Pesky Problem
Lincoln Orthopaedic Center (LOC) used to spend a lot of budget on traditional print media, missing out on priceless online opportunities. With a staff change in their marketing department, they were open to new ideas and some outside help. In initial meetings, they realized that the growth of their practice was reflected by updating their communication style with local markets. Relying on familiar marketing methods provided ease of planning, but not the results they once did. After years of doing print design for LOC, that trust allowed us to lead them into the online waters. Our objective was to increase the organization’s brand identity as one of the longest standing orthopaedic organizations in Lincoln, educate the community about LOC’s orthopaedic capabilities outside of sports medicine, increase awareness of their newly expanded ambulatory surgery center, and to increase brand awareness and community engagement through social media. Because they are most known for their involvement in sports medicine, we wanted to expand that to include all services they provide.
Marketing Strategy
LOC uses very little radio, zero TV, and relies mostly on print mediums that reduce invaluable marketing return. Therefore, we really wanted to make their online presence the center of their entire marketing budget. LOC is well noted throughout sports circles, but we knew there were opportunities beyond that to connect with current patients and potential patients. Once patients experienced the caring staff and positive outcomes at LOC, they wanted to refer their friends and family. Now, with an active social and online presence, it makes it easier to link those referrals to direct LOC information sources.
We took over LOC’s Facebook accounts and created ad campaigns that focused on increasing post engagement and page likes in the Lincoln area. We also wanted to create additional social media accounts to extend their social presence into new spaces and connect with diverse audiences. We created a Twitter account to actively engage with #LNK community members, as well as high schools, colleges, and universities where LOC provide sports medicine. Interestingly enough, 80% of women make the majority of medical decisions. It was fascinating to see their Facebook fanbase follow remarkably close to that national statistic, with 81% being female. These results encouraged us to create a Pinterest account as well, in an effort to target a female market.
Creating content is now the biggest element of our strategy. In the past, new content was sporadically introduced on the website and on social media. We created content on a constant basis and specifically tailored it to be received across multiple social platforms. We made sure that all doctors and their specialties are given special care and attention. We also introduced more personable social posts highlighting the fun and caring culture of LOC. Patients love it, and they are responding online as well by sharing and engaging as part of the LOC brand advocates.
TM Results
LOC’s Facebook fan following increased by 45% in 5 months! We also increased the time spent on their website by 15% and increased web traffic from Facebook mobile by 310%. Average session duration on LOC’s website increased by 11% when compared to the first 6 months before our campaigns.
Our marketing team has seen several times were social recommendations are solicited and LOC pages are actively being shared creating more opportunity for patient acquisition. Another notable discovery was how much the social audience responded to personal stories and staff spotlights we will call LOC culture posts. Many months these culture posts were take the top 3 posts of the month with the most reach and engagement metrics. Before launching an active online campaign, there were no efforts being directed towards the LOC culture being a factor in promoting the clinic and the surgery center. Now, we see that this strategy is paying off.
Lincoln Orthopaedic Center reports their staff and patients have taken notice of their increased online presence, as they have received many comments about their increase of activity and engagement.