TSO Network Update - March 2018

March 2018 l 13 How to Use Your Expertise to Attract More Patients If you are ready to take your practice to the next level, define your expertise. Your brand can be that of a “regular” eye doctor or it can be that of a “specialist” that is expert in a particular niche - a reputation builder that will bring more patients overall into your office. Specialty marketing can take your practice in a whole new direction and bring in tons of revenue. The goal of specialty marketing is to differentiate your practice from the local pack and to draw attention to your practice expertise. In fact, we have found that practices that promote an expertise attract more patients than those without - even for general optometry. This is because they are respected as and perceived to be experts in eye care in general. In fact, if you do it well enough, (and really practice what you preach) you can even get other ODs referring to you, because they will also consider you the local expert. Whether you specialize in specialty contact lens fitting, dry eye treatment, vision therapy, low vision or even high end eyewear, you create a unique niche for your practice when you focus your marketing on what makes you stand out. Here are some of the key aspects of specialty marketing that you should incorporate into a campaign to establish your expertise: Web Content Include content about your specialty in a central location on your homepage and highlight it so that it stands out. This could be a slide, a link to a video or a call-to-action box that brings the visitor to a landing page to learn more. Also include a landing page on the site that speaks specifically about your specialty and includes testimonials and keywords that would come up in a web search on the topic. Make sure that your site and especially the landing page are SEO optimized for your specialty topic. Social Media Campaigns Raise awareness about your specialty through social media. Include educational posts, testimonials, and explanational videos. Create campaign images to use as your cover photo or to post on your page. Link all posts to your website landing page. Email\ or Snail Mail Blasts You can even promote your specialty to your existing patients through an email or direct mail campaign. In an email you can include information about your specialty, a specific promotion or invitation, a video and of course links to your specialty web pages. A direct mail campaign can target certain demographics that may find information about your specialty particularly relevant. Informational Articles Promote your specialty by educating your community about it. Write articles to be published not only on your practice website or blog, but to be published in local media sources as well. Reach out to local news sources both on and offline, offer interviews and attend health fairs to create awareness about your specialty and the fact that you are the local expert on the matter. This last point is key. You should focus on a lot of specialty marketing, but to promote your expertise, you also want to get out into the community and show your face so your local audience can see you and recognize you as the local expert on the matter. It might take some time to build up your reputation, but with a combination of outreach, word-of mouth and some great marketing, your expertise will differentiate your practice from the local competition. This article was reprinted with permission from EyeCarePro.