Get social
Building a presence on social media.
In Part 2 of our series on building your online presence, Michael moves on to the world of social media. Thankfully, he has some straightforward tips that can give you a good footing in this world, without letting it become all-consuming. In case you missed it, Part 1 was about making the most of your Google listing — check it out here.
Today’s savvy patients can avail of a host of resources to make their dental decisions. In Part 1 we looked at their first port of call: Google Search. In this instalment, we will be looking at a unique kind of resource, one that is delivered straight to a patient’s news feed and read several times a day: social media.
Getting social is essential to the future of your practice. It is a 24/7 direct link with your patients and the most effective means of connecting with them. Utilising this tool should be done with careful consideration. Misuse can hurt your reputation, while interesting content and positive patient engagement can greatly improve your online presence, attracting more new patients.
The success of your practice is no longer down solely to the quality of your practice, but to how that quality is presented online: by yourself and by your patients.
Many dental practices have recognised the importance of social media for engaging with patients and have started to promote themselves on Facebook. If you haven’t done so already, you should get on this without delay! You can set up a page here. Before you publish your page, be sure to have the following four things ready to go:
- A profile photo — this appears most frequently beside the name of your page. It’s a good idea for this to be a picture of you or your team as opposed to your practice’s logo.
- A cover photo — this displays as a banner at the top of your main Facebook page. This could be a photo of your practice, your team, or your logo.
- Your business details — be ready to enter your business hours, address, and some small information about your practice.
- Your first three posts — Make sure you have material ready to go for your first three posts. This will get your page off to an active and engaging start. A small piece of text and a photo should do for each. Perhaps start with something about your practice, something about you, and a piece of home dental advice for patients.
While setting up a Facebook page is a great place to start, it can be counterproductive unless you populate it with interesting content, or detrimental if your patients feel they are constantly being sold procedures/services with no reward.
When it comes to this content, the simple rule for social media, believe it or not, is to be social! Patients are not interested in advertisements as they scroll through their news feeds — they take more interest in the activities of their friends. Your best bet is to share content that shows your social side — and the human side of your practice. A good rule of thumb is to post 40% of the time about you and your practice, which invites people to interact with your page. Another 40% should be dedicated to dental tips and initiatives to help them improve their oral health, this makes your page both a valuable resource and reference point for them. Only the last 20% should be allowed for selling procedures and services.
A strong Facebook presence is built on quality and consistency. Quality posts get a clear message across without superfluous language or irrelevant imagery. Consistency requires commitment to regular posting — whether once a week or once a day! Both of these standards can be met by using Facebook’s “Schedule” feature which allows you to schedule upcoming posts for release. This means you can devote a two or three hour session once a month to scheduling your posts for that entire month, dedicating time to finding useful images and making your captions succinct and clear.
With all of this under your belt, you will have a finely established Facebook presence. You can boost this from time to time by hosting competitions on your page or paying for advertising. We will dive into paid promotion in Part 6 of the series so stay tuned!
Did you find this piece useful? What more would you like to know? Let us know in the comments how your experience has been with social media and get in touch with us if you need any more advice.
