. As part of your blog, you can post, among others: advice and tips for patients, preventive beauty care guides, news from the clinic, descriptions of treated cases and much more.

Example: Say Wow Clinic aesthetic medicine clinic blog

Example: Happy Clinic aesthetic medicine clinic blog

 

Local positioning

Do you want to reach recipients throughout Poland or maybe those in the immediate vicinity with your clinic's offer? The location of the office is not without significance when advertising your business, both in terms of the budget of the aesthetic medicine clinic's promotional campaign and in terms of the preferences of customers who are ready to choose the best facilities located as close to them as possible. Google's local positioning tools come to the rescue: Google My Business and Google Maps. To appear in local results, you must create and complete the clinic's business card in Google My Business. In turn, the office will appear in Google Maps if the website includes address details and key phrases narrowed to the location, e.g. aesthetic medicine clinic in Warsaw.

Example: Local search results for the phrase "Aesthetic Medicine Clinic Warsaw"

Example: Local Google Maps search results for the phrase "aesthetic medicine clinic"

Aesthetic medicine clinic in social media Marketing of an aesthetic medicine clinic is not only a profile on Facebook or Instagram, it is also cooperation with influencers, cinema and television stars, and videos with your participation that appear on social networking sites. Regardless of whether you decide to promote your aesthetic medicine office as part of your profile or use all available opportunities, you must ensure that your entries are up to date, responsive to messages, mentions and comments, as well as the authenticity of the message and the visual aspect of your presence on social media. . The latter is particularly important for an industry where appearance is the most important thing. Post photos, graphics and videos of the highest quality.

Example: Facebook profile of the Velvet Clinic aesthetic medicine clinic

It is also worth posting links to social channels on the website, from where interested customers can go to the profile and supplement their knowledge with the information contained there, check the comments of other users, join the group of fans, or contact clinic by leaving a message.

Constant contact with the client (also online)

Since we're talking about the news, let's move on to the topic of contact with the patient. If he ends up on your website or uses the clinic's services, don't let him go and forget about you. There are a number of communication tools at your disposal, including: • contact form on the website;

  • chat and instant messaging on the website or in social media;
  • e-mail marketing of aesthetic medicine clinic;
  • SMS messages.

Example: Chat available on the Revival Clinic website

Example: Contact form on the Velvet Clinic website

Example: Contact order form on the Ambroziak Clinic website,appearing outside the clinic's opening hours

Example: Online customer survey offering advice on needs and treatments

Using marketing for an aesthetic medicine office nowadays is not a choice, but a necessity. Not every form of promotion has to be paid or sponsored. It is worth remembering that having a website or taking care of positioning, without which it is difficult to imagine the functioning of an aesthetic medicine clinic, do not require constant advertising budgets, and yet they are also elements of marketing. What is worth knowing about marketing and advertisingin the aesthetic medicine industry is that not every activity in the online space in this industry is allowed, therefore the form and medium of communication must each time be properly thought out, prepared and used to bring the clinic an increase in the number of customers and at the same time not expose it to incompatible activities. with the law.

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