Next Generation Patient Referrals: Social Media Sharing

As published in the October 2022 issue of Ophthalmology Business Minute.?To subscribe, visit their?website.

We?recently evaluated 25 social media profiles?of some of the most impressive ophthalmology practices in the country. Surprisingly, we found that?they were almost all missing one critical element?that is cutting off their potential for massive refractive revenue growth: patient-generated content.

What do we mean by that? Stick with us. If you are like these amazing practices we reviewed (and like us several years ago) you are either:??

a) aware that your social media is?in need of a growth strategy

or?b)?think that?you’ve ‘checked the box’?and are already ‘doing social media’ because you have an agency running ads or are posting photos of happy patients

Whichever category you fall into, if you aren’t seeing significant revenue generated from social media, you’re most likely missing a few important pieces of the puzzle. Today’s focus being,?patient-generated content.?

One practice we work with saw a?125% increase?in word-of-mouth referrals this past year, over?$1.5 million in refractive revenue, after diligently implementing this strategy.?

Capturing photos with patients and posting them on your social profiles is a nice way to encourage current followers down the ‘funnel’ and into your practice. The problem is, this reach is limited to a small group of people?already engaged with your practice, many of whom are already patients. You’re posting this same content (that takes a lot of time and effort!) to the same people over and over.?

An immeasurable power shift happens when?the patient?posts their experience on?their own?social media profile. Now, the people who know them and trust their opinion are seeing the life-changing benefits of your refractive procedure in the truest form of?authentic endorsement for your practice by their own friend.?Now?that?is something that no ad or post on your own page can ever do! Furthermore, when re-posted to your profile it yields a higher reward (vs originating there) since it shows your audience that it was organically created by a real patient, not you. Keep it simple, these patients are not influencers (another topic for another day) they are just regular wonderful patients in your practice every week.?

We all know that patient referral leads are the highest converters and most valuable prospects. Forward-thinking practices will learn to take advantage of this powerful word-of-mouth that can only happen on social media and offers an unlimited return.?

Christine Scarlett & Lauren Weaver

Co-Founders The Patient Whisperers, Proven Healthcare Consultants