By now, you’ve probably heard about Allergan’s voluntary recall of textured implants. You have probably even had patients calling the office asking about it. So the question is, how can I let my patients know my stance on this issue? We’ve compiled 4 tips to help you let your current and potential patients know your stance.
Tip 1 – Blog Post
One of the best ways to get your thoughts across is to write a blog post to be placed on your website. A blog post would not only allow you to say what you want about the recall, but you also get the chance to rank in the search engines for this topic. Since it is a timely matter and there are a lot of searches in Google about the recall, having a blog post rank would be a great way to position you as the expert because now, you’re ranking among news articles as the only (hopefully) surgeon who has come out with an opinion on the matter. This can go a long way to building patient trust, especially if this is the first visit they’ve made to your site. With a blog post as well, you can direct patients to other areas of your website that talk about the type of implants you use, why you use them, etc…
Tip 2 – Social Media
Now that you have your blog post written and while you’re waiting for it to get picked up by Google, share it on your social networks! Digitally, there is not a better way to get your viewpoint out in the public than by sharing it on social media. Not only will it drive traffic back to your blog, but it also opens up the ability for patients to ask questions or leave a comment. Patients asking questions or leaving comments allows you an opportunity to address their concerns and position yourself as the expert. With the heavy use of the Internet, patients can come across you and your site any number of ways or in any order. So if someone is thinking of you as their surgeon and then they see you are the only surgeon talking about this issue on social media and answering patient’s concerns, you’re leaps and bounds ahead of your competitors. Again, it’s all about building trust.*Pro-tip: Use some paid promotions budget to promote the post so that more people see it and you get more traffic to your site.
Tip 3 – Email Marketing
Sending an e-blast about your blog post is a great way to communicate your stance to your existing patients. Some of them may even have had these implants and may not have heard about this. By proactively reaching out to former patients letting them know this recall happened, you build trust by being open and honest with your patients. It may also free up your staff’s time not having so many phone calls about the recall because they can read your thoughts in the email and blog post.
Tip 4 – Answer FAQs in Video
Not a writer? No problem! Take out that video camera and record yourself speaking about some of the FAQs around the recall. You are the expert on the matter, so you can really show that through providing thorough and thoughtful answers to ease people’s fears about the recall. Once you’ve answered those questions, you can follow tips 1 & 2 to make sure your video is seen, and your expert opinion is heard. Host it on YouTube, and you have the chance to rank in Google for searches around the recall.
However you want to handle it, we highly recommend getting in front as much as possible of this. By providing your thoughts, you are positioning yourself not only as an expert who can be trusted but someone who pays attention to trends and wants to do everything in their power to address their patient’s fears. If you would like further assistance addressing this recall or would like to learn more about us and the services we provide, please don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us at (855) 681-3292
