What should my aesthetics marketing REALLY include?

Fundamentally, patients are wanting to find a practitioner they can TRUST with their FACE, BODY & SKIN!

The frustrating thing is that once they’ve met you, that trust comes easily, but to market yourself and your services effectively, you need to build trust online and offline.

In the absence of you being able to meet and greet every potential patient, patients use heuristics - mental shortcuts - to make decisions about whether you’re the right practitioner for them. The conclusion they come to when viewing and appraising these heuristics determines whether you’ve made it onto their consideration list, and ultimately, whether they book you.

So, how do you demonstrate that you’re an expert, trustworthy practitioner, who will deliver amazing results, without causing harm, all through a phone screen?

How do you convince people that…

• You’re not going to make them look weird?

• You’re going to keep them safe?

• You’re pretty damn good at what you do?

• They’re not going to rinsed of a ton of cash / time?

How do you demonstrate that you’re ALL THE THINGS?

Before we get into the nitty gritty, let’s get some basics in place:

You will need to be present in lots of places - online and in real life - website, Facebook, Instagram, email, your actual clinic, flyers, leaflets, events, sponsorship.

You will need to plan to be consistent - this DOES NOT MEAN POSTING DAILY! As a solo practitioner, to be visible in lots of places, you need to plan your marketing accordingly.

You will need to get over yourself - when people book for a treatment, they are really just choosing you. So YOU need to show up as YOU.

Now that’s out of the way, what does this actually look like?

I’m going to go through some content or assets you need to display across the various channels you choose to market your business - both online and offline.

1. YOU!

You are a proxy for how someone thinks you will make them look.

If you’ve ever thought about having a makeover at a makeup counter in a department store and dismissed it because the women doing the makeup are too heavily made up for your taste? That same thought process applies when patients are choosing you.

Some people will want obvious work, and will gravitate to practitioners who themselves have obvious work. Others want subtle and inconspicuous work, so will gravitate to practitioners who look like they’ve not been totally re-worked.

Whatever your “look” and demographic, you need high quality photos of you, smiling, laughing, natural. In your clinic space. With patients. Crap photos lose you business.

You also need to show up on social media, in stories and in reels. You don’t need to dance, lip synch or point to words on a screen - unless you want to. Record yourself answering a series of FAQS. Record a treatment and do a voice over…you don’t have to make a tit of yourself, if that’s not your thing.

2. Ample, Beautiful Before and Afters

Once they’ve seen you, if they like you, they will then look at your work. Your before and afters.

The vast majority of people will not book a practitioner without seeing before and afters. Even those who have had word-of-mouth recommendations will cross reference by looking for photos.

Not all before and afters are beneficial to your business. Make sure your before and afters are well shot, well lit, well presented. No blood. No bruising. These ARE NOT the same are your clinical photos. These are your product. Your packaging. Your work. Merchandise them accordingly.

Sort out your lighting. Sort out your positioning. View your photos critically through the eyes of a consumer. Yes…they will be comparing your work to the work of others. So make sure yours shines.

3. Rave Reviews

The social proof psychology principle says that when people are uncertain, they'll most likely look to others for behavioural guidance. Marketers have come to learn how strong a persuasive power social proof has on consumer behaviour, which is why collecting and sharing reviews is one of your most powerful marketing moves.

Quality, quantity and recency are all important when people are appraising practitioners.

Automatically collecting and publishing reviews is an easy way to supercharge social proof. It’s a no-brainer.

4. Share your Credentials

In an industry where choice is abundant but quality is varied, the horror stories we see in the media, unfortunately, poison the well for all.

Those who are interested in treatments are often worried that they are going to pick the wrong practitioner, so making it clear that you’re the obvious choice.

But don’t become a training and qualification bore. There are over 20,000 HCPC injectors in the UK, for those who are keen on keeping their face safe, they already know to choose a HCPC.

Confidently state and display your qualifications and training. Use these on your posts, in your email signature, in your newsletters and on blogs.

Don’t dis others. It immediately erodes trust.

5. Education for the Nation

Educate about solutions to the concerns you patients present with, about products, about lifestyle…gift some of your knowledge. Discussing treatments you’ve carried out and why. Offering Q & A’s in your stories. Sending newsletters with guides and tips in them. All of this helps to establish you as a trusted expert.

Don’t lose sight of the fact that you want people to book in or purchase products, so pepper your posts, stories, blogs and newsletters with your booking link.

6. Price Transparency & Availability

“I don’t want to display my prices, because I don’t charge by the ml”  but transparent pricing is possible even when you deliver bespoke treatment plans…because the prices you publish simply allow your potential patients to understand the cost of the ticket to the game. During your booking process and consultation you can introduce the idea that “the treatment plan will be determined during a consultation, which may change the recommended treatments and pricing. At no time are you obliged to go ahead with any treatment”.

Price ambiguity leads to mistrust - which is the opposite of what you want.

In your marketing, present different solutions, of varying cost, invasiveness and downtime, to the same problem.

The Take Home

There is no quick fix. There is no silver bullet. There is just you consistently showing up across multiple channels, demonstrating that you’re a trustworthy, expert aesthetics practitioner.

The great thing is that this work compounds. Not only does it help establish and build your brand, improving brand awareness as time goes on. But these activities also help re-engage existing patients by keeping you front of mind.