Category: Web Marketing

Dentist Reputation Management and Online Reviews

Disgruntled Former Employees Leaving Fake Reviews

I received a call from a dear client of mine one weekend. He had recently experienced some disappointing behavior in a long-time employee, and he had to let her go. The problem was, this employee had the passwords to his social networking accounts, blog, website CMS, and other important online media. Could she login and wreak havoc, out of anger? Would she leave fake, bad reviews about him on Yelp and Facebook?

Unfortunately, this is an HR issue that all businesses face in the Internet era. Here’s another example. Recently, MDPM had a former employee create fake profiles and post negative reviews on Yelp, all within days of each other. The profiles were new and had reviewed 0-2 other businesses. We did not recognize the reviewers’ names, and some phrases they posted keyed us in on the fact that the reviews were fake. However, we can’t get them removed. We followed the advice in this article, and we’ve been as pleased as can be expected, without crossing ethical lines and compromising integrity.

Angry Former Patients Posting Scathing Reviews

Fake and real reviews, more negative than positive, have fueled a multi-million dollar industry of reputation management. Angry people are more likely to vent online than are pleased patients. Late last year, I helped a frustrated dentist as he dealt with a negative review from a one-time patient.  The patient was unhappy about the charges for his dental work, specifically that his dental insurance did not cover what he thought it would, yet he still had to pay. The work was done, and done well. He left a long rant on the dentist’s Google Places page, visible to all potential patients. What could the dentist do? Google has no phone number to call when this happens; besides, as a third party, though they provide the means for reviews, they don’t want to get involved in disputes. Read More

Dental Marketing: Is ZocDoc a Wise Investment?

Today I received an email from one of our client dentists in Pennsylvania. He wanted to know whether ZocDoc is a good investment. Since www.zocdoc.com is a type of dental marketing service, I thought I’d do some research and present my analysis and recommendation here on the MDPM blog. If you’ve had experience with ZocDoc and would like to share it with MDPM readers, please comment on our Facebook page.

What is ZocDoc?

ZocDoc is an online appointment-setting service for healthcare professionals. It primarily helps doctors fill empty appointments in their schedule. Physicians, dentists, and specialists can list their practices and profile on the ZocDoc website. Patients can find a doctor, make an appointment online, and leave a review. To sign up, you fill out a form online, and a ZocDoc representative calls you. On ThisWeekIn.com, in an interview with Cyrus Massoumi (see below), the inventor of ZocDoc, I learned that ZocDoc started by serving dentists.

A listing includes information about a practice and the dentist’s education, as well as available appointments, and patients can simply book online. In addition, dentists can have an appointment button on their website that sends potential patients to ZocDoc to book. ZocDoc does not replace other dental marketing, so a website and SEO is still extremely important. ZocDoc is simply an addition to a good marketing strategy.

What Does ZocDoc Cost?

At the time of the video, the cost was a flat fee of $250 per month, but it’s now $300 per month. The cost covers unlimited patient numbers.

Does ZocDoc Have Good Reviews from Dentists?

The online reviews I found for ZocDoc are from patients reviewing doctors, not doctors reviewing ZocDoc. Those patients who posted previews gave it a thumbs up, for the most part. However, ZocDoc kicked off with a huge marketing campaign, and there’s no way to tell if the reviews were paid or real. These days, we have to take that into consideration, though I have no reason to believe the reviews to be fake. So, consumers give ZocDoc a nod. According to the company’s website, nearly two million patients use the service to book appointments 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Read More

Your Dental Practice’s Reputation On Facebook

Do you recall when you first opened your Facebook account and made your personal profile? Your kids may have talked you into it after years of your objections. Perhaps you were one of the first to join Facebook, and you update it from your phone, tablet, and PC many times a day. Regardless of why you hooked up with this social media monster, if you’re a professional, you need to consider Facebook part of your public relations, or PR. Sure, you can have a private life, but Facebook is not private!

Gotta Keep ‘em Separated!

