How to transform your revenue with plastic surgery ads
10-second summary:
- Pay per click advertising is one of the most effective ways of generating consistent fresh leads for your clinic(s).
- Use sophisticated audience targeting tools to serve ads to people who are likely to be interested in your services.
- Understand the regulatory landscape for plastic surgery advertising to save time and money.
- Take a meticulous approach to campaign tracking and optimise your ad spend over time.
One of the surest routes to revenue for plastic surgery ads is to choose the right advertising platform. And it’s hard to look past pay per click advertising.
You already know there are multiple ways to generate leads for healthcare businesses. But there are compelling reasons to narrow your focus and put your energy into pay per click advertising.
With pay per click, the right efforts deliver fast results. It’s not an overstatement to say that with the right process you can drive huge ROI for your business.
And the same meticulousness that makes for a great plastic surgeon can bring success with plastic surgery ads. But of course, nothing worth doing is easy…
Here’s how to get set for success with a scalpel-sharp strategy for your plastic surgery ads.
Firstly, a hello. Want us to cover your ad spend?
Hi, we’re Adbetter. We help med spa and plastic surgery businesses achieve big – really big – results with paid media. Our expertise drove a 157% increase in lead volume for UK Vein Clinic, and 15x ROI for Snatch & Glow. What could we do for your revenue? Complete this tiny form and find out. We may even be able to cover your ad spend.
“Adbetter have proven to be a rare find – an agency that focuses on ROI for their clients as opposed to metrics that may or may not impact your bottom line. The team at Adbetter are solely focused on returns for their clients.”
– Steve Whitehouse, Patient Facilitator, KP Surgical
5 reasons to choose pay per click for plastic surgery ads
1. It’s cost effective
The clue is in the name. With pay per click, you only pay when someone clicks your ad. Contrast that with billboard advertising or buying space in a magazine, where you are billed for the placement regardless of whether people engage with your ad or not.
2. It generates qualified leads
Why would someone click your ad unless they were at least partially interested in your plastic surgery expertise?
3. It’s accountable
Every click is tracked. And every cent is accounted for. So you can see exactly how much bang you are generating for your buck.
4. It’s easy to control your spend
With pay per click it’s easy to keep a rein on your spending. You’ll have options to automate daily, weekly, monthly or maximum budgets for every campaign you run. And you can hit the pause button at any time.
5. It builds proprietary data
When you run pay per click campaigns, you build your own first party audience data – and can nurture your own relationship with every lead. No more buying the same database of outdated ‘leads’ that your competitors might be targeting.
Plastic surgery ads: finding your audience
Google Ads is the most logical place to start
For most people, plastic surgery is a major life decision. It’s also a big financial outlay. That means you want to put your energy into finding the people who are further down the decision-making journey and are ready to commit to treatment.
Google ads make it easy to find these people. But it’s crucial to think about the intent behind different types of searches.
For instance someone at the start of their research might search for a ‘boob job’, whereas someone closer to making the decision to have surgery may search for ‘breast augmentation’. The same is true of ‘tummy tuck’ v ‘abdominoplasty’.
Facebook and other social channels
Google isn’t the only option when it comes to pay per click advertising.
While social media is more about raising awareness of your services – as opposed to capturing people who are ready to become a patient – it can be a surprisingly fruitful place to publish plastic surgery ads.
According to research from PwC, 80% of people use social media to find health information, while one-in-four internet users turn to social media to research healthcare decisions.
Other research has indicated that social media strongly influences up to 40% of patients when deciding what plastic surgeon to select.
Yet analysis of millions of plastic surgery-related posts found that only 4% were linked to board-certified plastic surgeons eligible for membership in The Aesthetic Society.
The social conversation is happening – and it’s lacking in professional rigour.
One more thing: think about the typical age profile of patients for your various treatments and match that with the typical users of different social platforms.
For instance, research shows that breast augmentation is the most common procedure for patients aged between 18 and 35 – and this demographic is more likely to be found on Instagram and TikTok.
For ages 70+, the most common procedure is blepharoplasty – and this demographic is more likely to be Facebook users.
