Category: Social Networking

Weekend Warrior Marketing Tip for Dentists: Fun Facebook Pictures

What are you doing this weekend? Where are you going? People want to know. Good advertising focuses on the benefit to the consumer, not how wonderful the company owner is. But Facebook turns the tables. On Facebook, it’s all about you.

Sure social networking in business should be more professional than personal, but the point of Facebook is to make you a real person. You’re interesting, right? I know you are.

If small businesses use Facebook only for commercials, promotions, and educating the public, fans will start to slip away. They’ll probably remain your fans, but they’ll block your boring content from their walls, and they’ll never visit your page. You work so hard to get Facebook fans, don’t lose them to boredom — you’re way to cool for that.

The patients who see you during the week know that you don’t wear a tie on Saturday. They know your kids get sick in the backseat of your SUV and your dog begs at the table. It’s life. Share the best of it with your patients, and they’ll love you even more. Hope is, they’ll share your post with friends (who could become your new patients).

This, dear dentist, is a fundamental truth: everyone loves pictures. So throw your camera in the car, or keep your camera phone nearby throughout the weekend. Here are some ideas and samples of  interesting pictures and comments to share on your Facebook fan page:

  • Nature: animals, flowers, local gardens, newly blooming spring trees, deep snow drifts, local lakes or mountains
    • Example: (picture of a squirrels in your backyard tree) “These little guys love to play in the trees outside my kitchen window. They remind me of Chip and Dale…but in squirrel form instead of chipmunk.” (you could link to a YouTube Chip and dale clip here)
  • Pets and kids: your own or those in your family, not strangers
    • Example: (picture of your child washing the dog) “And after this, yes, we are going to brush Fido’s teeth!”
  • Around town: restaurants, festivals,  shops, downtown view, uptown view, parks, schools, etc.
    • Example: (picture of last night’s dinner on the plate before you ate it) “Sal’s has the all-time best pizza in town. Trust me, I’m a connoisseur.”
  • Sports: your kid’s soccer game or ballet class, the local high school football game, your adult hockey team
    • Example: (picture from high school football game, cheerleaders with mascot) “What’s that smell? We skunked the Raiders last night 30-0. Go Bobcats!”
  • Funny stuff: anything non-crude and non-offensive that will spark a chuckle; can be videos you post on YouTube
    • Examples: (take a picture of this: the old Grapevine Opry in town was missing letters, so the sign read “ape in Opry”) “Now showing, King Kong in 3D!”

These things are NOT too personal. Today’s small business owners must be real people to their customers. Read More

Get Popular: Hook Up Your Dental Practice with Google Places

Did you know that it takes a person 9 seconds to type in a Google search query? Google produces results in ~300 milliseconds. (Talk about a super highway!)  Then, the user – your potential patient – chooses the website he likes best in about 15 seconds.

These numbers are based on Google’s extensive research.

Google is the search engine of choice. It truly dominates, accounting for 65% of searches in America. Bing and Yahoo! were neck-in-neck until September of this year, when the two merged. Now Yahoo! gets its search results from Bing. Even with this, Google is the clear leader.

Obviously, your dental website must rank well on Google if Internet marketing is going to be profitable for you.

Google offers quite a few ways to help businesses succeed locally, and the more info you have on Google, the better your search engine rankings will be. The Grand Central Station for your business is Google Places. Your listing can feature an interactive map,blog or website link, business information, hours of operation, your photo gallery, your YouTube videos, and even chatty updates from you – kind of like Twitter updates.

Still don’t quite get it? Check out this commercial about Google Places.

So, how do you set up your dental practice on Google Places? Easy. You call Modern Dental Practice Marketing, and we do it for you.

Okay, if you want to do it yourself, here’s how… Read More

Social Media Marketing & Small Business… Worth Your Time?

I’ve said before that Facebook may or may not bring you new business, and I stand by that statement. However, we have to look at the nature of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other Internet communities to understand how and why social networking can be profitable.

You’ve been to a face-to-face networking event; the awkward feel that everyone’s there to sell something (that’s why you’re there). The odd-looking people who you know are there because they have nothing else to do–which is not a good sign. The somewhat interesting (if you’re lucky) speaker.

You leave with a handful of business cards and a dream that maybe from the two hours of your life you just invested, maybe one, just one of the folks you met will bring you a new client…somehow. But networking online is different. It’s so much better!

Read More

Small Business Social Media Management with a KISS

I read an article on Mashable today that listed over 30 different social media sites. There are a bazillion more out there. If you’ve heard about smart phone advertising, social networking by location, and other crazy technical stuff you don’t understand, the words “social networking” can seem scary or overwhelming. Problem is, EVERYONE has jumped on the bandwagon. When any business succeeds to unprecedented levels like Facebook has, every Tom, Dick, and Harriet wants a piece of the pie…or even better, their own pie.

Here’s the deal:

  • As a small business owner, you need social networking as a part of your Internet marketing plan.
  • As a small business owner, you do not need ALL FORMS of social networking. That would be a gross waste of time and energy.
  • As a small business owner, you have NO TIME for anything social! If you did, golf would come way before Facebook.
  • As a small business owner, I understand and empathize.

