5 tips for selling skincare using Facebook

Do you have a Facebook marketing strategy for your dermatology practice?

Without a strategy and definitive goals to market your practice, you won’t be able to reach the people that need skincare services. Unlike other social networks, Facebook can help find specific people and target them for your business. But remember that social media is only a slice of your overall marketing plan, which means it cannot work all by itself.

So before you start selling your skin care services on Facebook there are two things you need to do first:

Optimize your website

Your website is not only an online storefront, it is also the hub of your content. Having an optimized website means that patients are able to find you online, when they search for a word that is related to your services, e.g. “adult acne” or “eczema.”

The best way for you to be found online is to provide relevant content that answers people’s questions about skincare. This can be done by incorporating a blog within your website and publishing fresh content on it about twice a week. An optimized website ensures that you’re not only showcasing your products and services, but that you’re also helping people with their skincare problems.

Email marketing

Email is still the best way to stay in touch with existing and future skincare clients. It’s important to keep in touch with prospects and customers via email for two reasons:

• It keeps your organization top-of-mind. Even if people don’t read all your emails all the time, your name stays on their radar and the next time they need a skincare solution, they’ll remember you!

• It drives repeat sales because it helps draw people back to your organization. Skincare is personal and most people want to stick with the same provider. Even if they just need a one-time service, your emails will help them remember you and thus refer their friends and family to you.

When your website and email marketing are setup and ready to roll, you’re now ready to tackle your Facebook page. If you don’t have one yet, here is a step-by-step guide for setting up a Facebook page for your dermatology practice. Facebook is not only the biggest social network on the web, it is where your family, friends, prospects and customers hang out online! Here are five steps to help you get started:

1. Set goals

Decide what you want to accomplish with Facebook marketing. All businesses (regardless of category) will want to increase sales, but in order to do that you may first need to increase exposure or brand awareness of your dermatology practice, and then connect with people who are “the right fit” for your skincare services.

Remember that you can’t sell directly on Facebook and in fact being too pushy with your sales messages can quickly backfire on you. However, you can run Facebook ads and use promotional posts to tell people about your wonderful products and services.

2. Find your audience

Spend some time researching the demographic you’re trying to reach. Facebook makes it very easy to target prospects based on age, gender, geographic location, interests and many more categories. You can also research your competitors’ Facebook pages to see whom they’re connected to. This will give you an idea of the type of people to attract on your own Facebook page.

3. Develop an editorial calendar

This is basically a content calendar to help you plan and schedule your Facebook posts for several weeks or months in advance. An Excel spreadsheet is sufficient to plan your daily, weekly, and even monthly Facebook content.

Remember to mix up your posts to include skincare tips, promotional posts, content from your blog, inspirational quotes, customer stories and so on. As you become more experienced on Facebook you will discover what content works best with your audience. In the meantime, remember that Facebook is a “picture economy” and the more visually interesting your posts are, the more interaction they will get.

4. Engage your community

As you continue to post relevant content on your Facebook page, you will attract a community of like-minded individuals who are interested in your brand’s message. Continue to nurture those relationships by offering helpful content, giving advice, answering questions, facilitating discussions and sometimes keeping peace and order on your page. And don’t forget to have fun. If you enjoy your community, it will show in the way you interact with them and they too will reciprocate.

5. Measure your progress

Finally, watch to see how your community is growing and what posts are getting the most interaction on your page. If skincare tips are more popular than generic inspirational quotes, you should probably change gears a little bit and give your audience more of what they want. Don’t forget to check your “page insights” on a weekly basis to see the progress of your page.

Your turn

Facebook is a powerful platform for dermatologists and there is no better network to connect and engage with people who are interested in your skincare solution. What are your thoughts on marketing your dermatology practice with Facebook?