According to a 2021 marketing study of aesthetic clinics, Facebook got the most responses when it came to reaching cosmetic customers. Instagram was a close second.
Plus, the most shared posts were treatment-related photos, followed by reviews and then announcements.
This is great data to help us pick a preferred platform to reach potential clients, and it gives us content inspiration, but today we’re delving even deeper into evolving modern aesthetic marketing trends to find out just how much social media use has changed in recent years.
What was social media used for originally?
When social media platforms first emerged in the early 2000s, they provided a space for people to stay in touch with friends and family, share updates about their lives, and engage in conversations. Platforms like MySpace, Friendster, and later Facebook provided users with the ability to create profiles, add friends, and post status updates or photos. These early social media platforms were primarily used for personal connections.
Over time, however, businesses began to recognise the potential of social media as a marketing tool. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram introduced advertising features that allowed businesses to reach a wider audience and promote their products or services. Social media has become an integral part of many marketing strategies, enabling companies to engage with their customers directly and build brand awareness.
How has the use of social media evolved?
As the number of social media users grew, the need for efficient search tools became evident. Users wanted to be able to find specific people, products or brand topics quickly and easily. The social media platforms were becoming a search tool in their own right. Now they are an essential part of the user experience, enabling individuals and businesses to find relevant content and connect with like-minded individuals.
What sets the social media search tool apart from dedicated search tools like Google is the speed with which potential customers can enter into a conversation with the business they’ve searched for, and even with other customers of that business too.
How do cosmetic clinic customers use social media as a search tool?
How often, do you think, your potential clients are turning to platforms like Facebook and Instagram to see what others are saying about a particular clinic or treatment? You can probably judge how often that might be, by how often you’re getting queries that reference other people’s comments on your posts. Or by how many responses you get to the responses on your posts.
By the way, if you’re not getting any responses to your social media posts, or you’re not appearing at the top of the social media search page for clinics and treatments in your local area – it’s probably time to outsource your social media marketing to the experts! Social media is a very effective way to grow your client base. You could be missing out on a huge opportunity.
To find out about your clinic, your treatments, or your practitioners, first-time viewers of your business on Facebook or Instagram have probably put a keyword into the search bar to find you. Let’s just check you’re doing everything you can to appear at the top of social media searches. Here are some steps you can take:
- Optimise your social media profiles by using relevant keywords
- Update your social media content regularly
- Actively engage with your audience on social media
- Measure your performance in social media search and make necessary improvements.
How can cosmetic clinics capitalise on the fact their target audience is using social media as a search tool?
When potentially interested clients find your Facebook page or Instagram account via their search bars, it’s important that you effectively grab their attention and encourage queries. Starting a dialogue is usually when the process of evolving your leads into paying clients begins. Here are our top 2 tips:
- By creating informative and engaging content that showcases your expertise and services, you can attract the attention of your target audience who are actively searching for cosmetic solutions. This can include before-and-after photos of successful treatments, educational videos about different procedures, and testimonials from satisfied patients.
- Responding to comments and inquiries in a timely manner not only helps you to build trust and credibility but also allows you to provide personalised advice and recommendations to potential clients. Additionally, you can use your social media platforms to conduct Q&A sessions or live video consultations, providing an opportunity for direct interaction with your target audience.
Long-term marketing strategies are often the most effective
We know that social media can drive growth in our sector. We see positive results every day. However, the key to success is a combination of consistency and novelty. New posts are needed regularly to tap into social media search algorithms. But these posts must offer valuable and original content to keep attracting new interest. This process takes a lot of time, especially if you’re still in the trial-and-error stage of your marketing campaigns.
If you’d like to experience the success effective digital aesthetic marketing can bring, without having to make the effort required yourself, why not consider sourcing your marketing needs from an aesthetic industry leader? Cosmetic Digital has been at the forefront of this sector for many years. One of our friendly team would be happy to have a chat with you about how we can support you with your social media to produce real results.