Let’s apply the KISS philosophy (keep it simple, silly). Read More

The Secret to Patient/Customer Loyalty & Excellent Word-of-Mouth Referrals

We have three main grocery stores in my town. One is super cheap, and I have to admit, I shop there. It’s the American Way. Another is staffed by teenagers who are more interested in texting than bagging. As a shopper in this store, I’m a guinea pig for workers in training. And I’m paying for this privilege? No thank you.

The third grocery store is amazing…so it’s the store I prefer and recommend. Prices are higher, sure. But being greeted with a smile and, “Can I help you?” is priceless. If I can’t find what I’m looking for, an employee reads the confusion on my face and rushes over to help. He actually walks me to the product I need—never points or gives me directions. I love Tom Thumb in Trophy Club, Texas. Those fine folks could write a book on excellent customer service.

One of my favorite quotes is from Einstein. He said something like Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Logic tells us that the reverse is true. Good sense is doing the same thing over and over if you want the same results.

I decided to analyze why I like Tom Thumb. My main appreciation is for the employees. As a somewhat intelligent businesswoman, I should apply these points to my own business. I’m no Einstein, but I figure that mimicking the customer service that I appreciate will foster the same loyalty in my clients that I feel for my favorite grocery store.

Fact: Word of mouth advertising has the best return on investment of any marketing.

Fact: Seventy percent of Internet users believe the testimonials
they read online. It’s modern word of mouth.

Fact: If you get good reviews on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp!, Google, etc.,
you’ll benefit not only from readers of those reviews, but also from search engines loving the backlinks to your website.

So what’s the secret to rave reviews, loyal customers, and excellent customer service? Read More

Facebook & Social Networking Tips for Dentists

  • The Facebook movie, The Social Network, will be in theaters this October.
  • America Has Talent is doing a show on the best of YouTube.
  • Tosh.0 has almost 1.5 million Facebook fans.
  • Half of all Americans use Facebook.

Listen, Doc, I don’t want to bring you down, but if you don’t see that social networking is deeply embedded in our culture; if you think it’s a fad that you’ve chosen to avoid; if you will not leverage social networking to market your dental practice…you are putting big steel walls around your practice’s potential growth.

And, thing is, just having a Facebook page won’t do the job.

On the Modern Dental Practice Marketing fan page this week, I’m sharing daily tips and insight about social networking and social marketing. I’m not sharing the tips on the MDPM Dentists page because I want to draw people to the fan page. Why? Read More

When Dentists Should–and Should Not–Use Facebook

Building a beneficial social networking presence for your (Dallas or Fort Worth area) dental practice takes time. You’ll need to invest in your Facebook account or hire someone like MDPM to do it for you.

That said, many dentists have unrealistic expectations of what Facebook can do for their marketing program. Understand:

  • Facebook wil not have much return on investment (ROI).
  • Facebook posts are not read by search engines like Google and Yahoo.
  • Facebook posts do not help with your website’s search engine rankings.
  • You will not get many fans who are not already patients of your practice.

If that busted your bubble, don’t stop reading yet. Facebook can be beneficial to your dental practice marketing if you’re interested in building a unique culture—an inviting, friendly, personal, relationship-building reputation.

In a recent USA Today article, Jeff Livingston of the Irving, Texas practice, MacArthur OB-GYN, hit the nail on the head. He said:

“If you go back two generations, doctors came to your house. They lived in your community. They probably went to the same church…what we’re really doing is going back and creating a more personal experience with technology.” Read More

Hey, Dentist… Which is More Important: Web or Community Marketing?

Why do you have to choose? Truth is, both types of marketing could really boost your patient base—and retention—in the Dallas – Fort Worth area. And never forget, the whole point is to leave an impression! Tried and true, good ol’ boy advertising does not appeal to the younger generation…the technical gurus who invest money in their health and appearance.

So let’s look at the balancing act between Internet and community marketing for dentists:

Internet Marketing for Dentists

  • Web marketing should start with a website that ranks well on Google for the keywords your potential patients most often use.
  • Beyond that, social networking, like Facebook and Twitter can be beneficial. However, you and your team have to use these resources correctly. Just posting random thoughts on a Facebook Fan Page and Tweeting about an article you read won’t effectively promote your dental practice. At MDPM, we offer one-on-one coaching for you and your team, so you can learn how to fit social networking into your schedule and get the most pop for your posts. There’s a simple formula that’s easy to manage, and you’ll find it highly effective.
  • You’ll also need a blog that feeds onto your Facebook page. The blog should be updated with keyword-rich, relevant posts at least once a week. The MDPM dental copywriters can make posts on your behalf, or I can teach you and your team how to write solid blog posts that appeal to dental patients and search engine spiders.

That’s a synopsis of web marketing for dentists. But when you consider that the Internet is international and your practice is local, you can see that community promotions are a necessary component to an effective dental practice marketing strategy—particularly in North Texas towns, like Keller, Colleyville, Southlake, Grapevine, Murphy, and Frisco. We’re in Texas, and what rules Friday nights? Football. That’s right. Read More