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Getting Social Media to Grow Your Practice by Diana Friedman

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To say that social media is popular is quite the understatement. But sheer user volume doesn't tell the whole story of its popularity. Consumers - including your current and prospective patients - are spending increasing amounts of time on social media channels. About 23 percent of Facebook users, for example, check their account five or more times a day.4

Social media is part of our daily lives and are go-to resources for buying decisions. In fact, 89 percent of all U.S. Internet users do an online search before making a purchase, even if that purchase is made at a local business.5 Why is that relevant to your orthodontic practice? Each year 80 percent of adult Internet users look for health information online.6

The combination of popularity and frequency of use spells enormous business growth opportunity for orthodontic practices that cultivate an active and varied social media presence. Let's take a closer look at six popular social media channels we believe are the keys to building successful online relationships with current and prospective patients. In discussing each channel, I will share a specific tactic to leveraging that channel to engage with patients and grow your practice.

Facebook: What It Is

Facebook has come a long way from its origin as a networking platform for Harvard students. Today, Facebook is perhaps the most business-friendly social media site. Businesses can create gorgeous Facebook pages with customized branded cover pages; drive traffic to their pages using inexpensive, targeted ads; post a wide variety of multimedia content to engage current and potential customers; and much more. Facebook's Page Insights analytics feature allows you to measure your page's reach, engagement and other key data. Let's not forget Facebook Graph Search, which allows users looking for an orthodontist to perform a search that displays all of the orthodontists that have been "liked" by their friends.

Why It's Worth Your Time

Your competitors are there. A recent study by Sesame Communications7 polled 88 dental and orthodontic practices and found that 99 percent of these practices use Facebook.

Your patients are there. One billion users is nearly onesixth the world's population! But more to the point, a staggering 93 percent of all U.S. adult Internet users are on Facebook.8

Patients on Facebook are active. We already know Facebook users check their accounts several times a day. They participate, too: more than 2.7 billion "Likes" and comments occur on Facebook each day.9

How You Can Use Facebook to Your Advantage

Hold contests on your Facebook page. Contests and sweepstakes are great ways to engage current patients and reach potential new ones. Current patients will appreciate the chance to be rewarded for interacting or "liking" your page and they'll be sure to tell their friends about it!

A 2012 study by Sesame Communications documented the benefits of online contests and sweepstakes for orthodontic practices. 10 The study looked at 48 dental and orthodontic practices, as well as 64 distinct contests and sweepstake campaigns. On average, these campaigns drove 194 new "Likes" per practice, per campaign, as well as four appointment requests that originated with filling out an entry form. Participating practices also received an average of 17 recommendations on Facebook per contest — testimonials that will exist on their page and benefit them indefinitely.

Blogs: What It Is

A blog is a discussion-based or informational site that features a series of discrete entries called "posts." Posts can include not only text but photos, video, graphs, charts, polls and much more.

A blog can be much longer than a Facebook or Twitter post - a few paragraphs or more. This allows you to dive deeper into orthodontic-related topics, displaying your expertise and authority. Yet blogging is also informal so feel free to write about yourself, your employees or what's going on in your office.

Why It's Worth Your Time

Your competitors are doing it. According to a recent study by Sesame Communications that polled 88 dental and orthodontic practices, 83 percent of these practices have blogs.11

It's great for business. In fact, 57 percent of companies have acquired a customer from their company blog.12

How You Can Use Blogs to Your Advantage

Feature team member blogs. Have all members in the office write a blog on their choice of topic. Topics might include: why they enjoy working in dentistry, a favorite story from work, or just something about themselves. Let your patients get to know the whole team. Then, when they come in for their first or next visit, they'll feel more comfortable.

YouTube: What It Is

Despite being known as a video network, YouTube is also the world's second-largest search engine. The site allows you to easily upload videos up to 15 minutes long, which can be shared with your YouTube community, posted on your Twitter and Facebook pages and embedded in your blog and website. Video content - on YouTube and elsewhere - is excellent for improving your visibility in search engines.

Why It's Worth Your Time

Your competitors are there. According to a recent study by Sesame Communications that polled 88 dental and orthodontic practices, 59 percent of these practices use YouTube.13

Your patients are there. YouTube stats show that more than four billion videos are watched every day. And 53.5 percent of the population and 70.8 percent of all internet users will watch an online video in 201214

How You Can Use YouTube to Your Advantage

Feature patient testimonials on your channel. Patient testimonials are excellent, versatile marketing tools. They're also great ways to get prospective and current patients excited about your practice! Testimonials - especially in video format - act as very strong influencers: 90 percent of consumers trust peer recommendations.15 When you notice patients who are pleased or excited about their experiences, ask if you can shoot a quick video of them talking about it, and get their permission to share it on your YouTube channel. Better yet, have a flip video camera at the practice and capture those great treatment completion sessions.

Twitter: What It Is

Twitter is an interactive stream of messages; each message is limited to 140 characters. These messages - known as "Tweets" - post on your Twitter page and automatically stream to users who "follow" you.

Twitter is widely regarded as a powerful marketing tool that can be used to share quick and focused updates, connect with patients, learn from customers' past experiences and connect with professional peers. Maintaining a Twitter presence does not need to be time-consuming. In just seconds, you can compose and send out a Tweet that reaches thousands of potential patients.

