It’s the new year, and as we enter 2022, there are plenty of dates in our calendar that we need to look out for – and no, we don’t just mean your birthday or Christmas! There are so many days, weeks, and months throughout the year that can be specifically utilised for clinic and treatment marketing – National Bikini Day or International Kissing Day to name a few.
According to PR consultant Julia Kendrick, using these can be key for connecting with your audience. She says, “Communications need to be timely to have maximum engagement, so by using key dates in your marketing strategy, you can create meaningful content and conversations on a topical, relevant ‘hook’ and link this back to your marketing messages. Key dates and environment-led ‘trends’ are cyclical and allow you to plan your content in advance, giving you key pillars in your communications plan that will naturally align with what people are searching for, or interested in, at any given time.”
So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the dates you can add into your marketing plan for 2022!
Skin awareness dates
Skin health is a huge part of aesthetics, and throughout the year there are many dates in this realm for you to be aware of. For example, National Sunscreen Day on May 27, Melanoma Awareness Day on May 31, and World Psoriasis Day on October 29.
According to digital specialist Alex Bugg, these days should be looked at less as a chance to push for sales, but instead as a way to educate your audience. She notes, “I’m sure all clinics and companies have an SPF that they want to sell, and while this might be a consideration when creating content for skin awareness days, this shouldn’t be shown as the focus. If you want your followers to trust you then you have to show them you have a duty of care to their wellbeing, and not just say ‘Happy Sunscreen Awareness Day... buy this product’.”
Kendrick notes that she always recommends her clients have their social channels and communications as 75% educational, 25% commercial. She notes, “This builds engagement over time, people find the channel useful, interesting and will come back for more – whereas they will switch off or unfollow if they just feel ‘sold to’ all the time. Anchoring content around a big awareness day and topic means you can create lots of content and be judicious about seeding marketing messages with targeted calls to action. For skin awareness dates this could be something such as ‘did you know, we offer mole checks with our resident dermatologist’ or – ‘if you need help finding the right SPF skincare, book in for a free consultation’.”
Bugg suggests that for Sunscreen Awareness Day, something like a swipe through outlining the main benefits of SPF, and the damaging effects that neglecting it can have, would be beneficial. “This way you’re not coming from a money-making angle, but showing them that you care about their wellbeing,” she says. The same can be done for dates that bring awareness to skin conditions, Bugg adds. “Things like psoriasis can have a real impact on people’s self-esteem, so doing a post that educates people on what it is and what can be done to help treat/manage the condition will be received a lot more positively than just a simple post noting what day it is and what you’re selling,” she says.
Wellness dates
2022 also sees several awareness days linked to psychology and wellness, for example International Mind-Body Wellness Day on January 3 and Stress Awareness Day on November 2.
Kendrick comments that these broader awareness days can allow clinics and practitioners to point to additional products or services they may offer outside of the specific aesthetics space, which can form part of a holistic approach. She says, “Of course, stress and skin are intrinsically linked, but there are patients who might not know that. Many clinics have integrated hormone or sleep experts into their offering to amplify the treatments at this broader level, so building understanding about why these products and services are interlinked is a great way to increase understanding, and thereby, demand.” She emphasises that practitioners shouldn’t underestimate the importance of showing personality and humanity when creating content, noting, “Users tend to engage well with real people doing real things. So you could, for example, consider sharing some of the things you or the team do for their own mental wellbeing – be that a yoga class, a de-stressing zone in the clinic after a busy day, or a favourite herbal tea!”
“If you know these kinds of dates in advance, you can add them into your marketing plan and make sure you develop some polished content”
October 10 is World Mental Health Day, and Bugg notes that this can be a great way to educate your patients on the psychological conditions that are more commonly seen in the aesthetic industry. She comments, “Body Dysmorphic Disorder is a growing issue, and is something that is becoming increasingly more common for practitioners to suspect/ identify in their patients. Mental health awareness days can be a great way to not only teach your patients about the condition, but also inform them how to maybe help a friend or a relative who may be experiencing these kinds of emotions. Again, this all links back to the duty of care you have as a healthcare professional, and it’s important that people know you would turn down treatment if you believed the patient didn’t need it.”
