BUSINESS

  SOCIAL MEDIA

MARKETING NEW CONTACT LENSES

THREE TIPS FOR PROMOTING INNOVATION ONLINE

THE CONTACT lens industry is one in which we see a continuous stream of innovative products and services. Not only do these advancements benefit patients, but they also provide a tremendous marketing opportunity both in-office and online.

Let’s explore three ways you can leverage social media to communicate the value of these new and innovative products to your current and future patients.

1 SHARE BRANDED CONTENT

Let’s face it: the marketing budget of a major contact lens company is about a million times bigger than your budget. They are masterful at content creation that is engaging, which makes it ideal for sharing on social media.

Your brand reps are a great resource for consumer-facing information and educational materials. They can point you in the direction of online press releases and product pages. Be sure to search both only doctor- and consumer-facing content.

Company social media pages, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others, are also a wealth of information and sharable content. It’s good practice to “like” or follow these pages so you will always be alerted to new posts.

For example, companies post high-quality videos to YouTube you can repost on your social media channels.

In addition, Facebook is another must-look source for sharable content. You are likely to find useful content on the company’s consumer Facebook page, its eye care professional page and, sometimes, a product-specific page. Scan the timelines of these pages and look for popular posts pertaining to the brand or product you wish to promote. If a post that has gathered a lot of “likes,” shares and comments on the company or product page, it’s more likely to engage your followers as well.

2 MIX YOUR MEDIA

If you’ve been active on social media, it’s likely that you’ve created several great social media posts. Perhaps you produced a great video introducing a new product, or have a few well-written testimonials from patients. A great way to repurpose the content is to combine it and create an email blast to send to patients. Most email marketing platforms have easy-to-use templates that allow you to add various types of content, including videos, images and more.

3 HYPER TARGET ADS

Does this new innovation help solve an existing issue in your patient population? For example, if you know all your patients in brand X can potentially benefit from the new product, you can generate a Facebook ad specifically geared to educate those patients on how the new product could benefit them.

To accomplish this, use your EHR to generate a report that contains the email addresses of all brand X wearers. Then, use the email list in Facebook to create a “custom audience” for your ad. What this means is that Facebook will only show your ad to those on the list you uploaded. The more targeted your ad, the more effective it will be. And, as with other marketing efforts, it is best policy to include a call to action, such as “Call us today to book an appointment and try out these new lenses!”

SPREAD THE WORD

Again, the contact lens industry is brimming with a large array of innovative products. By leveraging the power and widespread visibility of social media, you can educate your patients on the latest innovations, helping them see and feel their best — and help your practice gain and retain patients. Use the above three tips as a starting point to cultivate a winning social media campaign. OM

JUSTIN BAZAN, O.D., is the founder of Park Slope Eye, in Brooklyn, N.Y. He is a member of the AOA, NYSOA and the AAOMC. In 2014, he received financial compensation for services from Allergan, Bausch + Lomb, Vision Service Plan, Luxottica, The Vision Council and Foster Grant. Visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment to comment on this article.