Dental Relationship Marketing

Posts Tagged ‘Rita Zamora’

Over 40% of potential new patients will never consider your practice unless you provide them with ample opportunity to research you online.  This goes far beyond having a traditional website. Initiative, the Interpublic Group media agency, indicated that many consumers won’t make a purchase of anything from shampoo to cars without the ability to do substantial online research.

The Progressive Dentist Magazine

The pricier the item or service, the more research consumers want to do. What does this mean for your practice? It means that potential new patients want to see multiple pieces of online information about your practice. This online real estate may include reviews, testimonials, video, a Facebook Business Page, website, and more.

Read more: Multiple Pieces of Online Real Estate – Reviews & Social Media Marketing for Dentists

This article was originally published in The Progressive Dentist Magazine.  Keep up with their premium content “Teaching the Business of Dentistry” on The Progressive Dentist Magazine on Facebook.

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Is your Facebook community flourishing or flailing?  Before you begin to judge the value of your social media efforts, be sure you are taking full advantage of all opportunities.  Below is a list of social marketing do’s and don’ts (part one).

Don’t #1 – Use a stock photo for your profile picture. A stock photo is even less effective than using a logo for your profile image.  Why?  Your profile image is the main image that people see with every post or tweet.  As consumers we’ve learned to ignore advertising.  What screams advertising more than stock imagery? It’s as if we have a subtle radar in our eyes and minds that alerts us to someone trying to sell us something in social media.  By using stock photos as a profile image, you loose the opportunity to genuinely connect with your fans.

Instead Do This - This is a very simple fix.  Use a photo of a real person or people from within your practice.  A team photo or solo picture of the doctor is best.  Authentic images will allow you to better connect with the people who like you—and that’s what social media is all about … making human connections. A next best option to using a photo of you or your team is a logo that is designed to show up well in a thumbnail.

Don’t #2 - You have a Personal Facebook Profile, but you don’t “run it” yourself, rather your staff does. I’m seeing more situations where doctors are letting their team open a Facebook profile on their behalf.  The team member or members will “friend” others on behalf of the doctor, at times accept patients as friends, and even comment as the doctor.  This is wrong on so many levels, however my biggest concern is risk management. Misrepresenting yourself in social media is a great way to mislead people and break trust.

Instead Do This - Fix this problem by taking over your own personal profile. The only person who should be acting on your behalf is you. If you have no interest in interacting or participating on Facebook, you shouldn’t have a personal profile.  Rather close your account and assign your Facebook Page management to a trusted team member.  Just to be clear, it’s not uncommon for there to be multiple Page administrators for a Facebook Business Page, which is fine.  It’s with regard to Personal Facebook Profiles that this is a definite don’t.

One of the advantages of social marketing is the ability to easily change or revise your strategy and experiment.  What are you doing that is working—or not?

Part two of this article to follow next week.

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Would you like to increase your positive reviews on sites like Google or Yelp?  If so, you are not alone.  Many practices today are clamoring to build up their positive online PR—or in some cases they need to bury a negative review or two.

Some of you may be thinking that you provide good service and that should be enough to motivate reviews.  Yet as, Gary Vaynerchuk, author of The Thank You Economy said, “Marketing is about to get really !@#$%&! hard”.  Will simply good or adequate service be enough to motivate positive word of mouth and reviews?

There are several proven things you can do to help increase your positive reviews, including asking patients via word of mouth, tangible reminders, or digital tools (like surveys or emails that push to review sites).  However the number one best way to skyrocket your positive reviews and testimonials will always be to surprise and delight your patients.

Asking for testimonials is one thing, however igniting raving reviews organically is  entirely another.  Rather than setting your focus on how you can get people to post reviews, how about setting your primary intentions on how you can delight patients?  For some of you this may seem obvious. However I think many practices—even the most successful ones—can almost always find at least one new thing to enhance.

What are a few examples of surprising patients?  If you live in a rainy city, have nice umbrellas you could offer patients when they leave during a storm. Fred Joyal, author of Everything is Marketing said, “Offer limo transportation to patients having certain treatments”.  Think about things that wowed you at your last impressive restaurant visit or resort stay and brainstorm with your team. Once you’ve wowed your patients and given them something to rave about, it’s a lot easier for your team to ask for referrals and patients are much more motivated to talk you up.

