Social Media Marketing Strategy

Get Instagram, Tik Tok and Facebook to work for your practice.

Med Spa Social Media Marketing: Elevate your social media marketing for your aesthetics practice.

Social Media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram are your med spa’s best opportunity for reaching new patients and fostering a thriving community within your patient base.

Gone are the days when social media platforms were used only to view cute pictures of nieces or connect with old friends. These platforms have evolved to cover the brands and interests your patients want curated in their feeds.

Though your patients have opened up their contacts to include your practice, they still want their feed to feel personal. If done well, your med spa can deliver personal connections via social media platforms to seamlessly target and engage your prospective patient base and increase your practice’s bookings.

Your practice has no choice but to engage in social media. Don't get left out of the consideration set when a patient is choosing their provider.

The last thing your practice wants is another task on your long to-do list. We have heard reasonings on both ends of the spectrum of why medical spas are reluctant to engage with social media.  Some new practices are overwhelmed and think they need to establish themselves first in-house before tackling social media. Other established med spas are regularly booked out and don’t feel the need to market themselves online.

But the truth is, every medical spa NEEDS a social media marketing campaign. Social Media helps unify and grow your patient base (and practice) to a level that truly cannot be reached otherwise.

You still might be wondering: But WHY does my practice need social media? Let’s look at five reasons WHY social media is essential in the current beauty climate.

1. Patients expect your practice to be on Social Media

Simply having a presence on social media sends a positive message about your practice.

Patients perceive brands on social media (Instagram and TikTok in particular) as popular, relevant, and engaging. On the flip side, your prospective patients will likely assume your practice is barely starting up or behind the times if you don't maintain a social media presence. Both assumptions disincline patients from booking with you.  

There’s no way around it: your patients expect it, so your practice simply MUST be on Social Media.

2. Patients rely on peer validation

More than ever, people turn to their friends and peers before making booking decisions. No matter how hard you try to convince them, prospective patients need an outside, financially unmotivated source to confirm the quality of your practice.

Prospective patients absorb peer validation in different ways. For example, prospective patients are highly influenced when a friend posts about their experience with your practice. These posts are especially effective if they include before and after visuals of their treatment transformation.

On a more general level, peer validation is also gained through the data on your social profile.  A high number of followers, posts with high engagement (comments and likes), high-profile patients, etc. all give your practice social media clout. Also, you would be surprised at how deeply prospective patients will read your comment section...The testimonials in your comment section often lead to deeper looks into your practice and ultimately, bookings!

No one wants to miss out. A thriving and popular social account can create a “This is the next big thing you don’t want to miss” pull for prospective patients. Satisfied patients' engagement leaves a lasting impression on curious visitors.

Remember, happy patients are your best brand ambassadors!

3. Patients seeking aesthetic treatments and outcomes want an insider view into what a treatment will look and feel like

Showcasing treatment results is your practice's time to shine!

Nothing can replicate the effectiveness of authentic “before and after” content. Whether it's picture or video format, proof of the transformation process is KEY in influencing future bookings. These visuals can do most of the “convincing” of why a patient could go forward with treatment and open a window into a patient’s experience.

Your practice can compile before and after content yourselves, or you can re-share user-generated content. Patient’s “before and afters” have the added testimonial benefit of including your patients’ satisfaction with their results.

Before and afters almost sell themselves. Would-be patients need validation that your practice delivers premium results.  Nothing sends that message better than quality before and after content!

You must commit to a social media marketing presence for your aesthetics practice

Now that you know WHY your practice needs social media, it's time to commit to a strong social media effort.

We know the sheer number of social media platforms can seem intimidating. It might feel like you have tackled significant platforms only to be told you must up your game on new and upcoming platforms (TikTok anyone?). All while continuously responding to your flood of direct messages. And launching new content and campaigns on all other marketing channels.

It feels like a lot. But don’t give up!

Each social platform offers many resources to help you. Start with your patients’ main platforms, then grow from there. Utilize platforms’ free tools and analytics to help your med spa, at whatever stage, successfully manage its social media presence.

‍We will begin by touching on the two social media pillars for med spas: Facebook and Instagram. We will end with some general principles for all other social media platforms.

Market your med spa on Facebook

Next to Youtube, Facebook claims the majority of the online social media landscape (Pew Research Center). If your med spa is not actively advertising on Facebook, you are missing out on the second-largest social platform that can bring in new patients.

Not only does it contain the largest prospective patient pool, but it also wins HANDS DOWN in its ability to target VERY specific audiences.

Check out our Med Spa Facebook Marketing guide to learn the ins and outs of launching Facebook campaigns. Learn how to develop ads, target prospective patients,  and track performance using Facebook’s free tools and analytics.

Don’t miss out on Facebook’s wealth of prospective patients and the tools to reach them!

Market your med spa on Instagram

While Facebook has a larger audience base across all adults in the US, Instagram is especially relevant for the 18-29 age demographic. For example, 73% of users in this age bracket check in with Instagram at least once a day. (Pew Research Center).

Instagram is a gold mine for the younger (prospective) patient demographic.

While med spas should consider paying to boost their Instagram posts, there are many strategies med spas can do on their own to build and engage their patient base. Learn how to manage your profile, content creation, direct messaging, and Instagram analytics in our Med Spa Instagram marketing guide.

Your med spa can attract, retain, and convert patients through intentional Instagram marketing. Those little squares can pack a powerful punch for your med spa if you let them!

Best practices for other social media platforms

Once your practice performs well on Facebook and Instagram, consider expanding to other social media platforms (TikTok, Youtube, Yelp, etc). Widen your reach for gathering more patients to your med spa.

It might feel overwhelming to figure out the nuances of each new platform. However, while each has its unique angle and setup, there is crossover across all the channels on what works.
Here are three best practices that can apply to all social media platforms.

• Recycle content across your platforms. There is no need to reinvent the wheel with every post. Re-use your content! A video that patients responded well to on Tik Tok, will likely be successful on Instagram (and vice versa). And dont forget your website. Gain new followers and improve your website  by posting social media content there. Re-use your content over multiple platforms.
• Engage with your patients. Whatever the platform, interact with anyone that engages with your content or practice’s page.  Even if it's just a smiley face or emoji, show appreciation and engage back. A simple like or “thank you” goes a long way. Responding to comments brings you to the forefront of your patients’ minds when they see your name in their feed. It also humanizes your practice.
  
  Creating connections at the end of the day is what will win over prospective patients.Your practice needs to feel approachable and trustworthy to your patients.  Whether it's a reply to a direct message,a re-posting of user generated content, or a like on a comment: Engage, Engage, Engage!
• Create a brand for your med spa. Seek to create a consistent brand across all your social media content.  Medical Spa Branding can set you apart in a saturated aesthetics market.
  
  Pay attention to other leading medical spa competitors. What are they doing that's working? Pay attention to the way they brand their social media, as you come up with an aesthetic for your own practice. For example, you might observe the coordinated color palette or unique ways they showcase treatments.
  
  Learn from those around you, be strategic, and create a unified brand to represent your aesthetics practice!
• Commit to a schedule and stick to it. Don't take on too much. You'll burn out. Start with twice a week and stick with it. Once you have your footing and have posted conistently and also get a better feel of what it takes, you can ramp up. Consistency is key.