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Get in Front with Facebook’s Graph Search by Angela Weber

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If you follow tech news, you'll know that the rivalry between Facebook and Google only gets more intense every year. As a social networking company, at first Facebook didn't really compete with Google, which built its name and fortune as a search engine. But today Google is much more of an empire than a search engine (with Google+ as its social networking outpost). Meanwhile, Facebook has announced a new salvo against Google into the world of search with a new functionality called Graph Search.

The feature had a tentative launch in July, and it's poised to strengthen and elbow into Google's territory. If you rely on Google searches to generate new patient inquiries for your orthodontic practice, you'd be well advised to pay attention to Facebook's Graph Search now and get out in front while it's still new.

First, what is Graph Search anyway? To answer that question, think about how Facebook users interact with the site. They post status updates about where they are and what they're thinking. They "like" their favorite bands, TV shows and local shops. Their profiles include ages, hometowns, schools and plenty of other information. What Graph Search does is make all this data easily searchable. For users, this can be helpful to find common interests within their networks.

Users looking for an orthodontist might search for “dentist offices liked by my friends,” and Facebook would reveal the answers. You could also just use the phrase “dentist offices” as a search, and Graph Search results would favor dental practices friends have liked, visited or interacted with.

Word-of-mouth is a significant marketing tool for small businesses, with some research claiming there's no single better method for gaining new customers. Like a Google search, Graph Search can help people find orthodontists in their local areas, but Graph Search goes one step further by uniting local searches with word-of-mouth. If Graph Search catches on, it will be because people are likely to give more weight to its results than they would to the results of an impartial Google search.

[Note: Facebook does not currently have a separate category for "orthodontic offices" and lumps orthodontists in with dentists. Typing "orthodontist" leads to a recommendation to use the term "dentist offices."]

Six Steps to Rise to the Top in Graph Search
  1. Get a Facebook Page - If your practice doesn't have a presence on Facebook yet, it needs one. Without a page, your practice is not going to show up in Graph Search results at all. Facebook likes to keep users in its own ecosystem and will not direct people to a website. To get started, visit Facebook.com/business/build.
  2. Fill Out Your Facebook Page Entirely - Your practice might have already started its own page, but is it just halfway done? Graph Search will favor pages that are complete. Be sure the About section and all the other sections are filled out. Don't forget to include good quality photos, too.
  3. Get More "Likes" - Promote your page to current patients and contacts. Suggest that they click on the thumbs-up to follow it (which is the same as being a "fan"). You can put a "like" box on your website and include it in e-mail communications. When patients visit the office, tell them about your page, and you might decide to offer incentives for them to follow you.
  4. Maintain Your Page - Facebook prefers active pages over pages with sporadic activity or dusty ones that haven't be touched in months. Be sure you (or a staff member) posts original, compelling content regularly. A few times a week is adequate and easily done. Again, photos work great with Facebook's layout, and your followers will enjoy videos, too.
  5. Interact with Users - Post questions, run contests and give access to specials to encourage people to interact with your page. Show some personality and use your imagination. The tone should be friendly and informal. Whenever anyone comments on anything, be sure to respond. Social networking is about two-way communication.
  6. Encourage Check-ins - The status update box on Facebook includes an icon that looks like a map pinpoint. Users can click on it to associate their updates with a place of business that has a page. This check-in will appear on their friends' feeds and will also influence Graph Search results. A little sign by your office's receptionist window can give patients the nudge they need to check in, and you may choose to offer a small incentive.
If your practice already has a vibrant and active Facebook presence, Graph Search shouldn't change much. The recommended techniques to promote your practice in Graph Search more or less coincide with the same good ideas to promote it on Facebook overall. The advent of Graph Search simply makes your Facebook Page more important, especially if it becomes a go-to source for users to discover local businesses. Facebook is sure to develop advertising opportunities that tie into Graph Search, but advertising dollars aren't necessary to take advantage of the feature.

Play around with Graph Search yourself to get an idea of how it works. You might find that it operates slowly and the search syntax can be rather clunky for now. At the same time, you'll start to understand its potential and why it is primed to become an essential tool for marketing your practice online.

Author's Bio
Angela Weber is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for OrthoSynetics (OSI), a business services firm that assists orthodontic and dental practices utilizing a full-service, turnkey management approach to address all non-clinical practice functions to gain better efficiencies and profitability. Services are also offered on an á la carte basis. For more information, visit www.orthosynetics.com or e-mail aweber@orthosynetics.com.
Orthotown Magazine
September 2025
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