Tag: dental marketing

Social Marketing Needs to Eat a Banana

We’re all so very busy. You know exactly what I mean. I try to get in some yoga or a walk in the  morning, then do my reading at night. On my nighstand right now are a parenting book (I have two teenagers), The Count of Monte Cristo (birthday gift and personal life goal), and UnMarketing by Scott Stratten. It’s the latter that inspired this blog post. I highlighted some interesting points in UnMarketing last night, thinking of you, and I want to share them.

What’s the deal with Facebook and Twitter? Well, social marketing is in a rapid state of evolution. You can literally see it growing. It’s like a teenager! I say social media needs to eat a banana because when I grew two inches one summer, my legs ached like a big dog. My mom, a nurse, made me eat bananas for the potassium. It helped. (On a side note, I looked up Chaquita Banana on Facebook. She has an unused profile, but I added her as a friend anyway.) (Another side note, I am not bananas.)

Scott, the guy who wrote UnMarketing, is a very smart wiseguy, and that’s a compliment. He lends great insight and perspective to how social media works right now. Like a teenager, social media will change quickly. We may not even recognize it as “social media” in a few years. Who knows? But, I figure knowledge is power, so there’s no harm in learning all I can right now.

In the book, Scott wrote that many people join social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter, then give up when nothing happens. YES! I thought. Scott said that social media isn’t media. The term is misleading. It makes you think of TV or radio. He says social media is more social than media. Yep. Yep.

You have to engage to make it work.

I want to invite YOU to read UnMarketing along with me. Go to Facebook to join in the discussion.

I’m going there now to finish up this post! Remember those points I was going to share…

<visit The Business Book Club with ModMark to finish reading this post>


How to Get More Fans (Likes) for Your Dental Practice Facebook Page

Okay, we’ve established that you need a Facebook page for your dental practice. We’ve discussed the importance of blogging and how your blog should feed to your Facebook page so that you have current content. You know that you and your team need to become your own fans, then post comments, pictures, and join in conversations.

A Facebook business page is different from a Facebook personal page, though. People you may know don’t automatically pop up in the right sidebar. There’s no Friend Finder. So how can you get more folks to “like” your dental practice’s Facebook page? Here are 10 suggestions. Let’s count ‘em down…

1.       Send an email to all of your patients. I recommend you have a professional dental copywriter compose it for you. The copywriter can also provide a blurb for you to post on your personal Facebook page, inviting friends to become fans (likers).
Modern Dental Practice Marketing has dental copywriters who can help you.

2.       Put your Facebook logo and link on every page of your website, in plain view.
MDPM sets up Facebook business pages for our clients. We always include the Facebook link on the client’s blog and website.

3.       Put your FB link in your email signature.
The MDPM copywriters can write a new email signature for you, if you like.

4.       Display a poster in your lobby that says “Like Us?” with your Facebook username* (short URL).
Where do you get the poster? MDPM can help with that, too!

5.       Put the Facebook logo and your username on your business cards and collateral, right next to your email address.
MDPM does business cards and collateral. Come now, you should not be surprised! 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

Dental Practice Names & Dental Website Domains…Different Animals

Zebras and tigers both have stripes, but they are very different. For instance, even in a pinch, I wouldn’t ride a tiger. I also wouldn’t advise petting or hand feeding a tiger. A zebra, on the other hand, sure! Sounds like fun!

Another obvious difference is that Zebras live on the plains of Africa. Tigers call the jungle home.

My point is, like zebras and tigers, your practice name and website domain name have different homes, different purposes, and thus should be dealt with differently. That’s not to imply that your practice and website shouldn’t have the same name, but I recommend you put some thought behind your decision. These names should be with you for a long, long time.

As with most marketing and advertising concepts, I recommend attacking the naming issue with logic. This Q&A chart should help. Read More

The Formula for Writing a Great Dental Practice Tagline

Some folks call it a tagline, others call it a motto or slogan. What we’re talking about here is the short phrase that follows your practice name. The little cluster of words tagged onto the end of your message. For instance, Modern Dental Practice Marketing’s tagline is: We’re in the Business to Make Dentists Smile!

TAGLINE QUIZ

Can you remember the companies for these taglines?

  • Over 10 billion served
  • Always low prices
  • You’re in good hands
  • Don’t leave home without it
  • Something special in the air
  • Good to the last drop
  • Zoom Zoom
  • Just do it
  • The nighttime sniffling sneezing coughing aching stuffy head fever so you can rest medicine
  • That was easy

I want to talk with you about how to come up with a good, catchy tagline for your small business or dental practice.

To gather the clouds for a good brainstorm, read your mission statement, philosophy, and/or vision. Write down single words that represent your practice.

Common Questions about Modern Dental Practice Marketing

We’re often asked if we’ll do projects for businesses outside of dentistry. The answer is: Heck Yes! Take a peek at our portfolio, and you’ll see that half of MDPM’s clients aren’t dentists at all.

While we specialize in dental content because of our experience in the industry, our clients’ businesses range from home improvement to medical consulting to property management to religious instruction. Yeah, that’s a pretty wide range of clients. Few companies offer what MDPM does, and even fewer offer similar services for such a great price.

