There are several cosmetic surgeons out there that are doing a good job on using Facebook to cultivate a following and generate leads for surgery. I know because I see many of them. But most of the Facebook attempts I see right now are practices reinventing the wheel and not getting very far.
Here is a quick primer on using social networking to generate leads, not just benefit your practice from a visibility point of view. Start by showing some personality, not just making business posts. In a business like cosmetic surgery or cosmetic dentistry where trust is so important, it gives you a huge advantage if people like you going in. It is possible to use your Facebook account to propagate information and promote certain specials but HOW you do it more important than what you are saying. The posts that turn up leads are part of bigger ongoing conversation and you have to be present for that conversation in this medium. Otherwise any offers you put out there are just another ad, unlikely to get a response.
Next, you have to embrace the immediacy of the medium. Most people who are active on Facebook check their accounts several times each day. They scan for what is interesting and move on. So, you have to be timely and know that responses will be timely. This means deadlines. Put an offer out there and have a short deadline on it. If no one bites, try the next day with something else.
Finally, making your offer available for redemption on Facebook will encourage others to reply or get involved once they see others doing it. Facebook has a high Monkey-See, Monkey-Do quality about it and one comment can open up all kinds of discussion or commentary. Staying involved in that conversation opens up new relationships or gives you greater understanding of existing relationships.
Here is an example. The hottest seller at Dog Star Media right now are mobile web sites. This is probably because everybody’s mobile traffic went up in the last month and some jumped significantly. So, I chose this high interest item for this example. Today, to coincide with this blog, we are running a Facebook-only promotion. Offline, we are running four special offers right now at Dog Star Media ranging from $4000 off a Flash/HTML web site with 4 minutes of video, to first month of coaching or SEO free to 5 additional pages for a new starter mobile site. However, today only on Facebook, we are offering 10 additional pages on a new starter mobile site for the first three who respond here on our Facebook page. If you have any interest, I would hurry up because of the limitation on time and spaces available. Just say you want it in the comments under the offer.
So what happens if no one replies today? Nothing is lost, only the one-minute it took to write up the offer. You have to have that mindset going in. My prospects and clients move a lot slower on Facebook than yours simply because what you are selling has such an emotional impact. If you can get people talking about cosmetic enhancements, you can really get the ball rolling online. Maybe a few people will get a great deal on a starter mobile site today but at the very least, you have template you can copy to get your offers going. And, use this advice to make it personal.
If you have any questions about mobile sites or social networking, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