Your patients and potential patients can find you on Facebook, as can your buddies, parents, and children. The best practice, for teens and adults, is to keep everything light on social networks. Ideally, you shouldn’t say or post anything you wouldn’t want your grandmother to see. If you want to talk about old girlfriends with high school buddies, or you feel the need to post a risque cartoon,  you need to keep your professional and personal lives separate on Facebook. This does not mean creating a business page; that’s a separate issue. Instead, you should set up a personal page using your college nickname (and maiden name if you’re a chick) and a professional page using “Your Name, DDS.” Read More

End of Year Dental Insurance Benefits Letter

October of last year, we wrote about that all-important end of year benefits letter that dentists across the nation are preparing to mail. Believe it or not, it’s that time of year again, already. October begins on Monday, and Americans will soon be caught up in the holiday madness. While saving money (and spending money) is on their minds, visiting their dentist probably is not.

Capturing Your Patients’ Attention

How can you convey to your current patients that they will save money in 2012 by completing unfinished dental treatment plans before December 31, 2011? In the midst of ghouls and goblins, turkeys and leaves, holly and mistletoe, how can you capture a few moments of their precious time to share this important message – a message that will literally keep money in their pockets?

Traditionally, dentists send out an end of year benefits letter that explains these points to patients:

  • Your dental benefits will expire on the last day of 2012.
  • The money you’ve put toward your dental insurance deductible will disappear; you will have to begin again in January of 2013.
  • If you have not seen the dentist in six months, you may be eligible for a 100% paid dental checkup and cleaning, under your dental insurance benefits.
  • If you have an incomplete or open treatment plan, you will probably spend less by completing the dental work in 2012 than if you wait until 2013, because the money you’ve invested toward your deductible will have reduced your out-of-pocket expense, but only until the end of this year.

Strategic Marketing Works

The end of year dental benefits reminder is actually part of your dental practice’s marketing. It is not simply a function of administration. Thinking about the letter in this way, consider where your patients go, what they see, and how they communicate with other people. In the Internet age, most of your patients probably use email and social networks to acquire information. In response, you should make your dental insurance benefits letter available via these channels. Read More

How Important Is Social Networking for Dentists?

How many new patients have you ever gotten from Facebook? LinkedIn? Twitter, Pinterest, MySpace? The answer is probably none, if you’re like most dentists. I’m disappointed in dental marketing companies who shout “social networking” from the hilltops just because dentists, by nature, are interested in new things.

At MDPM, we’ve helped dentists set up Facebook contests, we offer a daily social networking posting service, and we set up Facebook and Google+ Local for all of our clients. However, we do not believe that spending hours a week on social networking will ultimately yield more new patients.

The Purpose of Marketing is to Grow a Business

Website First: Dental marketing aims to get dentists more patients. A great dental marketing strategy can be targeted toward a particular demographic — say, those patients who need dental implants, smile makeovers, or sleep apnea treatment. While Internet marketing is absolutely essential for dental practice growth, social marketing is just one of many tactics savvy dentists should employ (and in moderation). All dental marketing should begin with a well optimized, visually appealing dental website that can be amended as needed, as the practice grows. Branding with a logo, signature color palette, and practice name will tie all of your marketing together. So, create a brand, then build a website. Read More

Facebook for Dentists: What to Do Now

Well, we now have Timeline for individuals and businesses. If your dental practice has a business page, you may have noticed a pop-up that asked you to create a special offer this week — that’s new. But everyone has been talking about Facebook for a few years now. If you’re asking yourself how a dentist can use Facebook in marketing, join the club. I ask myself that question every day. Yes, I’ve seen, read, and heard other marketing experts share their advice. To date, though, I’ve not had a dentist tell me that Facebook brings in new patents and has a great return on investment (ROI). Websites do, blogs do, microsites do, but Facebook? Not so much.

Should we continue to do what’s not working? Absolutely not. That’s the definition of insanity, according to Einstein. We have to find an application that will make Facebook that serves us well.