We have a complete guide to Facebook for plastic surgery ads here:
Facebook ads for plastic surgeons: big opportunities, big regulations
Plastic surgery ads: 10 tips for a successful campaign
1. Consider your sphere of influence
How far do your patients tend to travel for your procedures? Pay per click platforms give you lots of control over the geotargeting of your ads. And while patients may travel for several miles to your practice, it’s probably not worth publishing ads in Delaware if you are based in Denver.
If you offer niche procedures or are a renowned specialist for certain treatments, you may be able to convert clicks from further afield.
But if you offer relatively common, low-risk procedures, there may be little point in displaying your ads far and wide.
2. Separate your campaigns
Plastic surgery ads tend to perform better when they are carefully targeted. So it’s best to create separate plastic surgery campaigns for each of the procedures that you want to promote.
These ads should drive traffic through to individual landing pages that are highly relevant to each procedure – and nothing else.
More on landing pages shortly.
3. Create a message that resonates
When your campaigns are separated and focused on a single procedure, you can create a message that resonates with your reader.
Try to think about the motivations behind a patient’s desire to have plastic surgery. For example, tummy tucks tend to be sought following pregnancy or weight loss.
Your messaging is worth straining over and experimenting with – even individual words can have a big bearing on the success of your campaign.
Research into plastic surgery advertising revealed that words such as “cosmetic”, “aesthetic” and “reconstruction” tend to be viewed positively, whereas “plastic” is perceived negatively.
4. Cultivate compassion, exercise empathy
Always remember that there’s a real person at the end of your message. Speak to them directly. Think about their doubts and fears. Their ambitions and desires. Address your reader directly with “you” focused messaging.
Stay aware of the fact that many people are rather guarded about their health and appearance. The issues your reader is seeking to address may be a source of very personal negative emotions such as fear or embarrassment. You should respect that.
When all is said and done, good marketing is about human connection.
5. What type of content should your ad include?
The main thing you should seek to do is to educate your audience. Uncertainty is a huge barrier to conversion when it comes to plastic surgery, and uncertainty breeds in knowledge gaps.
Educate your audience about specific procedures. Reassure them about recovery. Help them understand the common motivations behind different procedures.
For ads on social platforms, research suggests there’s an engagement benefit to having your surgeons share video explainers – preferably while wearing white coats and smiling. However when showcasing procedural areas, photos tend to be received better than video.
6. Allow your leads to self screen
The aim of your plastic surgery ads is to find patients who are ready to convert; ready to pay for a treatment. So on the landing page that your ads drive traffic to, ask direct questions that allow you to deduce how close to conversion your lead might be.
This also has the benefit of arming your marketing or sales team with invaluable insight on your leads. That’s especially important with plastic surgery ads for Google, where normal PPC retargeting is prohibited. Gather data – and be sure to follow up with an email or telephone call.
7. The anatomy of a good landing page
As we mentioned before, each of your plastic surgery PPC ads should link to a specific landing page. Landing page design is a specialist subject in its own right. But here’s a brief rundown of the key considerations.
- Design and copywriting. Your landing page should feel like a continuation of the ad your visitor clicked. The design should be optimised for mobile and feature a compelling proposition above the fold.
- Create a closed journey. Single-mindedness is a strength when it comes to landing pages. Limit navigation options and stay focused on one clear call to action.
- Utilise social proof and trust signals. Testimonials from previous patients can go a long way to helping build credibility and trust in your company. If applicable, utilise trust signals such as industry accreditations, qualifications or awards.
- Gather data. As above, the main aim of a landing page is to gather information on your lead.
- Be aware of data privacy regulations. If you are acquiring leads in California, Virginia or Colorado, you must comply with data privacy laws.
8. Retargeting and nurturing
Once people start engaging with your ads, Facebook and Instagram allow you to run retargeting campaigns. Basically you can create a new ad audience formed of people who have clicked your ad or visited a certain landing page on your website.
Then you can serve them new ads that explain more about certain procedures or feature testimonials from previous customers.
Note, retargeting is prohibited for plastic surgery ads on Google.
