When you work in ophthalmology, you get used to seeing eyeballs every day. Sometimes, they’re healthy eyeballs; sometimes they’re not. Sometimes, the person attached to said eyeballs is going about their day, and sometimes, they’re in the middle of a surgery.
For people like us, it’s not a problem.
But it might be another story for your patients.
People are afraid of eyes
You don’t need to have ommetaphobia, or fear of eyes, to feel squeamish when you see a blade close to someone’s eye. People outside of the medical field cringe when they see a close-up of a pterygium or a traumatic cataract. And one reason why people hesitate to receive LASIK is because they’re frightened of having a laser cut into their eye.
If you’re marketing LASIK (or any other ophthalmic procedure) it’s important to maintain a patient-centered approach. Put yourself in their shoes: imagine scrolling through your Facebook feed when you suddenly encounter an uncensored video of an eye surgery from a local practice. If you’re squeamish, you might start hiding their posts. You might even stop following them entirely.
And just like that, you lose access to another patient.
Embracing a patient-centered approach
If you want to reach as many of your patients as possible, you should be mindful of what you post to your website or social media.
Before you hit submit, ask yourself these questions:
- Are there any images or descriptions that might bother someone who isn’t in the medical field?
- If you are posting a graphic image, do you have adequate warnings for people who might be squeamish?
- Are there any words patients are unlikely to understand? For instance, “myopia” instead of “near-sighted?”
- Are you posting information that patients would find valuable? For instance, they’re unlikely to care about the make and model of your laser.
Addressing all these points will make it easier to provide content that resonates with your patients.
Does your social media content need a boost?
Sightpath Creative’s marketing experts can manage your social media while you focus on managing your practice. Not only do we provide our customers with customized, patient-centered content, but we’ll also post regularly, encourage patient engagement, and respond to comments.