No matter how successful your optometry practice is, it’s essential to create and deploy a marketing plan to increase your brand awareness and patient acquisition.
Luckily for you, this article will detail the top strategies for getting your optometry practice in front of new patients!
How Do You Grow Your Optometry Practice?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
In our increasingly digital landscape, it’s crucial to focus on your online presence to grow your practice. The end goal of search engine optimization is for your practice to show up among the first listings when users search for things like “optometrists in [your city]” or “best eye clinic near me”.
There are a few different ways you can optimize your online marketing presence, so let’s take a look.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO involves optimizing your practice’s web pages so they rank higher in search results. You’ll need to conduct keyword research on what prospective patients are most likely to search and then tactically place those keywords and phrases throughout your site’s title tags, meta descriptions, and content.
Off-Page SEO
You can think of off-page SEO as a way to build your site’s reputation in the eyes of the search engine algorithm. Search engine algorithms favor brands that they consider to have more Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T).
One of the best ways to establish the credibility of your practice and rank higher in search listings is to build high-quality backlinks from other authority websites. To get high-quality websites to include links back to your own site, consider creating informative articles and blogs that are likely to be shared.
Local SEO
A shocking 86% of consumers use Google Maps when looking for local products and services. That means it’s extremely important for optometrist marketing campaigns to fully understand and utilize this search platform.
To have your practice appear on Google Maps, you’ll need to set up a Google My Business account and claim your listing. Google favors up-to-date profiles, so be sure to maintain an active account and continually update your profile information, such as operating hours, contact information, and office location.
Another key factor for Google Maps optimization is the number of 4- and 5-star reviews your practice has received online. You can certainly generate good reviews by providing excellent service, but it can be quicker and more effective to encourage your patient base to leave you a review online.
Traditional Marketing
Traditional out-of-home marketing includes things like billboards, street furniture, and posters. While these traditional advertising mediums can help boost general brand awareness, they are often ignored and incapable of tracking engagements.
Many healthcare marketing campaigns are utilizing wellness billboards to advertise at storefronts and pharmacy wait areas. These wellness boards dispense sanitizing wipes from below a prominently featured advertisement. Pharmacy wait areas provide an ideal context for healthcare brands and sanitizing kiosks compound this effect by appealing to health-conscious consumers.
Terraboost is an innovator in this advertising medium and independent studies have shown that 66% of shoppers engage with their sanitizing kiosks and that 50% would take a brochure or coupon to learn more. Also, these sanitizing kiosks can come equipped with retargeting and geofencing capabilities that track the anonymized mobile data of nearby shoppers to help reach consumers and analyze engagement.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is another fantastic way to bring organic traffic to your practice. We briefly mentioned how search engine algorithms favor E-A-T, and one of the easiest tactics to establish yourself as a credible source is to publish informative articles and blog posts.
These article topics should answer common patient questions such as, “What to expect during an eye exam?” or “5 Common Signs of Cataracts and How to Prevent them.” Remember to include those key terms and phrases that prospective patients are likely to search for throughout your blogs and articles.
Content marketing can also include video content. Don’t assume that your optometry practice won’t be successful on YouTube! Users love to see an inside look at how professions operate and what they think when making important decisions. If you’re looking for some inspiration on, take a look at Doctor Eye Health’s YouTube account which has a stunning 865,000 subscribers on the platform.
Social Media Marketing
The average internet user spends 28% of their online time using social media platforms. Since over a quarter of internet traffic is on social media platforms, your digital marketing should appeal to prospective patients there.
You can put a friendly face on your optometry practice through social media by varying content between informational posts and personalized or humorous posts– such as optometry memes. With this content, you can keep in touch with your existing client base and reach new consumers.
Here are some marketing ideas on how you can maximize your optometry practice’s social media presence:
- Host Q&A sessions on your Facebook page where you answer common eye health questions live.
- Share special offers, discounts, and promotional events that only your social media followers have access to.
- Utilize video content such as patient testimonials.
- Collaborate with bloggers, influencers, or even other optometrist profiles.
Paid Advertising
Driving organic growth to your practice via search engine optimization is great, but it is often difficult to execute properly. Luckily, you can circumvent SEO by using paid online advertising.
Google Pay-Per-Click Ads
Googe pay-per-click ads place your business in the top three search listings for key terms you select, like “optometrist near me”. As the name would suggest, you only have to pay for the search listing placement when a user clicks through to your website. However, ads for highly sought-after keywords can be quite expensive, costing up to $80 per click.
Paid Social Media Advertising
Social media platforms continuously collect data on user age, location, purchase habits, and many other key data points. Many people are uncomfortable with how much data social media apps collect, but it does allow advertisers to deliver promotions to their target audience with ease.
You can roll out different social media advertisements based on the group you are attempting to target. For example, one advertisement could target parents with a back-to-school deal for their kids while another ad could reach middle-aged users about cataract checkups and treatment options.
Email Marketing
Email marketing isn’t too effective when it comes to lead generation and patient acquisition, but it is helpful for patient retention. Your email marketing material can include newsletters, appointment reminders, and updates about your practice.
To operate a successful email marketing campaign, you’ll need to segment your client list to ensure that you only send out information that’s relevant to them. You can segment your client list based on factors like personal background, demographics, appointment history, and eye conditions. For example, a patient that recently had eye surgery would appreciate aftercare instructions, but not someone who only came in to get an updated glasses prescription.
Online Reviews And Testimonials
For any type of medical advertising, client testimonials and reviews can work great to encourage prospective clients to place their trust in your practice.
It’s a good idea to request reviews from satisfied patients right after their appointments on platforms like Google and Yelp. You could also offer incentives to patients in return for their review. Remember that bad reviews aren’t the end of the world. You can always respond to negative reviews in a professional matter and justify your practice.
Healthcare marketers have always heavily relied upon video testimonials– and for good reason. Testimonial videos on how a patient’s quality of life improved as a result of your care can be immensely influential. These videos can be featured on your website landing page and social media platforms.
Referral Programs
While online and out-of-home advertising mediums work great, don’t underestimate the power of word-of-mouth marketing! You can incentivize your existing patients to refer your practice to their friends and family by offering discounts, free consultations, or even gift card giveaways.
What’s special about referral programs is that the new patients you recruit are more likely to place long-term trust in your practice since they heard about it from a close friend or family member.
Deploying an effective optometry marketing campaign can be difficult, but we are here to help. We at Terraboost have a long track record of working with healthcare brands and can provide you with some key industry insights and a free personalized quote.
Our network of 120,000+ wellness billboards are located at the storefronts of supermarkets like Acme and Giant as well as the pharmacy wait areas of CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid. If you’re looking to utilize one of the most engaging out-of-home advertising mediums, get in touch with us today.
