%20TRANSPARENT%20horizontal.webp){kind=spacer}
If you’re looking to take your ophthalmology practice to the next level, then it’s time to step up your ophthalmology marketing efforts!
The world of eye care today is both competitive and lucrative, so if you want to set your services apart in the eyes of your patients, it’s important to have a well-rounded digital marketing strategy in place.
Even if you already have a successful brand and a steady patient base, you must proactively keep pushing forward on all fronts! Your long-term success is a combination of the below strategies that will propel you to dominate your local market.
More than 47% of people visit a company website before making a purchase or setting an appointment. That means that if your practice doesn’t have a strong online presence – to highlight the attention to your brand – you may miss out on the other 50% of patients who have yet to make a buying decision.
You should focus on what you do best: vision care, dry eye, refractive surgery, LASIK, cataract surgery, glaucoma treatment and other procedures your ophthalmology practice specializes in.
Concurrently, you need a website that aligns with your marketing strategy and reinforces your brand. Step one is an exceptional website that is easy to navigate, contains a strong Call-To-Action (CTA) on every page and is both modern and sophisticated.
A practice website can be optimized so it ranks highly in searches for eye care related keywords in a certain area. For example, if someone searches for “Ophthalmologist near me,” SEO can put your web page at the top of the list to attract more patients.
One of the best ways to attract new patients to your practice is to boost your online search rankings, and the best way to do this is with a strong Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy.
Building your online presence begins with creating a Google Business Profile (GBP) page for your practice and claiming your business on Google Maps. This is now a critical component for both ophthalmology practices, as your office will be shown on the Google Map “Pack” above the organic search results.
Almost all healthcare businesses use SEO to build their online presence, promote their services, and generate new patient flow. Google uses a complex algorithm to choose which page appears at the top of the search results. It’s critical you focus your attention here.
PracticeVIP uses the most current search engine optimization strategies to incorporate relevant keywords into your website and all online content. There is back-linking, content marketing, meta titles, meta descriptions, alt tags, etc. and a variety of other factors that go into a good ophthalmology SEO strategy.
We understand how to target your “perfect patient” with relevant keywords to ensure you are found at the top of the Google search rankings.
Google PPC (Pay Per Click) is an advertising campaign that can quickly and predictably scale your patient acquisition outreach. PPC is an incredibly flexible tool that will put your practice at the top of any ophthalmologist’s search made by a prospective patient.
If your office is still relatively new, this can be a great way to help build a strong patient base right away. If you want new patient flow now, PPC is the way to go! Ophthalmology advertising do require a financial investment. A minimum of $50/day is a good place to start for Google PPC.
Our ophthalmology advertising strategies will integrate with your overall marketing plan to deliver your ads to those searching for eye care related services. We also target prior visitors to your website with PPC ads, a strategy called “retargeting.” Retargeting boosts revenue by keeping your practice top-of-mind with potential patients who have visited your site previously.
Digital Marketing with Facebook and Instagram Ads
Most people post and engage on social media to express themselves and connect with friends and loved ones. That said, social media ads are very effective for potential patients who are seeking eye care-related services, including LASIK surgery.
An effective digital marketing strategy through social media involves specific marketing plans and targeted ads to reach your ideal audience.
Not everyone will “buy” initially, so to leverage your ad spend it is recommended to set up a retargeting campaign. This involves showing different ad sets to your potential new patients based on what they do online.
For example, if your prospective patient visits your website and leaves without taking any action, you can follow them with an ad on their Facebook feed to keep your practice and services top of mind.
Reputation Management and Correct Provider Listings and Patient Reviews
Reputation management, provider listings and patient review management are all key aspects of any digital marketing campaign that often gets overlooked. If your practice has less than favorable reviews (or not enough reviews) or an incorrect listing on Google Business Profile (GBP), your reputation and conversion percentages for new patients may suffer.
Our reputation management involves helping your most satisfied patients leave favorable reviews on popular sites such as GBP, Healthgrades and Vitals. Your eye care marketing strategy must include reputation management and gathering patient reviews.
