According to StatusBrew’s article on 2023 social media statistics, the United States accounts for 182.3 million active Facebook users, 245 million active YouTube users, and 153.6 million active Instagram users.
These are vast numbers and even though you’ll only be aiming for people in the service area for your med spa, you should still be able to target more than enough active users on social media to bring in targeted, quality leads.
In fact, you really can’t afford not to be on social media. Let’s face it, if you aren’t there, your competition will be.
In this article, we’re going to talk about why it’s so important for med spas to be on social media and we’re going to give you our top social media tips for med spas.
Why is being on social media valuable to your med spa?
Social media is an excellent way to connect with potential and current patients and to generate leads for your med spa practice. Here are just some of the reasons why you need to take social media marketing seriously:
1) Patients expect your practice to be active on social media
There are very few businesses of any kind now that aren’t on social media these days. Not having a social media presence gives the impression that you’re either just starting up and don’t have a lot of experience yet or that you’re very far behind the times. Neither of these are impressions you want to create for your patients.
Conversely, a slick, professional, and engaging social media presence gives people a very good impression of your business. Your med spa is more likely to be seen as relevant, trustworthy, and popular.
It doesn’t take a genius to see which one of those options will bring you more bookings.
People really do expect their favorite brands and companies to have a great social media presence and patients for med spas are no different. If you’re not on social media, you are missing out.
2) Patients rely heavily on peer validation
When people are looking for any service where the end result matters, naturally they’re going to turn to friends and family first to ask for recommendations. Following that, their next step is going to be looking at social media, where they’ll look for Facebook friends’ recommendations or information from people they follow on Instagram, TikTok, and more.
The reason for this is that it’s an independent view. It doesn’t matter how many times you talk about your great service and what results people can get. People will take notice of that, but because it comes from you, they’ll assume that it’s biased. Whereas any reviews and recommendations from people they know or follow are seen as unbiased and influential.
One other way that people look for peer validation on social media is to see how many followers you have, how engaged your page looks, and what people are saying about you.
People want to see a busy, engaging, positive feed with quality images, great copy, and a welcoming feel, along with lots of followers, comments, and interactions. This also provides important social proof from their peers that your med spa is the one to visit.
3) Patients use social media platforms as a discovery and research platform, just like Google
While everyone is used to using Google to find out everything from opening hours to what particular treatments are like, increasingly people are using social media platforms to search and learn.
What that means for you is that your social media feed should be full of interesting, informative, and educational content, including videos as well as copy. Social media is the perfect place to share your blog from your website, create informative posts, videos, reels, and shorts, do live Q&A sessions, and quick tips.
Again, you’re adding to a great first and last impression on social media, and you’re also establishing your expertise. All of this great content goes a long way in encouraging people to either enquire or book.
4) Patients want an insider view into what treatment will look like at your med spa
People love to dig into every aspect of any treatment they are thinking of getting. They want to know everything they can before they book, including how long it takes, what’s involved, how it feels, and how long the recovery time is.
It is important to provide written content, including frequently asked questions, and descriptions of treatments, equipment, and anything else involved in each treatment. However, you can really attract people’s attention with video.
With the patient’s permission, of course, you could film a treatment from start to finish and describe it as you do it, including what is happening, what results they can expect, and how long it takes.
This is far better than just a description because video brings people into your practice. They can see what your treatment rooms look like, meet your staff, and imagine themselves there. They can also see what is involved in their chosen treatment and find reassurance in that.
When contemplating treatments of any kind, potential patients want to set their minds at rest. They don’t want to book while still worrying about what you’ll do and if it will hurt. They want to know. Not knowing is one more reason not to book. So don’t leave them wondering. Show them and reassure them.
5) Patients want to see results and others’ successes at your med spa
You can also post before and after shots – again, with permission – to show what’s possible. People love to see these shots and imagine what results they can get too.
This really is the ultimate proof. You can’t get better than genuine images showing before your treatment and after.
If anything is going to convince your potential patients to contact you for more information or even go straight to making a booking, it’s an excellent before and after shot.
You can use your own images, but it’s also a good idea to share shots from your satisfied patients if they post about you on social media. Doing that just adds to your social proof. You’ve clearly got real people getting real results from your practice and that’s exactly what could make the difference between booking with you and booking with someone else.
Social media tips for med spas
More than just having a presence on social media, you need to do it really well. Don’t forget, you won’t be the only med spa in your area on social media and you want to give the best impression you can.