9. Get familiar with the rules and regulations
As you would expect, there’s lots of red tape when it comes to pay per click plastic surgery ads. The nuances differ per platform, but here are some of the main points to note.
Be mindful of your marketing angle
Your ad mustn’t generate or contribute to negative self-perception. That means avoiding the suggestion that there’s a certain body type that your audience should aspire to. You cannot be perceived to be exploiting people’s insecurities or reinforcing negative stereotypes.
Be careful with your photography
Before and after shots are banned from Facebook and Instagram. That ban covers not just your ads, but any landing pages they drive traffic to as well.
Another potentially tricky one is the use of images showing intimate parts of the body. Now, plastic surgery procedures often focus on breasts, bums and all the rest of it. But you mustn’t show those body parts in your ads.
Don’t rush your audience into a decision
Creating a sense of urgency is a time-tested marketing tactic.
“While stocks last!”
“Everything must go!”
“Available today only!”
But when it comes to plastic surgery ads, it’s best to avoid anything that could be perceived as pressuring your audience into a decision. Any promotions must be given a timeframe that’s long enough for your audience to weigh up the risks and make a balanced decision.
Don’t mention payment plans
Facebook is highly sensitive to anything relating to finance or the provision of credit – so it’s best to avoid mentioning payment plans. Otherwise your ad may be flagged as financial services and banned.
You can read up on the official guidelines below.
10. Know your numbers
Success with pay per click is about knowing where your margins are.
You need to think about how long it takes to perform the surgical procedures you are promoting. You need to think about profit margins and how much you are willing to spend on acquiring a new lead, and converting that lead.
You need to think about the operational capacity of your practice.
You need to track the conversion rates of your campaigns and measure how long it takes on average to convert leads to sales.
It’s time consuming. But we can help.
You like to get surgical. We do too.
It’s possible to drive significant, transformative revenue for your practice using pay per click advertising. But getting the really transformative results requires time, tenacity and expertise.
Here at Adbetter we specialise in lead generation for healthcare – bringing a truly holistic view to plastic surgery ads, tracking everything from the first click to the first purchase and beyond.
Then we continually optimise your campaign for success – working to skyrocket ROI while making sure your ad spend is as cost effective as possible.
Sounds good? Ask for a free proposal. We will lay out what you can expect within three months of working with us. No strings, no expectations. We may even offer to cover your ad spend. That’s how confident we are in our results. Get in touch. Or browse some case studies.
Frequently asked questions
There are multiple ways to generate leads for healthcare businesses. But there are compelling reasons to narrow your focus and put your energy into pay per click advertising. It’s cost effective, it’s easy to target people who are likely to be interested in your services and it’s easy to control your budget. And you can begin getting results almost immediately.
Google ads make it easy to find people who have high conversion intent, whereas social media can be better for raising awareness about your procedures to people who are earlier in the research stage.
The cost of pay per click advertising campaigns for plastic surgery depends on many variables – including the platform you choose, the duration of your campaign and the competitiveness of the keywords you choose or the procedure you are promoting. No matter what platform you use, you will have options to automate daily, weekly, monthly or maximum budgets for your campaign. Some pay per click experts, such as Adbetter, may be able to cover your ad spend.
Plastic surgery ads tend to perform better when they are carefully targeted. So it’s best to create separate plastic surgery campaigns for each of the procedures that you want to promote. It’s usually most cost-effective to focus on the procedures that give you the highest profit margin.
Try to think about the motivations behind a patient’s desire to have plastic surgery. Speak to them directly. Think about their doubts, fears, desires and ambitions. Research into plastic surgery advertising has revealed that words such as “cosmetic”, “aesthetic” and “reconstruction” tend to be viewed positively, whereas “plastic” is perceived negatively.
Regulations for plastic surgery advertising differ between platforms as well as between countries and states. Some of the main regulations to be aware of are not reinforcing negative aesthetic stereotypes, abiding the rules about before-and-after photography and avoiding content that could be perceived as pressuring your audience into a decision.
You can get started with pay per click advertising with no prior experience. However it can take time and effort to deliver significant ROI, which is why some plastic surgery businesses choose to work with a pay per click advertising specialist – such as Adbetter.
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