Digital PR case study: Giving a beauty client a makeover from traditional to digital

RESPECTED Dermal Clinic wanted to supercharge its PR activity – by beefing up its digital presence to match its outstanding media profile.

The multi award-winning aesthetic clinic had already reaped the benefits of working with Holyrood PR, ensuring it enjoyed a superb media profile which had seen founder Jackie Partridge established as a beauty sector thought leader.

However, Jackie and her team at the clinic, in Morningside, Edinburgh, felt their own efforts to cut through in the crowded world of social and digital media was failing and seeing them fall behind their rivals.

They wanted a roadmap for online activity, with guidelines on how to shape content and how to measure success – as well as a sprinkling of inspiration to ensure their efforts would stand out. We delivered a digital transformation which saw us:

• Conduct a detailed audit of its biggest rivals across all of the main digital platforms
• Deliver an incredibly detailed and insightful report on the findings to shape future success
• Kickstart that process by conceiving and delivering a 12 week “test campaign”
• Deliver impressive results across Dermal Clinic’s blog, Facebook page, Twitter account and Instagram channel
• Maintain amazing media coverage, despite switching the budget to digital
• Impact positively on the performance of the business across the campaign period

Here’s how we achieved that amazing list of successes:

THE DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA AUDIT

The essential key to the digital transformation was the detailed audit – it needed to be extensive, thorough and relevant to yield insights which would shape the changes and bring benefit to Dermal Clinic. By the numbers here is what we did:

THREE – Conducted extensive interviews with the three main stakeholders in the business to ensure the outcomes would serve them all.
FOUR – Dedicated four months of intensive consultancy work to the research and reporting needed to complete the audit.
FIVE – Worked with Dermal Clinic to identify five of its closest competitors, then reviewed them to establish their similarities, differences and market position.
SIX – Carried out a deep dive review of six months’ worth of social media activity by Dermal Clinic and its rivals.
SEVEN – Studied activity across seven different digital platforms – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube as well as corporate blogs and email newsletters.

The outcome was a comprehensive report (12,500 words across 52 pages) packed with insights, visual examples of best practice and clear and simple recommendations of exactly what the clinic should do – and how to do it.  We even condensed it into a five page executive summary, offering edited highlights, while chock full of the suggestions guaranteed to deliver the quickest wins.

THE FIRST DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN

Dermal Clinic still wanted our support to take the next steps in transforming its digital profile. So, we worked with them to devise and deliver a 12-week digital content plan. This was carefully-crafted to support the clinical team in delivery of lip filler treatments.

The campaign included blog posts and an extensive calendar of varied social media collateral, all with trackable measurement and careful messaging woven throughout. The emphasis was on safe and natural looking results, the hallmark of treatment at Dermal Clinic. A series of 10 blog posts were produced. These involved expert input from Jackie and other detailed research. The posts covered a range of topics, including understanding the lower face, changing lips through the ages and debunking myths about lip fillers.

Each post was eminently readable, highly-informative and with a relentless focus on achieving naturally beautiful results. As well as writing the posts and sourcing appropriate images, our team uploaded them to the Dermal Clinic website, gave them eye-catching headlines and optimised them for important search terms.

Once published, the posts were shared extensively across social media platforms. Beyond that a comprehensive calendar of relevant social media content was planned and published on a daily basis, to produce a steady stream of updates without over-saturating the platforms.

Also, a video testimonial was produced, featuring a client who had seen remarkable success using the Alevere weight loss programme offered by Dermal Clinic. The video was also shared extensively across social media.

All of this digital work was further supported by careful seeding of newspapers and other traditional media. In fact, we produced and issued four press releases during the campaign to highlight Dermal Clinic’s work with a pharmaceutical giant which produces lip products, Jackie championing safe practices and her industry talks on “Lips Through the Ages”.

THE RESULTS

FACEBOOK
Over the 12-week campaign, 91 posts accumulated a reach on Facebook of 52,432 (up 55%), attracting 2634 engagements (increase of 330%)

TWITTER
We crafted 48 Tweets (+480%) which attracted 231 Likes/interactions (+567%). That activity generated 12,500 impressions, an increase of 862%.
A major highlight on Twitter was when A-list singer and actress Lily Allen liked one of Dermal’s skin care posts.

INSTAGRAM
While the clinic had created its own account in May 2017 it was under used. Our campaign added 55 posts, attracting 682 Likes/interactions and kickstarting activity on what has since become a main platform for the clinic.

MEDIA
Despite the reduced PR budget, coverage was gained in local, national, digital and trade titles. These included the Scottish Sun and the Edinburgh Evening News, creating  550,000 opportunities to see.

BUSINESS
Dermal Clinic reported an increase of 8.5% in total enquiries, plus an increased average patient revenue from £163.50 to £232.50 from November 2017 to April 2018, which included the campaign period.

BRINGING THE BUDGET MAGIC

To achieve these amazing digital results the clinic had no scope for additional investment on top of its ongoing media relations budget – yet did not want to reduce or otherwise compromise its PR footprint in the traditional media. An impossible ask? No.

Through careful financial juggling we set aside a portion of the existing budget to invest in the detailed digital audit, while ensuring the remaining budget was carefully invested to maintain a reduced PR service without a commensurate reduction in media success levels.

Jarrod Partridge, co-owner and Business Director at Dermal Clinic, said: “The contacts and the expertise that Holyrood PR provided made an immediate impact on our business objectives.

“They have been our ‘extra employee’ enabling us to get on with what we’re very good at, while they deal with what we know less about.

“And they’re not afraid to push us when we need it – all in all, an effective symbiotic relationship.”

Like what you see? Are you thinking about putting more of a focus on your digital PR efforts?

Then stop thinking and reach out to us now!

Find out how your business could benefit from having a digital PR refresh by speaking to Holyrood PR today.

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