Here are our six top social media tips for med spas:
1) Post consistently and share visually appealing images and videos
When posting on any social media platform, it’s important to do it consistently. You can’t leave posting for weeks, then put up a post about your treatments and expect a flood of bookings. People want to see a vibrant, engaged, page with regular posts, not tumbleweed for days followed by the odd sales post.
The best way to do this is to plan out your content calendar for at least three months ahead, including any blogging you want to do and your social media calendar. Doing this enables you to get ahead of your posting schedule when you have more time. You can write posts in advance, once you know what’s on your calendar for that month, and then schedule them ahead using marketing software, such as Surefire Local’s all-in-one local marketing platform.
This is a huge time saver – something we all want, no matter what business we’re in. It allows you to ensure a steady and consistent stream of posts, even when you’re away on vacation or too busy to post.
And you’ll never be left looking at a blank page and wondering what to write next. It’ll all be there on your content calendar.
In addition, make sure you accompany your content with top-quality images and videos. Blurred and badly planned images won’t cut it on social media. You need to think about what your audience wants to see and provide them with that content, whether it’s in image, post, or video format.
2) Treat platforms differently
Every platform is different. Each one has its own algorithm and patients use social media platforms differently. When planning your social media campaigns and content, you must take account of this and tailor your content and times of posting to suit each platform.
What works beautifully on Facebook won’t get the same attention on TikTok. You can’t expect to post long videos on TikTok and Instagram Reels and keep people’s attention to the end. That’s not what those platforms are for. Save your video and post epics for your blog and sites like Facebook, where people will read or watch the whole of your content as long as it’s what they want to see and well done enough to keep their attention.
Instead, think about what content will go down best on each platform and find out via your statistics when your best times to post are on each site. Use your statistics also to keep an eye on your most popular posts, content formats, and topics, so you can produce more content that your audience wants.
3) Respond to comments and questions
Be consistent here too. When people take the time to comment or ask questions, it’s vital that you respond to them. You want your audience to feel that they are important to you and that you value them.
Answering comments and questions is a great way to build rapport with people, show off your knowledge and expertise, and educate people on what you offer.
You can also include your main keywords and phrases in your content to help your social profiles be found in the search engines for the right keywords. Include these keywords in your comments and answers when you can, as well as in the posts you make.
4) Educate your community
Your social media pages are prime places to include quality content in a variety of formats to educate your audience and build your community. We’ve already talked above about sharing information on what each treatment involves to encourage and reassure. We also talked about the importance of treatment videos and before and after shots.
All of this content serves a dual purpose. It educates, informs, and reassures, leaving your potential patients in a place where they can make better, informed decisions about what treatment they want and what is involved. It also shows your practice in an excellent light, showing your expertise, providing an insight into what it’s like to be treated at your med spa, and showing patients that they have every reason to trust you and make a booking.
5) Be authentic
No one likes to read or watch overly “salesy” content. You aren’t there simply to sell, sell, sell your services. You’re there to build a relationship and a rapport with your audience. You can’t do that if all you post is sales posts.
You need to be authentically you at all times, sticking to your brand voice and the image you want to present of your business.
People will notice if you aren’t consistently authentic, and they will trust you and your business less if they see that.
There’s no need to put on a persona that really isn’t you on social media. You’ll convert potential leads into actual patients far better if you’re simply, genuinely you.
6) Set goals and be strategic with your time spent on nurturing your social media presence
No matter what aspect of your marketing you’re working on, it’s always a good idea to set goals and decide what you want to get out of it.
That’s equally true with social media. You need to know what you want to achieve, including metrics like your conversion rate, so that you have something to measure against each quarter and at the end of the year. Otherwise, you’re flinging spaghetti at the wall and hoping some of it sticks.
If you don’t have goals for your social media, it’s less easy to be consistent and stick to your brand message. It’s also much harder to know if you’ve succeeded or failed with your social media marketing.
Set your goals, be consistent, and work strategically to ensure you achieve your goals.
Attend a Surefire Local Marketing Platform demo
At Surefire Local, we offer business intelligence marketing software at a fraction of the cost of other tools or agencies. We give you the opportunity to manage every aspect of your online marketing on one straightforward and easy-to-use platform.
You can manage all of your social media marketing on our site, including creating a content calendar, planning your posts, keeping track of ideas, and scheduling posts in advance.
In addition, you can also manage your email marketing, content marketing, reviews, directory listings, including your Google Business Profile, and so much more, all in one place with one login.
There’s no need to log in and out of multiple platforms to do everything you want.
Why not book a demo and see how we can help you market your med spa with ease?