A few years ago dental professionals asked themselves: Why would I have, or even better, pay for things like email, website or this thing called the internet? In today’s markets, where Information Technology is not only the biggest but also the best performing sector in the S&P500, the answer is:
Social media has changed the way we communicate and connect on a personal level, and it’s now increasingly relevant in establishing and maintaining your professional credibility to stay competitive. Here are my top 5 reasons why a Facebook page for your practice helps grow exposure, new patients and accelerates repeat visits.
1. It establishes more presents for your practice on the web
Unlike personal Facebook profiles, a Fan Page can be viewed by anyone. With the right amount, direction and quality of posts you can use your fan page to establish yet another location for your business to be found by Facebook users, search engines as well as direct visitors alike. Especially if you split your time between different locations!
Make sure you give your visitor strategic information about what you do and link it up with all your other web presents! More visibility means that you are in the mix when consumers make a decision who to trust!
2. Expectations are met
90 percent of Facebook users expect the businesses and organizations they deal with to have a Facebook Page. And that number is closing in on 1.5 billion (with a B) users worldwide, 65% of them are daily users of Facebook. And the number is growing. Do I need to say more?
3. Drives Traffic to Your Website
Facebook wants you to be active, to be frequent and most importantly to link up!
With what? With everything! In fact, Facebook doesn’t even allow you to run a business page by itself. You are forced to create you presents out of a personal profile and manage it from there as well. Don’t be mad about that, it’s a symbiosis that helps everybody – Facebook, your visitors and your business equally. Link your website to your page and your page to your website, blog and other social media profiles!
4. Know your customer
I was on the phone with a customer of Adler Social recently to help her fill out the customer profile questionnaire and I asked who her who her target customers are.
“Everybody with teeth and everybody without teeth” she told me, ha!
Dentists have a huge pool of potential customers but there is always a particular good one and everybody’s marketing budget is limited.
Not only can you use social media and its analytics to find out who engaged with your posts and content, but you can then use that information for further marketing efforts. Word of mouth is and has always been the best form of advertising there is. Now, using social media as its extension, you can guide who you are applying it to!
5. Show off your new courses, licenses and continuing education
The single best way to get the most out of social media is to create a brand. In case of dental offices that translates into establishing expert status. One of the reasons why we started Adler Social was that we wanted to help dentists to establish their expert status with a comprehensive social media strategy.
Besides, the dental sector bears one of the highest rates of equipment modernization and continuing education, why wouldn’t you want your existing patients tell about that new super modern laser equipment you just bought and became an expert in? You don’t think patients prefer pain free treatment? You will be surprised how many patients will switch dentist for access to superior treatment techniques. Old school is for fashion not for medicine!
Stefan Singer – CEO Adler Social, LLC
Stefan Singer is co-founder and CEO of Adler Social llc, a New York City based Social Media Management company. Having spent 10+ years on Wall Street in National and International equity, venture capital and private placement business, his focus now is helping small businesses to use today’s cutting edge social media to grow revenue, customer loyalty and satisfaction.
