Dreaming of what it would feel like to have 20/20 vision is one of the biggest dreams a person who wears glasses and contacts can have. They might fantasize about breaking their glasses on purpose, or tossing their contacts.
The question is, will it be easy for them to discover your LASIK practice to fulfill their perfect vision fantasies? This is why eye care marketing is so valuable – when people are searching for nearby LASIK surgeons, you want to be at the top of the results.
If you’re looking to connect with patients longing to be glasses- or contacts-free, there are many LASIK and eye care marketing strategies that can help, whether your practice is new to the internet or has an established online presence. Here are five ways to start crushing your online marketing:
1. List Yourself Online
The bigger the reach you have online, the more potential you have to drive traffic to your site and in turn, your practice. These days, patients search for nearby services online and trust internet directories as reliable sources. Consider joining these free directories typically joined by LASIK practices:
- Citysearch
- Healthgrades
- Google My Business
- Yelp
A key aspect of listing yourself online is ensuring that you have each profile completely filled out with accurate information. Not only does this improve your SEO chances, but it also gives potential patients a clear picture of what to expect when they visit your office.
2. Ask for Reviews
Reviews and ratings are imperative for any business to succeed. For most people, positive reviews are a huge influence when choosing services.
If you aren’t sure what sort of reviews you have online, find out! Most of us post reviews online to complain about a bad experience or excellent service, so think about incentivizing former and current patients to share positive reviews. For example, you can offer special coupons or have a giveaway for patients that leave a review.
3. Start a Blog
You might be thinking, “Anyone can have a blog,” and you’re right. Blogging is simple to begin and free to all. The difference is, your business blog can provide expert information to potential patients.
With a blog, you can provide prospective LASIK patients with the exact information they need, at the exact moment they need it. Blogging can also enhance your reach on search engines, and draw traffic to your site.
4. Get with Social Media
If you think social media is merely a space for teens and millennials, you’re mistaken. Social media has become a crucial and necessary piece of any digital marketing strategy. You can leverage social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to promote and grow your business – for free!
With social media marketing, you can quickly reach a large number of people and share promotional opportunities. What’s more, you can engage and delight patients with posts, replies, and “likes”.
5. Shake Up Your Marketing Strategy
This is one of the most important strategic decisions you can make for your practice. Do NOT put all of your marketing dollars into one method of marketing! Most LASIK strategies focus on the concept that LASIK surgery is eyeglass free. While this isn’t an unacceptable technique, you should note that patients today are self-educating and understand the realities of failed surgery, and ‘hidden’ information can leave most prospective patients with a bad taste in their mouth.
To get the most value for your eye care marketing, you need to pull from each of the above strategies and create a hybrid approach that works best for your practice. Blending all of the strategies together will provide your practice with the greatest ROI. The best value? A blended approach helps the right patients find your practice online.