2021 Online Marketing Survey For Medical Aesthetic Clinics in the UK

We analyzed all the responses received from the medical aesthetics professionals, and in this article, we will present to you:
- Which social media platforms are the most popular among the respondents,
- What type of online activity provides them with new enquiries,
- What is their approach to online advertising,
- What kind of content do they share on their social media channels or blogs and more.

1. Social Media: Connecting people with businesses more than ever

Which social media platforms are most popular among survey respondents? Facebook (83% of responses), Instagram (76.6%), and Google My Business & Maps (59.6%) are on the podium. Only one clinic stated that they do not use any of the portals listed in the survey to mark their online presence. The conclusion that emerges after analysing the results is as follows: the most popular social media platforms are those that enable the greatest interaction with followers and are simply the most frequently used by the average internet user.

The overwhelming majority of respondents use social media, proving that these portals are relevant for clinics and can be a source of new or regular patients. In terms of the type of content shared by the clinics participating in the survey, they are most likely to post photos and videos connected with treatments they have carried out (72.3%), testimonials from their patients (63.8%) and important announcements (61.7%). It clearly shows that the visual image appeals most to the modern Internet user. This is understandable especially in the field of Aesthetic Medicine, which after all focuses on appearance. It also shows that feedback from satisfied customers is good advertising material and that social media profiles work well as a noticeboard.

In our article, you can learn more on how to build an outstanding aesthetic clinic brand and marketing strategy.

2. New patient enquiries from Facebook? It is possible!

Only three social media platforms stand out in the survey results when it comes to bringing new patients to the clinic - these are Facebook (51.1% of the responses), Instagram (44.7%), and Google (59.6%). This is another reason for their exceptional popularity among survey respondents. Profiles associated with the clinic's work are most often run by the owner of said clinic or by the staff, who, however, are not specialists in online marketing. A smaller number of respondents choose to hire a qualified freelancer or advertising agency. In addition, the research has shown that the activity on social media provides 1-10 new patients per month for 59.6% of the respondents. This is not a high number and may suggest that there is a need to modify online marketing tactics. 8.5% of the respondents do not know what the specific number of new patients is. Certainly, this is a statistic worth taking a closer look at in the future so that the full potential of a Medical Aesthetic clinic’s profile on social media can be utilized. Here you can find helpful tips for running an aesthetic clinic's profile.

3. Does it pay to pay?

Almost three-quarters of survey respondents indicated that they had no budget allocated to online marketing. Among the aims mentioned by the remaining quarter of clinics participating in the study, generating new patients, delivering bookings directly to the clinic and increasing clinic awareness appeared to be the most important.

These goals, of course, are unlikely to be achieved without a solid marketing plan, and this in turn sometimes requires a financial contribution. An interesting insight that emerged from the research is that the vast majority of medical aesthetic practitioners who advertise their practice on social media, don’t feel confident that they are doing the best they could with their spending.

4. Sometimes it is good to entrust your finances to a professional.

Most often clinics spend up to £500 per month on online marketing. In this case, as in the case of managing the clinics' social media, the budget is controlled by the clinic's owner (more than 40% of cases) or its staff who are not specialists in this field. A quarter of respondents choose to hire a specialist and 8.3% decide to establish a clinic's marketing department. At the same time, only 25% of those clinics are confident that they are properly managing their budget in this regard.

What is more, most of the respondents do not precisely know their advertising Return on Ads Spend. To invest wisely and with a higher chance of profit in the future, it is important to have an understanding of the market. It may be worth delegating this task to professionals or providing your own further training in this area. This suggestion is reinforced by the fact that only one-fourth of respondents are fully happy with the return on their online advertising investment.

5. What would we do without Google?

In the last 12 months, survey respondents have mainly used Facebook Ads (chosen by 75%) and Instagram Ads (50%) as well as Google Search and Display Ads (25%) while Google Search Ads turned out to be the most successful according to 66.7% of the clinics. Google is one of the most popular search engines in the world. Nowadays, typing a phrase into a search box is one of the first actions when looking for a solution to a problem. This is also the case with Medical Aesthetics. If the website of the clinic appears high in the search results, it is more likely to be visited by a potential patient.

6. Online marketing is more than just advertising.

The number of new patients that results from the clinic's advertising efforts varies among the respondents, with all agreeing that they receive from 1 to 50 new enquiries per month. Also, 8.3% do not track this data. What other forms of marketing do clinics find successful?

The results of the survey indicate that according to 41.7% of the participants holding an online competition is a good strategy. Offering a prize in exchange for sharing a post or tagging a friend in a comment allows a clinic to significantly expand its reach in a relatively short period of time. Asking others to share a social media profile also seems to be a good practice in the eyes of 41.7% of the respondents. However, it is important not to be intrusive. It can overwhelm the recipient and be counterproductive.

7. Let's make communication easy.

More than 80% of survey respondents report having a contact form on their clinic's website. Creating an opportunity for a potential patient to communicate with you quickly and easily is the first step of a successful conversion.

38.3% of the clinics receive 1-10 new patient enquiries from this practice, 25.5% receive 11-25 new enquiries, and 10.6% gain somewhere between 26 and 50 new enquiries. At the same time, over 21% of respondents do not monitor this statistic closely. Once again, tracking the source of new patients enables creating an effective marketing strategy that will benefit the clinic.

8. Something interesting in the world of Aesthetic Medicine? Write about it!

Less than half of the clinics participating in the survey own a website's blog. Maintaining such a platform takes time and effort, but it allows new potential patients to come across the clinic's site while they are researching treatments. The content shared on blogs is diverse, but most often (in 38.3% of the cases) these are general articles about the treatments available. When it comes to keeping up with the latest news in the beauty industry everything revolves around online platforms. From watching webinars to joining Facebook groups - the Internet is an infinite source of knowledge. It is crucial that the sources used by the clinic’s staff are reliable. At the same time, we are shifting away from traditional means of sharing information such as hard copy magazines and consultations with peers.

If you need help writing your first article, we suggest you read our blog post on writing interesting blog articles for your aesthetic clinic.

9. Conclusion

We hope that the above results will benefit your clinic and spark reflection on your own online activity. Learning how to harness the full potential of the Internet today could mean profit tomorrow.