*Sponsored Post – brought to you by Venus Concept*

Social media is an essential marketing tactic for medical and aesthetics providers. To get the most out of social media for your practice, you’ll need to know what works, and what doesn’t.

Mastering social media marketing won’t happen overnight, but you can get ahead by avoiding these 10 common mistakes spotted online.

1. Choosing the Wrong Platforms

Think about who your customers and viewers are, particularly in terms of age, income, and location, and where they spend their time online. Some platforms suit different messages better than others. Ensure that you’re speaking directly to those folks who are most likely to eventually book an appointment.

2. Too Many Platforms

Brands often try to start all their social media efforts at once, then fade out when they can’t maintain momentum. If you are just starting out, take a slow and steady approach and gradually become more active. Pick one or two platforms at first, and master them before moving on to more.

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3. Lacklustre Profile

Your social media profile should be viewed as an extension of your clinic’s website. The messaging should align with your waiting room, your website, or your office brochure, and it should allow your audience to find you and set you apart from everyone else. Make sure you include up-to-date contact information and details of your services to help prospective patients connect with you.

4. Inconsistent Posting

Are you posting enough? Or are you posting too much? How can you tell which approach is the right way to go? Followers are interested in your clinic, but don’t want to be bombarded with updates every hour. A standard daily rule of thumb is to post at least once but no more than three or four times per day.

5. Mismatched Messaging

When posting to social media sites, carefully consider what will interest your audience and why they’re following you in the first place. Give them what they want, and avoid getting too off-topic, as it may attract the wrong crowd. Stick to aesthetics and related subjects—like health, fitness, beauty—and stray only when it feels appropriate.

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6. Oversharing

Bear in mind that your business social media accounts are different from your personal social media accounts, so your views are best kept offline. If someone says something negative about your practice online, make yourself a model of courtesy and civility. This is a very public customer service interaction, and a classy approach will leave a good impression on others.

7. Not Being Personal Enough

At the risk of sounding contradictory, being too impersonal can be as much of a pitfall as being too personal. Social media provides an opportunity to share your enthusiasm and passion for what you do with the world, so take advantage of it by highlighting successes, happy stories, and practical tips. Just make sure your brand message is always aligned, and you keep the content comparatively light and customer-friendly.

8. Not Being Engaged

Online inactivity is a big no-no. Merely setting up an account and waiting for fans to roll in is not enough; cultivating a supportive audience takes time, so be prepared to put in the effort. When consumers ask questions or post on your social media sites, answer them. When someone has a positive online interaction with your clinic, they can become an advocate for your brand.

9. Weak Content

High-quality, original content and images will help you stand out. Don’t slack on your content! Also, though social media can often be construed as “casual,” proper spelling and grammar is still a must for aesthetic practices. To consumers of aesthetic services, this speaks to your precision and professionalism.

10. Annoying Your Audience

Take a moment to think about some of the things you have seen other people and other companies do online that get on your nerves. Because people are on social media all the time, they tend to have very little patience for certain annoying behaviours. Here are some of the things you will want to pay attention to:

Do not constantly try to sell your services to people
Do not ignore requests
Do not pester people to like and repost or tweet everything that you put up
Do not overuse hashtags
Do not litter your website with too many widgets for social media; keep it simple
Do not use auto direct messages
Do not use slang

Keep in mind that anything that you would find frustrating or irritating is probably something that your followers will too.

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Next Steps to Improve Your Social Media Effort

Once you have started working with social media for your practice, you will want to track your efforts to see how things are going. Fortunately, the large social media sites, such as Facebook, have analytics attached to them. You can gauge how interested people are in the types of content you create, the content that performs best and where your audience is located.

This is valuable information. You can use it to determine where to improve your efforts, the type of content that appeals to your audience the most, and how to target your content even better. It’s a good idea to keep an eye on your analytics, and make adjustments as needed; then see how your adjustments pan out and repeat the process.

Some Advice for Keeping Things Legal

One of the most important things to remember is that you can’t promise anything on social media that you can’t deliver. Regulators and social media sites alike take a very strict stance regarding claims, especially about cosmetic results.

Violating those rules could put you at risk of having your account frozen or drawing legal action. This applies to all posts, but the policies are even more stringent with advertising. Familiarize yourself with the rules for each platform. Facebook, for example, forbids Before and After images in paid ads.

Final Thoughts

Social media has woven its way into the fabric of our lives, and building it into the marketing strategy of your aesthetics practice is essential. With these simple tips in mind, you’ll find it easier than ever to spot growth opportunities, build your brand, and avoid social media blunders.

Content courtesy of Venus Concept

Get in touch with Venus Concept Africa below to see how their aesthetic equipment and guidance can help improve your aesthetic clinic, practice or salon…

Website: www.venusconcept.com/en-za

Email: info.za@venusconcept.com

Phone: 071 271 4104

Facebook: www.facebook.com/venusconceptafrica

Rochelle Friedman

Aesthetic Appointment | Website

Rochelle is the founder and driving force behind Aesthetic Appointment. With a passion for the aesthetics and pro-ageing industry in South Africa, she has been in the aesthetic publishing industry since 2012, dedicated to creating a valuable platform for insights and knowledge, bridging the gap between patients and doctors - delivering reliable, medical-based information. Rochelle firmly believes in the power of a good skincare regimen, especially when started at home, and is committed to educating consumers about the myriad of treatments, procedures, and products available to them.

Trade Article: Top Tips for Aesthetic Clinics to Win at Social Media