Why It's Worth Your Time

Your competitors are there. About 75 percent of companies use Twitter as a marketing channel.16

Your patients are there. Twitter has 100 million members who log in at least once a month.17

Patients are using it to inform potential buying decisions. Of all active Twitter users, 42 percent learn about products and services via Twitter and 49 percent follow brands or companies.18

How You Can Use Twitter to Your Advantage

Use advanced search to find the right followers. Twitter can be overwhelming at first. Where do you start looking for people to follow? Twitter's advanced search lets you find potential followers based on where they live, what they're Tweeting about and other criteria. So you might start by searching for people located within a 50-mile radius of your office. Or refine the search further by searching for local users who have Tweeted about orthodontics or related topics in the past.

Google+: What It Is

Google+ is Google's foray into social networking. It shares many features with social media sites like Facebook. Because content shared on Google+ is linked with Google itself, getting involved on Google+ is great for SEO. Google+ is businessfriendly; it gives you the ability to create brand-focused Google+ pages for your practice. The site allows you to "circle" other users (their version of "friending" someone), share videos, pictures, and status updates and much more.

Why It's Worth Your Time

Your patients are already there. Google+ now has more than 400 million users, and was one of the top-10 most-visited social networking sites in 2012.19

And more patients are joining every day. Google+ gets 625,000 new users every day.20

How You Can Use Google+ to Your Advantage

Build your circles the right way. Just as Facebook Business pages cannot "friend" people, Google+ business pages cannot "circle" users; users must circle them. There are three easy ways to get around this and grow your business's circles. First, promote your Google+ page elsewhere - on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, your website and so on. Second, if you're comfortable with it, create a personal Google+ page and add patients to your circle. Then, ask these patients to circle your orthodontic practice's page as well. Third, circle related local businesses - perhaps dentists' offices nearby, health-food stores, etc. - that your patients are likely to have already circled.

Pinterest: What It Is

Pinterest is a pin-board, or bookmark-style, photo-sharing site. Users create theme-based image collections that include favorite events, hobbies, interests and more. Pinterest is interactive. Users can browse other boards, repin images to their boards or "like" images.

Why It's Worth Your Time

It's getting big. Pinterest had the largest year-over-year increase in audience and time spent of any social network. It is now the third-largest social network, behind only Facebook and Twitter. Pinterest now generates more than 1.3 billion page views per month.

Your target demographic is already there. It is known as a platform for your ultimate target demographic: moms.

How You Can Use Pinterest to Your Advantage

Create a board focused on your office. On this board, you can include pictures from around the office, of team members and of community and holiday events. Another board could include all things orthodontics, or content specialty specific to your practice. For instance, include a gallery of great smiles or recipes for foods patients can eat while in orthodontic care. The options are vast, so get creative - that's what Pinterest is all about! Engage and connect with your patients by encouraging patients to visit your boards, as well as re-pin and like images that might be related.

Final Thoughts

We've only discussed the six social networks that are most relevant to orthodontists - a whole separate article could be focused on Yelp, Foursquare, Instagram and others! Right now, social media might seem a little overwhelming, especially because the channels (and the best ways to use them) are constantly evolving.

If you're not sure where to get started, set up a Facebook Business page first. Facebook is simply too popular to ignore, and not having a Facebook page in 2013 looks nearly as bad as not having a website. Once you've figured out Facebook, move on to Twitter, YouTube and the others. As you venture into the world of social media, though, make sure all the channels connect and provide a strong, integrated practice brand. It is better to master one social network at a time than to have a thin, haphazard presence on all six.

However you approach social media, it's best to get started now. A small time investment in social media today is the first step to new and happier patients tomorrow.

References
  1. YouTube blog. YouTube. January 2012
  2. Pring, Cara. "100 social media statistics for 2012." The Social Skinny. January 2012
  3. Facebook Newsroom Fact Sheet, Facebook, October 2012.
  4. "100 social media statistics for 2012." The social Skinny. January 2012.
  5. Vaughan, Pamela. "42 Tweetable Facts to Squash Marketing Fantasies" Hubspot, August 2011
  6. "Health Topics." Pew Internet and American Life Project. February 2011
  7. Sesame Communications, September 25, 2012. Proprietary Data on file
  8. "Teen and Young Adult Internet Use." Pew Research Center. February 2010
  9. Constine, Josh. "How Big is Facebook Data." Techcrunch. August 2012.
  10. Sesame Communications, December 19, 2012. Proprietary Data on file
  11. Sesame Communications, September 25, 2012. Proprietary Data on file
  12. "The 2012 State of Inbound Marketing." Hubspot. January 2012.
  13. Sesame Communications, September 25, 2012. Proprietary Data on file
  14. "Mastering the Art of Online Video Marketing." Impact. September 2012
  15. "39 Social Media Statistics to Start 2012."Socialnomics. January 2012.
  16. Pring, Cara. "100 more social media statistics for 2012." The Social Skinny. February 2012
  17. Pring, Cara. "100 social media statistics for 2012." The Social Skinny. January 2012
  18. "Nielsen Social Media Report." Nielsen. Q3 2011
  19. "Google+ now home to 400 million total users."BGR. September 2012
  20. "Google+ Now up to 62 Million Users."Mashable. December 2011

Author's Bio
Diana P. Friedman is the CEO of Sesame Communications. Diana has had an extensive career launching dental innovations for leading manufacturers such as Philips Sonicare, as well as experience as a recognized speaker and practice management consultant. To contact her, e-mail diana@sesamecommunications.com.
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