Should Surgeons Use Social Media Influencers?
The impact of using social media influencers as a surgeon can be two-fold for a surgeon with a private practice, in fact for any brand. Should you be one of the surgeons using social media influencers? You can choose a personality who is well known or someone who quietly has an influence over others. There are many social media influencers both known and unknown promoting cosmetic surgery. Using influencers should be in addition to your larger marketing campaign efforts. It should not be used as your only marketing outlet.
An influencer in this digital age is someone who has the power and platform to share their opinion on a subject that could alter followers’ perception. In this case it could be a comment or endorsement on the services of you as a surgeon, and / or your private practice. Influencers can cultivate a better trust between themselves and their follower base due to the personal touch of social media. This is compared to a business or a brand. They motivate their follower base to feel as if they are close to them such as a friend or family member.
Using the right influencer to market your business can help you create a brand for you as a surgeon and your private practice that people can trust. Studies have shown that people are more likely to use a service or a brand that has been endorsed by an influencer they trust, compared to one they’ve seen advertised (Forbes, 2018)
Types of Social Media Influencers
The types of social media influencers include:
- 1K-10K followers being a nano influencer.
- 10K-100K followers known as micro influencer.
- 100K-1M followers a macro influencer.
- 1 Million+ followers being a mega influencer.
Each of the above influencer set comes with its own positives and negative approach for your business. Starting with a nano influencer who is likely to have a dedicated audience. Influencer’s within the macro influencer category will have a larger audience, but these followers may not be as dedicated.
The above list can be broken down further into content creation and different niches, for example:
- Sports and Fitness
- Bloggers and Vloggers
- Travel
- Beauty
- Fashion
Using Influencers to Market your Private Practice
There are many positives to using influencers to market your private practice. The main reason is the return on investment likely being very high. For every £1 spent on influencer marketing, brands can earn up to £5.78 in return. That is why 91% of marketers believe that influencer marketing is an effective form of marketing compared to your more ‘traditional’ marketing techniques. (Influencer Marketing Hub, 2020). With some micro-influencer charging less than advertising space on Instagram and Facebook. It’s a very cost-effective method of advertising your business. This form of marketing also feels more organic than paid ad space, which people are less likely to engage with.
Using influencer marketing as part of your marketing strategy can help you reach a relevant, concentrated audience and can help you reach the exact audience you need to grow your private practice. The best way to find an influencer who is relevant to your services is by looking for someone who may already be endorsing similar products and services.
Reasons Why Influencers May Not Be the Desired Choice for your Surgery
Your ROI (Return on investment) may yield you very high results by using this approach. However, to get the most out of the influencer market you need to be using the right people. They can motivate and encourage others to like, or even purchase services or products from your practice. Choosing the right influencers for your marketing campaigns is one of the biggest challenges. It can be daunting to figure out the best advocate for your business. With there are so many types of influencers out there. Who you are happy endorse your private practice business. Sometimes working with the wrong influencers can do more harm than good for your business.
Some issues of using influencers in your marketing strategy is that you will not have control over the content that they are using. For example, if they tarnish their reputation, it can affect your business, as they may be seen as brand ambassadors for your private practice. Tarnishing your brand reputation can be hard to repair. We will write about this soon, or contact us if you need immediate assistance.
Using influencers for your Private Practice
When looking for influencers the considerations to take include, budget and the audience that they can reach. It is better to have a more focused audience. For example, choosing a beauty or health influencer with a smaller audience in your local area could be more effective and cost efficient than spending more money on an influencer who has a larger following yet general widespread audience. It could be beneficial to focus your marketing efforts with an influencer- who specialises in beauty and whom you trust to help grow your practice into a well-recognised, reliable, and trustworthy brand.
We understand that your time as a surgeon is important and using influencers to market your practice can feel like a large commitment. This is just one aspect of a marketing strategy that may be worth considering for your private practice. We at New Media Ghost offer a bespoke marketing service tailored to your needs. Contact us for your marketing needs, or for a confidential appointment.