We’ve been asked if we host websites. The answer is no. We use the trusted resources available on the internet. WordPress, which we use for our blog websites, is free source software. Anyone can use it at no cost. WordPress offers 100 design templates, great add-ons (widgets), multiple pages, and customizable features. In addition, with WordPress, we can provide our clients with visitation statistics, as well as a free smart phone version of their blog. MDPM blogs are hosted with WordPress, as well.

Some folks want to know the difference between a blog and a custom website. This article explains the answer in detail. Check it out.

Why we recommend new blogs. To keep your costs low, and to take advantage of WordPress’ search engine optimization benefits, we prefer to create new blog websites for our clients, rather than just provide content for an existing blog. This allows us the freedom to do what we believe is best for your practice’s Internet marketing strategy. We’re in control of the blog’s success. We’ll purchase a good domain name, set up the blog website with a blog on the main page, and add other pages to describe your practice, team, and services. We always recommend that our clients keep their main website if they have one. A blog is great for SEO, but it is not a showcase site. It’s a workhorse. We’ll recommend that your blog’s visitors go to your main website for more detailed information about your office.

Will MDPM write blog content for my existing blog? Yes! We can’t promise that you’ll receive the same SEO benefits if we provide content for an existing blog. If your current blog is not on WordPress, and we provide content to your web company, they have to do some backend work to ensure the blog is indexed properly on search engines. In addition, if we only provide you with blog content, you’ll miss out on the extra promotional efforts we provide with the Extreme Internet Presence Package.

What else do we offer besides blogs? A lot. Visit our services page for more info. In short, we offer full-service Internet marketing, as well as community marketing. Branding, logo design, event planning and management, press releases, social networking, team training, and more…  You might also want to complete our free assessment while you’re here. It will help you, us, or a consultant analyze your current and past marketing program.

Blog Commenting… What’s the Point?

It’s a great question. At first glance, commenting on a blog post seems kinda like throwing your two cents into a conversation where you don’t know the players. If you aren’t the type of guy or gal to butt into a conversation you weren’t invited to, you probably don’t post comments. In addition to feeling uninvited, commenting on a blog is a risk. You’re putting your name out there with your opinion…and what if you find out later that your opinion was wrong? If you throw in your two cents, will you have to eat your words?

Stop feeling scared or weird about posting comments. As long as you post kind responses, useful information, and gentle opinions, it’ll be fine. Never rant, berate, belittle, or fudge the truth.

If you follow the golden rule, commenting on dentistry or community-focused blogs is great—no SUPERB—for business. Here’s why:

  1. The comment can link back to your website
  2. The comment gets your name in front of people (great for publicity)
  3. The more comments you have out in cyberspace, the greater the SEO benefits
  4. Commenting can lead to mutually beneficial relationships (with patients, doctors, or industry professionals)
  5. When you post comments, people often reciprocate by posting comments on your blog… which looks great to visitors

“Well, that’s all fine and good,” you say, “but where do I find dental or community-focused blogs to comment on?”

Another great question. Here’s a great answer:

  1. WordPress.com
  2. Blogged.com
  3. DentalHeroes.com
  4. On your Facebook Fan page
  5. US.LoadedWeb.com

That should be enough to keep you busy for a while!

And if your next thought is, “Time, woman! I have no time!” then I’m glad you’re here. I’m also not offended that you referred to me as “woman.” I take it as a compliment. My dental copywriters and I would be happy to post comments on your behalf if you have an MDPM website blog. We’ll also setup and maintain the comments on your blog, as well as your Facebook account and local listings. It’s a sweet deal. We do it all. 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

The Dentist’s Weekend Warrior Marketing Tip

Here is a marketing idea you can implement by 10:00 Monday morning.  It is virtually free, and would only take about an hour of your time to set up.

The only catch is you have to act NOW!

As every new school year begins, local communities hold school supply drives.   A great way to get exposure for your practice, while serving your community, is to take part in the collection of these supplies.

Here are the 5 simple steps:

1) Call your local family services office or other charity and ask if they are doing a school supply drive.  Let them know you want to collect items for them at your office.  Regardless of how many collection spots they have or how close the first day of school is, they will gladly accept your help.  Ask them to email blast their donors that you are a designated collection spot.

2) Make a flyer to hang up in your office and email it to your patients. The local organization may already have a template.

3) Email your database of patients, post on FB, Twitter and on your Blog. Be sure to encourage others to pass the word along to their friends. If you are in a multi-tenant building, hang your flyers in the hallways and restrooms if possible.

4) Get a cardboard box to collect the donations. You can have your kids or your staff  decorate it for you. Somewhere near the box, have some of your business cards/marketing material available so donors are encouraged to learn more about your practice.

5) At the end of the drive, deliver the supplies. Make it a fun outing for your office, and take a camera along. When the drive is over, send out a big THANK YOU to everyone via email, FB, Twitter and your Blog.  You can also include a photo of yourself and your staff delivering the supplies.

Be sure to share any success stories with us at info@moderndentalmarketing.com. We would love to share your results with our readers.  Pictures are welcome as well!