Personal dates
Throughout the year there are many dates that can help you reach out to your female audience, including International Women’s Day on March 8, Mother’s Day on May 8, and Menopause Awareness Day on October 18.
A key date for female patient education is breast cancer awareness month in October, says Bugg. “Being candid and open with your female patients is so important here,” she comments. “You could do a post telling them how to check their breasts correctly and when to see a doctor, or you could post something in the morning stating that the team has just done their monthly check-up. It serves as a gentle reminder and also gives your messaging a more personal edge which can help them connect to you.”
Bugg also notes that focusing on male centric days as well as female is a good way to connect with a new patient base but advises switching up your style of communication. She says “In my experience, men and women respond to different things and as a lot of clinics have a main patient demographic of women it’s something people can often get wrong. Women want to know how something will make them feel, whereas men like to see the practicalities behind it. So, this is what needs to be clear in your messaging.” Bugg notes that hair loss awareness month, which takes place in August, is a great time to communicate with your male followers. She comments, “Hair loss treatments are really emerging in the industry, – it’s an issue that a lot of men struggle with and feel shame around. Rather than pushing a certain product or treatment, the key is providing facts about what they might be experiencing, why it could be happening, the options that are available to them, how they work, and what the outcomes of these will be. Again, this could be done as a swipe through or even as a reel/video.”
Diversity dates
There are many days in the calendar that serve to celebrate diversity, such as pride month throughout June and Transgender Awareness Day on November 20. While these dates are important, Bugg emphasises that you should be showing allyship and support all year round. She says, “For these awareness days, I feel quite strongly about not signalling without actually following through all year. Being accepted, included and feeling safe to visit a clinic as LGBTQ+ or BIPOC all year round is vital and not something that should be used as a marketing tactic or money-making scheme. It’s fine to post something on those days, and of course awareness is always important, but as a practitioner you need to make sure that this support is being backed up by what you’re putting in place for the other 364 days of the year.”
To deliver more inclusive marketing, Bugg suggests always using marketing that includes people of different colours, genders, sexualities, and cultures. “If you never use gay or trans models, show their results, or discuss their journeys, none of these minorities are going to be able to trust you to treat them correctly,” she says, “In addition they won’t be able to know if your clinic is open and accepting of them, and people won’t get treated in a place that they don’t feel safe. It’s always important that your marketing is full of diversity so that there’s something for everyone to relate to.”
Plan ahead!
Bugg advises that in order to utilise all the aforementioned dates, you need to ensure that you plan your marketing strategy in advance. She notes, “Whether you just plan for the first quarter, half, or for the whole year, the key is planning ahead! If you know these kinds of dates in advance, you can add them into your marketing plan and make sure you develop some polished content. It’s no use just realising on the day that something’s happening and shoving something up! Making use of these dates is a great way to connect to new or existing patients and show them that they can trust you, so make sure you do it correctly!”
Kendrick notes that because there are so many awareness days that you could include in your marketing calendar, clinics should be selective and tailor the ones that you want to focus on to your current clinic demographic. She concludes, “If you don’t have any particularly relevant clinic link to these awareness days, for example a treatment or specialist practitioner that you’d be driving towards as part of your call to actions, you could consider including a charitable or corporate social responsibility element to the content. Perhaps you and the team will be raising money or donating a percentage of profits during breast cancer awareness month, or someone in the team is running the marathon for melanoma awareness. Rounding out your communications with value-driven and human-centric content is a critical element to balance educational and commercial posts.”
Find your dates
While these are some great days to incorporate into your marketing, this is just a taster! There are so many others out there that could be applicable to you and your practice. Head to www.awarenessdays.com to discover more!