Opthalmology Marketing for Patient Database Reactivation
As an ophthalmologist, it is important to ensure patients return for regular eye health checkups. The ophthalmology marketing plan you create should involve urging elderly patients and young patients alike to come in for regular vision evaluations, preventative eye care and cataract treatments, if required.
PracticeVIP can help you do this with email newsletters and targeted web offers. A monthly email campaign is a great way to remind your patients to return for a regular checkup, and a targeted offer – such as a limited time discount on LASIK surgery or a relevant procedure – is a great way to bring an otherwise healthy patient back into your office.
Social Media Content Posting for Eye Care Marketing
Social media content creation can be a time-consuming activity, but it’s an excellent way to show your patients that you’ve built a quality local brand that stands out from the competition. The primary platforms you need to be on are Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).
You should be posting unique and engaging content to your social media accounts at least 3X per week. Create value-driven social media content to drive both new patients and referrals to your practice. Also don’t forget to go “live” on Facebook and Instagram; story and reels are popular now too.
Content Creation for Ophthalmology Marketing
Content creation in the form of blog posts should be a strong pillar of your larger ophthalmology marketing strategy. Most websites in healthcare are “static,” meaning once it’s built there is very little new information being posted on a consistent basis. This does not help your cause to rank higher in the search results.
Google loves fresh content, and you are rewarded in your ranking if you are producing new and relevant content (eg, a blog article) on a consistent basis. Make sure it is informative and helpful for your readers.
Consider LASIK surgery, for example. A great way to bring new patients into your world without a referral is to produce a blog article around LASIK related keywords. Also produce a YouTube video about how the process works.
Ophthalmology marketing when done correctly – a blog post and YouTube video – can have a positive impact on the authority and ranking of your site in the eyes of Google. A minimum of 2 pieces of good content per month is a solid and realistic goal.
Lead Follow-Up and Long-Term Nurture Campaigns
Did you know that 80% of sales happen after five customer follow-ups? While that might sound like a lot, many of your potential patients will be “shopping” before they’re ready to commit to an appointment at your ophthalmology practice. That said, it’s almost a full-time job to text, phone or email your patients on a consistent and ongoing basis.
Our automation experts are experienced with both long-term lead nurturing and automatic follow-ups for ophthalmologists. We’re confident that we can help your ophthalmology practice land future patients and referrals with a bit of polite persistence.
We work with you to build out a custom lead follow-up and long-term nurture campaign. This involves email, text messaging and voice drops. It’s highly effective and you never have to push send!
All marketing packages from PracticeVIP provide a complimentary customer relationship management (CRM) platform, so you can communicate easily and effectively with your patients.
In-Office Patient Education Events
While the buzz is all online for a strong ophthalmology marketing campaign, don’t forget about in-person patient education events. In-office seminars and public speaking events in your community can both help drive new patients and referrals to your practice.
Step one is targeted outreach to fill seats; it can’t just be one email for a social media post. You need to send multiple targeted emails and run ads to your existing patients and prospective patients within a given distance from your office. There are also creative ways to advertise such as Eventbrite and the local Chamber of Commerce.
Once people sign up, absolutely remind them to attend. This should involve multiple touch points such as email and text messaging. The final step is scripting out a presentation with a strong Call-To-Action (CTA) to close people into booked appointments at your practice. Education events are also opportunities to inform community leaders on the positive role of your practice in the local area.
How to WIN in the Competitive World of Ophthalmology Marketing
You went to med school to become an exceptional ophthalmologist, this is where your focus should be. That said, you have three options as you develop your advertising plan:
1) Market yourself
2) Add it to the list of responsibilities for someone in your office
3) Partner with a US-based digital agency that works exclusively with ophthalmology practices
Our team at PracticeVIP understands your world. Our founder and much of our team are former pharmaceutical sales reps, with extensive experience in healthcare marketing, branding and consumer direct response marketing. Our CEO called specifically on ophthalmology practices representing several dry eye and glaucoma products (former Allergan sales representative).
We know you are busy, let us take ophthamology marketing off your to-do list so you can 100% focus on seeing patients.
We'd love to learn more about you! For a complimentary practice growth consult, go right here to schedule.
