Software is rapidly enhancing and replacing many human aspects of plastic surgery. I will talk about how I was clueless about internet marketing, and came to realize that my website and software automate many aspects of patient care.

My experience is similar to the struggles that many small business owners have, so I hope that you'll be able to see how doing these simple steps may help your internet marketing.

I was taught that if I do a good job, then patients will come.

This is crap.

You need a business website and some internet presence. At the minimum, this validates your existence, and "proves" to people that you really exist. At the maximum, potential patients can find you and use your website as an educational tool before they meet you in person.

If you don't spend any time and money on a website and internet marketing efforts, I'm hopeful that you are very busy with 100% word of mouth referrals.

Small businesses can move faster, and create more unique content, versus larger competitors.

Large businesses will often find it easier to generate a message and spread it across multiple outlets- but often, the message is dull or the same across multiple platforms!

Use your speed and the fact that you don't necessarily have to get your message cleared by the corporate legal department at central HQ to your advantage.

Also, there are a huge number of FREE resources on the internet that every business, large or small, should use. These include

- setting up a Google/ Bing/ Yahoo Local account
- use Google Analytics to measure website traffic
- create free Facebook business pages, Twitter accounts, and Linkedin accounts
- create free Instagram and Pinterest accounts
- create free accounts with your local chamber of commerce
- create accounts with your trade association. My "trade associations" would include ASPS/ American Society of Plastic Surgeons, and ASAPS/ American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery

All Plastic Surgeons and small business owners need to pay attention to marketing their business.

Your website is the anchor of your business persona. Since you control it, you should post articles, photos, testimonials, videos, infographics, and anything that you create here. Since it's your original content, you should get bonus points from the internet as the main source of this enticing information.

Your website should validate that you're a real person, and make it easy for prospective patients/ customers to find you. Your contact information and map location should be on the front page, and pretty much on every webpage.

Your business should have ORIGINAL CONTENT. Whether it's articles, photos, videos, infographics, or movie scripts- the more original content that's on your website, the more eyeballs will be attracted.

Letting your personality shine through is also key. People aren't attracted to cliched drones- have an opinion, and you will increase interest.

Plastic Surgeons are like many typical doctors- they find it difficult to tell the world that they are truly awesome. Many believe that "if you build it, they will come".

Many small business owners also believe that doing a great job should result in happy customers, eager to tell the world about their fantastic experience.

Hogwash.

You need to post your content and tell others about it. Instead of screaming it out your office window, you should

- use social media, like Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin
- use professional trade societies, like the ASPS/ American Society of Plastic Surgeons and ASAPS/ American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, to get your message out
- use pictures, like Pinterest and Instagram, for your business
- use Youtube, Vimeo, or other video websites
- post your content on other blogs, and be open to do the same for other blog owners

Word of Mouth is still the best advertising. Due to the rise of Skynet, internet word of mouth, also known as testimonials based on the internet, have risen in importance.

In healthcare, Yelp, Healthgrades, and various smaller medical based review websites have become increasingly more powerful over time. ASK your happy patients to leave a positive review, but don't bribe them.

In your location, and in your industry, there are probably several websites that I've never heard of that review small businesses. Find them and ask your happy customers for a review.

Video testimonials that you create in your office, with a quick interview of happy customers, are a great way to generate testimonials. Place them on your website and video sharing websites.

As a plastic surgeon, I like to think that I"m educating potential patients, as opposed to generating new patient leads. That might be semantics, but the bottom line is that my website and internet marketing efforts result in my ability to reach out to more potential patients during the night, outside of regular business hours, and for idle web surfers.

With increasingly amazing software, I know have the opportunity to do

- drip marketing
- email newsletter subscriptions
- allow patients to do, for themselves, 3-D before and after image processing, to replicate their potential surgical procedure
- get before and after surgery care instructions
- set up consultations

The last frontier- software controlling robots to actually do the surgical procedure, instead of me!

All of the software and awesome website architecture means nothing if there is no human touch.

In my office, I'm fortunate to work with great people who are fantastic with people. You know, actual human beings that care about other human beings.

Just making sure that you send out a personalized email, and not just an automated response, is a HUGE step to show to potential patients/ customers that you're a real person who is there to help solve a problem.

People usually don't want a solution to their problem. They want a solution, and someone to share their journey with them. And that someone is you.

I'm based in San Francisco, CA, USA, and try very hard to concentrate my efforts locally with my website. However, I've been pleasantly shocked to have inquiries from all over California, the USA, and even the world.

Some of patients have friends or family in San Francisco, and choose me as their doctor. Trust me, the competition is fierce in my field, and I'm convinced that having an internet presence, as well as quickly responding to inquiries, has resulted in more happy patients from all over the world.

Ask yourself- are you generating word of mouth or internet presence every day? Here are some easy things to start you on your internet marketing journey.

Commit to just completing 1 task a month on your website. You will need to do some tasks, and other people will complete some tasks. Rinse and repeat monthly!

1- Write 1 unique article, and put it on your blog
2- Post a monthly happy patient or customer testimonial
3- Write 1 unique article per month about your industry, and comment about it.
4- Post your work on your website monthly, using photos and video
5- Post all of the above work, once a month, on social media pages
6- Create a monthly email newsletter about all of the above, with URL links

Not so bad, is it?

If you have any questions, or would like to comment, please go to my website at www.drkim.com.

My blog is at www.drkim.com/blog.