I’m a problem solver by nature, so I’ve dived into the challenge of trying to determine how to leverage Facebook for dentists — without purchasing Facebook ads. Can it be done? I’m not sure, but here are some things I want to share based on the new boot camp video series that Facebook created and the feedback I’ve received from dentists over the years. Read More

Social Media: A Powerful Marketing Tool for Dentists

Sure, you’ve heard of Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus. You may think that social media is just for keeping in touch with friends and family. While this is true, social media is also a powerful marketing tool for all types of businesses. In fact, the largest corporations in the United States use Facebook business pages and Twitter accounts to connect with consumers, market their goods, and determine customer satisfaction. Although a dental practice may not be a Fortune 500 corporation, dentists around the country benefit from utilizing social media, too.

Gaining Exposure with Social Media Users

By setting up a Facebook business page or Twitter account, you familiarize social media users with your name and services. For example, commenting from your business account on community pages and local groups will expose more people in your area to your name and your practice. As more people become familiar with your name and practice, you increase the likelihood of attracting new patients.

Managing Your Reputation

More than likely, you have read reviews on websites such as as Google Places or Yelp before you took your vehicle to a mechanic or visited an unfamiliar restaurant. Online reviews from actual customers and patients are extremely useful for consumers. However, reviews may also hurt a dentist’s reputation. One disgruntled patient can anonymously leave an unfavorable or untruthful review of your dental practice. Using social media helps combat anonymous smear campaigns and effectively manage your web reputation. A Facebook wall filled with glowing reviews of your expertise and concern for your patients will offset negative reviews on other sites. In addition, dentists have complete control of the content posted social media platforms. Read More

How Dentists Can Engage Facebook

In addition to your dental website and your dental blog site, Modern Dental Practice Marketing encourages dentists to use social media —especially Facebook–for marketing. Did you know that there are over 800 million Facebook accounts? Now that a huge percentage of the population in the US has a smart phone, people are on Facebook all the time. Fortune 500 companies are using Facebook business pages to generate consumer feedback and market their products. More than likely, your local newspaper and coffee shop have a Facebook business page, too. If using Facebook for your dental practice seems like uncharted territory, the tips below are sure to help you navigate the murky waters of social media marketing.

Engage Your Fans

You want your patients to communicate on your page. The more communication and activity on your business page, the more likely it is to appear in your patients’ news feeds. Remember to post concise statuses that engage the reader. Posts that contain questions or updates that are less than 40 characters illicit a higher response from Facebook users than long, complex posts.

Avoid Posting Too Often

Posting too often on Facebook can cost you. If you post too frequently, your patients may see it as spam and “unlike” your business page. You should aim for four or five posts a week. Wednesday and Sunday posts tend to encourage more user interaction than posts on other days of the week.  If you decide to post to Facebook daily, avoid posting more than twice. Peak hours for user interaction are after eight o’clock in the evening. Posting at night tends to increase the likelihood for patient comments.

Use Facebook for Promotions and Discounts

Need patients in the dental chair? Keywords that include the word “coupons” or the dollar sign symbol attract users’ attention. For example, promote a special offer on teeth whitening or a free cosmetic consultation. If you don’t want to offer discounts or coupons because it would attract a clientele outside of your target market, offer a complimentary cosmetic dentistry consultation or a donation to Operation Smile for every teeth whitening kit you sell. Read More

Facebook for Business Coming Wednesday!

If Facebook does indeed launch Timeline for business on Wednesday—which is the rumor—dentists should be prepared to update their business page ASAP. You’ll probably have three months to switch your page to Timeline voluntarily before Facebook takes charge and forces the switch.  How much cooler will you look, though, if your page has Timeline before other businesses in your area? Before you dive in, here are three things you need to consider.

The Look
Facebook Timeline features one large banner image, a small overlaid image in the left corner, and thumbnail collages of various things you’ve indicated that you like. You’ll need to determine what your large photo will feature, then plan something for the small photo. Your logo should might be the best option for the small square on the left, next to your page’s name. The banner image can be changed as often as you like – for seasons, holidays, special events, new products, team photos, etc.  Mashable created a sample gallery of potential brands on Timeline. Read More