Today, digital reputations mean everything. So certainly spend some time taking action to grow your positive reviews. However, spend the greatest effort and energy on what’s even more important—showering your patients with pleasant surprises, thank you’s, and genuine appreciation.  Set your intentions everyday on delighting patients and saying thank you. The positive word of mouth, referrals and reviews will then easily follow.

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Many practices are running some type of competition, contest or drawing promotion on Facebook. Unfortunately, many of them are also breaking Facebook’s promotions guidelines and risk having their Business Pages shut down.

If you are running a contest or drawing on Facebook (or if you are considering running one), you must be aware of Facebook’s guidelines.

See www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php for the details.  In short, you must not collect contest or drawing entries or announce winners directly on your Facebook Page.  You may however run a contest using a third party application, such as WildFire Promotion Builder (visit www.wildfireapp.com).

I often have team members approach me and say, “Yeah, but so and so’s practice is holding contests directly on their Page, they are announcing winners on their Page, and they don’t have any special applications…”  This comes down to many businesses, not just dental practices, who are either unaware of these guidelines or simply don’t care.

Is there really a Facebook police?  Have I seen anyone’s Page shut down due to this type of violation?  Not that I’m aware of.  However, rules are rules—and they certainly weren’t created to be ignored.  Be aware of the rules and determine how much risk you are comfortable with.  If you have a thriving Facebook community, it would be a shame to loose it for something you could have prevented.

What are you doing to promote your Page, yet remain compliant?

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Online reviews are all the buzz in dental marketing today.  However, will the relevancy of reviews still hold power a year from now?

I just watched an undercover investigation report about fake online reviews on the Today show.  The investigation focused on hotels and resorts that are being scrutinized for fake reviews or misleading website advertising.

One of my favorites sites (until now), Trip Advisor, was also mentioned.  The investigators interviewed a gentleman who said he was paid to post phony good or bad reviews about various hotels or resorts. Further, some advertising agencies were also facilitating fake reviews as a service.  What does this mean for the future / relevancy of online reviews?

Although the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is to regulate reviews and prosecute those for false ratings, it’s evident the issue of fake reviews is growing rampant.

So what has this got to do with dental or healthcare provider reviews?  The dental industry has followed many other industries (such as travel, book, or restaurant) review marketing trends. However with more information revealing how trickery is behind many online reviews, will the power of all online reviews be deflated?

In the end, what we can all certainly rely on is the recommendation of a trusted friend.  Perhaps this is what Facebook already knows… The only real reviews, recommendations and “likes” we will be able to trust in the future will be those of our trusted friends. It all comes back to good old word of mouth—whether in person or online it is only our network of real friends, and real Facebook friends, that we may be able to ultimately trust.

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A common concern I hear dentists voice about Facebook is, “I want to keep my private life private…”.  I often explain to clients that it’s possible to be personable in social marketing, yet still maintain your privacy.

With that said, should dentists friend their patients on Facebook?

Here is an excerpt from my recent interview with DrBiscupid.com:

“The mushrooming popularity of social media such as Facebook makes it an effective marketing tool, but experts warn dentists that sharing too much personal information can affect doctor/patient relationships in negative ways…”

Visit DrBicuspid.com and search “Should you ‘friend’ your patients?” to read the entire January 31, 2011 article.

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Early this month I had the pleasure of presenting several seminars at the Rocky Mountain Dental Convention.  William Walters, a Denver attorney, also presented at the conference and spoke about social media marketing risks.

Note, I’m not an attorney myself.  The following article is written based on my understanding and perspective of Mr. Walters excellent presentation …

Whether you are marketing on Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter, read the small print/terms of service.  Yes, they are often pages long and change regularly, however you should be informed.

Be sure to have verifiable, signed consent from patients—and employees—to use their photos, video, etc. in social media platforms. The signed release should make mention of “perpetual use”, and include the fact material will be used in social media (Facebook, etc.).

Set limits for team members posting.  Include expectations for behavior in your policy manuals. In addition, monitor your platforms regularly.  For example, check on your Facebook Page on a regular basis. Be aware of what both staff members, as well as patients and the public, are posting on your Page.

