27 Aug 6 Revenue-Driven Eye Care Marketing Ideas to Start Doing
Marketing your eye care practice may frequently take a backseat to other operational and patient care initiatives. For a practice to be successful long-term, marketing is an investment that must be made.
Optometry marketing strategies can seem overwhelming when you lack the time and resources to start and execute campaigns. There are many ways to create buzz for your practice effectively. Here are six eye care marketing ideas to start doing now.
1. Develop a High-Quality Website
If you want to make a good impression, you need a website that tells people who you are and what you do. When people search for optometry or ophthalmology offices in your area, you want to be on page one of Google…and that won’t happen without a great website.
Your website should serve existing patients and prospective patients. This is the place where patients look up office hours, find your contact information, and scan your services.
Once you have your website up and running, you’ll need something to attract people. Using lead magnets helps you draw traffic to your website. A lead magnet is an offer you give away for free on your website in exchange for their contact information. A lead magnet could be a free eye exam, discounts for eye-related products (like contact lenses), or an eye health checklist.
2. Build Your Online Reputation
Roughly half of adults in the U.S. are nearsighted, according to iHire Optometry, which equates to $2 billion in medical costs. Millennials make up a large percentage of that.
Meaning, many of your potential patients are using the internet to find most of what they buy—including glasses and contacts (and related services). Online reviews and other online content carry a lot of weight with millennials when it comes to making purchases or making health and financial decisions.
Your website is just one part of your online reputation. If you want to take control of how people perceive your practice, focus on creating a strong online presence. LongTailPro recommends:
- Adding accurate hours and location information to your website
- Responding to every business review on Google and other top review sites
- Adding your business phone number and any other contact information people might need to know
3. Send Relevant Emails
While some marketers have claimed that email marketing is dead, know that it’s still a very effective form of communication for hundreds of thousands of businesses around the world.
Once you generate leads from your website from your lead magnet, you’ll want to create an email marketing strategy to communicate consistently with those leads—without going overboard.
Email is also a wonderful way to keep current patients updated about important events, discounts, reminders, and any changes to your practice policies and procedures. Opening a new location? Are there upcoming office closures during the holidays? Engage your patients with email.
4. Create Useful Content
Another important optometry marketing idea is content creation. This strategy has the power to set you apart from your competition, as long as the content is quality. Start a blog that your potential patients and existing patients will find useful. Start digging around to find out what kind of content might appeal to your intended audience with surveys and Google search.
Compile a list of potential blog post topic ideas and craft content. For example, you could write a blog post about natural ways to improve eyesight.
Use these blog posts as an opportunity to connect and engage with your audience, but also to casually inform them about your practice and what you offer. Avoid being overly promotional because it will run people off. Always focus on providing value, instead of selling.
5. Get Active on Social Media
As of 2019, there are 3.2 billion social media users…and that’s just on mobile devices, according to a Global Digital Report by Hootsuite and We Are Social. Most people spend more than an hour and a half on social media every day. Social media provides a huge potential to connect with prospects—more than enough to keep your revenue stream healthy.
If you’re not on social media regularly, now is the time to get active on your channels. Post and curate content on a consistent basis, considering what your audience will enjoy and find useful. These optometry marketing apps are here to support your efforts as you’re building your online reputation:
- WordPress or Squarespace
- Grammarly
- Canva
- Crowdfire
- Hootsuite, Buffer or Sprout Social
- Google Analytics
- MailChimp
- Slack
Related: How to Run a Successful Optometry Practice
Related: Best Optometry Business Apps for a Highly Productive Staff
Related: Improve Your Optometry Marketing Visibility with These 12 Apps
6. Leverage EHR Data Mining
Data is increasingly important for modern eye care practices. Data analysis allows you to be more proactive with revenue goals while keeping you on top of your patient’s needs and goals.
Data is everywhere, including your EHR system. EHR data mining capabilities are a commonly underused feature. Using find tools in MaximEyes, easily locate annual appointments that fit your search criteria then save this information for future marketing campaigns. With the right data set ready to go, next you craft and send a personalized marketing message.
Marketing Brings in More Business
It’s time to start implementing these eye care marketing ideas to bring in more business. Marketing your practice is easier with technology that fully supports your staff.
Explore the practice management capabilities of MaximEyes optometry software to operate and market more effectively. Request a demo of MaximEyes today.
