No matter what’s going on in the world, your community, or your individual practice, there are always patients that need re-engaging. Whether it’s fear or they’re simply out of their normal routines, some patients haven’t been coming in for regular care and it’s time to bring them back.
These three specific strategies will re-engage your patients and fill your schedule.
Step #1 – Build Engagement Quickly with a Social Media Contest
Social media contests and giveaways are the ultimate in engagement-building tactics. Businesses large and small run contests on Facebook and Instagram all the time because they are a great way to get your followers to comment, like, and share your posts.
The first step in creating a successful social media contest is to determine your goals. If your goal is to increase your followers and reach new patients, your contest will look a bit different than if your goal is to re-engage your existing followers (which is what we’ll focus on here).
When you’re re-engaging existing patients, they already know you. They know who you are, what you do, and the overall personality of your practice. You get to start a few steps ahead and just have some fun. And that’s the key to a successful social media contest – FUN!
*Please note: due to varying advertising regulations, we strongly advise checking with your local regulatory board to find out what is and is not allowed as far as contests and giveaways in your jurisdiction.
Example: Fun Father’s Day Giveaway
This chiropractor is encouraging his patients to share photos of their dads who are in desperate need of a haircut. Everyone who participates will receive a free haircut for dad at the barbershop next to his practice. This giveaway is effective for a few reasons:
- It’s relevant to the times – barbershops are just beginning to reopen in his town as stay-at-home restrictions are being lifted.
- It’s fun – kids can take silly pictures of their dad and earn him a special Father’s Day gift. (Plus, it gets people to comment on his post with their pictures, which is good for the Facebook algorithm.)
- It supports another local business – this shows involvement in the community and builds a relationship with another business owner.
This alone could be enough to remind some of your inactive patients that they’re due for an adjustment. Being present in their social media feed and actively engaging with them is sometimes all it takes. But steps two and three will take your reactivation campaign to the next level.
Step #2 – Step Up Your Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to engage with your patients. As long as you have an up-to-date patient email list, you can easily send emails to your inactive patients encouraging them to schedule an appointment.
You can also use it in conjunction with your social media contest (step #1) to maximize the results.
Using the example giveaway above, you could create a landing page on your website with the details of the giveaway and a link to the Facebook video where patients can post their submissions. You would then want to send an email to your patient list announcing the giveaway and directing everyone to the landing page with details.
Here is an email example that you can use and customize for your own social media contest:
Subject: Will you be the lucky winner?
Would you like to win _____________? Here’s your chance! We recently announced a contest on our Facebook page where one lucky winner will receive _______________.
Check out the details here and enter today.
But hurry, the contest closes in _____ days.
[SIGN OFF]
P.S. We’re open [INSERT HOURS] this week. Call us at [INSERT PHONE NUMBER] to schedule your appointment.
The email and corresponding landing page serve two important purposes:
- They allow you to announce the giveaway to all patients so those who didn’t see the original Facebook post can still participate (and be reminded of how awesome you are).
- They send traffic to the website, which is always good for SEO and really important for step #3 below.
Step #3 – Keep Your Brand in Mind with Retargeting Ads
Have you ever been to a website, browsed for a bit, and then left, only to find that the company’s ads follow you around Facebook and Instagram? That is retargeting. The website captured your visit (remember when you accepted that “cookie “?) and used that data to “retarget” you with relevant ads.
This is a very effective way to stay top-of-mind with your website visitors and existing patients. Remember how we suggested creating a landing page for your social media contest details and emailing that link to your patients? This is the main reason for sending them to the landing page – gather website visitors so you can retarget them with Facebook ads.
Here is an example of a Facebook retargeting ad:
When this ad appears in the Facebook news feed of Dr. Mark’s patients, they’ll immediately recognize him and see the phone number front and center, making it easy for them to call and schedule their next appointment.
Facebook advertising is one of the more cost-effective advertising platforms and is a great way to keep your brand in front of your audience. Learn More here.
3 Touchpoints for Maximum Results
By implementing this 3-step patient reactivation strategy – social media contest, email marketing, and Facebook retargeting – you will:
- Actively engage with your patients in a fun way
- Increase your appointments in a cost-effective manner
- Increase your website traffic to build your retargeting audience
If you’re a Perfect Patients Premium client, reach out to your Digital Marketing Specialist today and they’ll help you plan and implement your reactivation campaign.