Be thoughtful about what you are posting and be careful about defamation in public areas, tweets included.

Read more about Mr. Walters statements regarding advertising regulations, the FTC, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, as well as HIPPA in the January 20, 2011 DrBicuspid.com article entitled “ How social media can help — and hurt — your practice.”

Social media is a new dental marketing frontier—with unprecedented opportunities.  It’s often seen as fun, casual and spontaneous… However it’s important to be informed, compliant, and thoughtful about what we say and how we manage our social marketing.

What are your thoughts?

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There’s been a slew of articles published the last few weeks about alternatives to Google search and traditional SEO.  Potential search replacements are being motivated by user behavior and the desire for more relevant solutions. Consider, “social search”, how businesses may be found, for example on Facebook, based on the number of people who like them (fans/relationships) vs. a Google algorithm.

In this article, entitled “Why We Desperately Need a New (and Better) Google“, the author said, “Google has become a jungle: a tropical paradise for spammers and marketers.”  The article goes on to say that most Google searches now take you to sites that will make them money or to sites created by unscrupulous companies that know how to manipulate Google’s page-ranking system …

What does this mean for the future of your web marketing? It doesn’t mean you abandon your current online strategy if it’s working for you.  At this moment, Google search is still king—although the throne is being scrutinized and spurred.  Hopefully Google will take note of the evolving wants and needs of more sophisticated web searchers.

In the meantime, establish and grow your online communities where people are spending more time (Why You Must Focus on ROR ‘Return on Relationships’ in 2011).

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Have you heard a team member or colleague say, “I don’t get all this Facebook stuff”. It’s sometimes followed up with, “I’m old and that’s why I can’t do this”. Success in social media is not an age issue people, rather it’s an attitude or state of mind issue .

If you think you are too old to understand how Facebook works, take a look at Katherine Eitel’s belief and power statements concept… As Katherine points out, are you disempowering yourself through limiting beliefs?  The most important component to succeeding in social marketing is being open and adopting a new mindset.

Further, understand that social media does not require vast technical knowledge.  Facebook and social marketing are all about people skills and relationships. The technology (how, what, and when to post) can be taught.  It’s an open-mind that is difficult to change—you either have an open mind or you don’t.

If you are opposed to social media simply because you think you are “too old to get it”, you are cheating yourself out of new experiences and opportunities. Read through Katherine’s questions and suggestions.  Consider that perhaps you don’t “get” social media because you make a conscious decision not to—and that’s okay too.

Everyone deserves a chance to learn and grow.  No matter what age you are, I hope you never stop learning. Most importantly, remember there are always teachers and coaches to help you. All you need to succeed in social marketing is an open mind.  Keep learning!

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Facebook’s recent interview on 60 Minutes revealed what could be a tsunami in the world of search … Imagine a search engine that feeds you results based on relevant, meaningful, social proof rather than some algorithm Google suggested.  What would this mean to you?  It means that people would find you in search based on what people in their Facebook network think of you.

Search results would be based on those businesses, services and products connected to people in our network.  This is quite profound, because rather than trying to crack Google’s latest algorithm, you’d instead need to ensure that you have many raving fans.  Social capital will become extremely valuable in this situation.  It’s then all about how many people know AND like you.

So, what can you do in preparation for this potential search tsunami?  First and foremost, be sure you have excellent patient relations skills.  Remember people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.  Consider getting an “outside set of eyes” to observe you and your team in action.  Now is an ideal time to engage a coach or consultant to help you fine tune and enhance your systems, environment and customer service. Most importantly, coaches hold us accountable for things that we are sometimes too busy to follow through with.

If social search takes off, it’s likely that patients may become even more vocal about what they like—and dislike.  We’ve seen this already, when Facebook recently released their new profile layout … in turn, people began to expand upon their profile information.

With that said, now is the time to get as many quality fans as possible to like your practice Page.   Do you have a strategy or plan in place to help you engage patients on Facebook in 2011? If not, take time to consider what you will continue to do or do differently.

The world of search is moving more toward honest marketing.  Social capital and ROR (Return on Relationships) will become more important than how optimized your website is for Google search.  Those practices who regularly exceed patient’s expectations and who take time to promote their Facebook presence could very well dominate in social search.

Will your practice be found near the top of social search?

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