2017 is just around the corner and it's time to start thinking about how you'll spend your ad dollars. Even if your optical marketing budget is limited, it's still smart to lay out how you plan to spend those dollars so you can put into place a strategy, implementation plan, timeline, and ways to measure and track the success of each campaign or spend.
First things first, take a look at what you did in 2016. What was successful, and what wasn't? From there focus on how you want to improve moving into the new year.
Optical Marketing: Where to Spend Your Ad Dollars in 2017
Focus on a Targeted Social Audience
It's almost 2017, so your eyecare practice most likely has a social presence. But, it constantly seems like the algorithms are updating and your content is being seen by less and less of your followers. Putting a few of your ad dollars towards your social advertising is a relatively cheap option for reaching more of your followers and growing your social community.
If you decide to put more money into your social advertising you'll have a lot of options when it comes to segmenting your audience. This will be an important piece to getting the most bang for your buck. You can promote posts to reach the people who like your page, or you can target the people who are friends with those who follow your page. Other ways to target your audience is by location, age, or interests. Experiment with different targets and see where you get the most engagement.
Beef Up Your Branding
Branding your business usually doesn't come cheap. A professional designer can be expensive to hire, but doing branding on your own with little expertise could produce poor results and a bad brand image. If your practice doesn't have a consistent or effective brand, 2017 could be the year to hire out and get your brand on point. Having a style guide for your brand with consistent fonts, colors, and logos will help you better manage your marketing throughout the year, while keeping your brand on point.
If you want to beef up your branding, check out these resources to get started:
What Does Your Logo Say about You?
How to Get the Most Out of Working with a Designer
The Ultimate Branding Checklist Every Eyecare Practice Needs
Email Marketing
Email marketing is another very cost effective marketing strategy that you might not have tried. If you've been growing an email list, it's likely a group of highly qualified targets for your practice, and many of them are probably already patients. Email can be a great way to keep your current patient base coming back for more and staying engaged with your office.
Use emails wisely so you're not bombarding your patients with messages. Your patients would likely be excited to hear about things like store promotions, referral program opportunities, community events, or trunk shows you're hosting in your practice.
Spread It Out
For many small businesses, the marketing budget is likely pretty limited. Don't put all your money in one spot - spread it out. Testing different strategies and promotional opportunities throughout the year will help you measure and track what's the most effective so you can make better decisions in the future.
We like to talk about marketing a lot on our blog. Check out some of our most popular posts for ideas on spreading out your ad dollars in 2017:
Should Your Practice Start a Blog?
4 Cheap and Easy Marketing Tips
5 Questions to Ask Yourself about Your Marketing Strategy
Creating a Facebook Strategy with a $25 Budget
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