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Posts Tagged ‘social media marketing’

Today’s social media market is one of engaging and connecting, which puts us in constant contact with our viewers, clients, and patients and brings our email addresses and our cell phone rings in the limelight from time to time.

As patients and clients give us their email addresses, it’s amazing, sometimes comical, some of the names created to be used.  The cell phone rings we hear in the office can also be quite funny. 

A great example of your cell phone ring and how it’s heard is the Geico commercial when they are discussing ring tones and the CEO’s cell phone rings and his ring is totally out there!

If at all possible, have your email address linked to your website address. Best would be your name @your web address.  If that’s not possible, then use your name @gmail.  What you don’t want is something like “redneckgirl @yahoo” or “dudeman @gmail”.  If you’re using it for your business email, then keep it professional. 

The same thing goes for your cell phone ring tone.  True when someone calls you they don’t hear your ring tone,  But what if you are in the middle of a business conversation and you’re right at a critical point and your phone rings playing…”Take This Job and Shove It”! 

In short: Keep it professional.  If in doubt…don’t use it.

Technorati Tags: Building Business, Dental Marketing, engaging and connecting, engaging social media, Internet Marketing, Livvie Matthews, Social Media and Telephone, social media marketing, Telephone skill

Social Media has changed marketing as we know it.  It’s instant, engaging, and presents a multitude of opportunities and benefits for connecting with new and exisiting patients. 

However, one of the oldest and still most cost effective social media marketing tools in your practice is your telephone!  Are you utilizing it to it’s full potential?

Although we don’t want to place or keep a caller on hold, in reality we know it’s going to happen. 

Since your caller is holding, a captive audience you might say, it’s the perfect opportunity to grab your listeners attention, but I can’t tell you how many offices I’ve called (speciality and general) and I get to listen to music  or worse yet, be placed on a dead line while holding. 

Obviously the caller wanted some type of information when they called, why not offer them additional information about you, your team, and your practice/services they may not be aware are available.

Some of the services you can share with your caller:

• Your credentials – the caller may have attended the same school
• Types of dentistry provided (ie. general, cosmetic, family, children, RCT, Perio)
• Infection Control – patients are very concerned about this area
• Your location
• Office hours – early morning, evening, or even Saturday appointments?
• Oral Cancer screening -Oral cancer is on the rise… (ie: Vizilite, Identifi3000, etc)
• Zoom Whitening (or the type you offer)
• Implants – one of the most searched for dental procedures
• Invisalign – let them know you offer clear braces
• Referrals – they may not know you’re accepting new patients
• Arestin
• Laser treatment – soft tissue management and uclers for starters

Even your patients that have been in your practice for awhile probably don’t know all the procedures and services you offer.  Let them know in a short, timely message shared while they are on hold.  Never underestimate what your caller knows, or doesn’t know, about you, your services, and your practice.

I’ve come back on the phone, after placing a caller on hold many times, to have them say “I didn’t know you offered…..   Could you tell me more about it? or Can I make an appointment?”  You never know what else your patients may be looking for…let them know what services you have available.  

Again, we should do everything possible to not place a caller on hold, but when we do these are a few of the procedures and services you can have your callers listen to while holding. 

What additional services or procedures can you add?

Technorati Tags: Building Business, Dental Marketing, engaging and connecting, engaging social media, Livvie Matthews, Patient Relations, social media marketing, Telephone and social media

You’re on the Social Media platforms, you know…”If you build it, they will come”.   You have a Facebook profile and business page, a Twitter page, a LinkedIn page, and you’re on YouTube…life is grand! 

But wait a minute!  Do your viewers, clients, and patients know “where” you are on your social sites?  Do they have you “social address?”  

As most of you know, I’m a 30 year dental business office professional and certified Social Media Specialist.  This past weekend after speaking at a social media event, I had a “Wow, I could have had a V8″ moment!  Like at all events, we had our business cards out and we enchanged cards. 

That evening when I got home and was looking at the cards I had received I noticed a few of them had their actual addresses of their social media sites.  Mine on the other hand had my email address on it!!  What’s so bad about that you ask?? 

Did you notice above I mentioned I’m a social media specialist??  Well, I’m a social media specialist…without one single social site listed on my business card!  So, I remidied that….New business cards are ordered, they’re on their way, and you guessed it….all my social sites are listed on these cards! 

My whole point in saying the above is for you to make sure you have your social sites listed on everything you have printed that is sent to New Patients or existing patients.  Here’s a good example of how it can be fitted on a business card (I’m using my usiser name as examples)

• Twitter: /Livvie_Matthews
• Facebook: /copywritingand socialmedia
• LinkedIn: /in/livviematthews
• YouTube: /LivvieMatthews

OR you could use the social icons in place of the social site’s name followed by your “address”.  Either way works just fine and will tell viewers, patients, and clients where they can find you on all the sites.

In addition to your business cards having your social sites listed, they should also be listed on your letterhead, listed in any printed ads you may still have, links should be in your email signature to your social sites, and  included in any correspondence sent out from the office

Social media is about gaining more visibility, so the more people see where they can find you, the more viewers you will have that follow you!

What about your social sites…how are some of the way you use them for gaining visibility?

Technorati Tags: Dental Marketing, engaging social media, Internet Marketing, Livvie Matthews, social media marketing, Twitter, women using social media

The 2nd Annual All Women’s Social Media Summit just wrapped up.  It was a blast to share the panel with such energetic and insightful women.  We were asked to choose our favorite social networking site below is a link to the video of our answers.  (The second video from the top)

http://www.facebook.com/beverly.mahone/posts/166450833373957#!/copywritingandsocialmedia

What’s your favorite social site and why?

Technorati Tags: Building Business, engaging social media, Livvie Matthews, social media marketing

Social media is presenting many opportunities for practices and busineses to market their business as never before.  This means change and for many of us, change doesn’t come easy because it requires us to leave our comfort zones.

Our comfort zones are just that…comfortable.  We feel good about them, we excell in them, we don’t even have to think about them, we know them like the back of our hand…they wear like a comfortable pair of old shoes. 

But there comes a time, like it or not, we have to replace those old shoes and break in a new pair.  Now sometimes, this can be painful….stiffness, tight fit,  maybe even a blister…but often times that pair of new shoes becomes more comfortable than the old pair and a lot more beneficial for our feet.

That’s how it is with social media.  Like it or not it’s time for a change and we have to replace (or adjust) the old static traditional marketing of print ads and break in the new interacting marketing social media presents.

Social media causes you to boldly go where  you haven’t gone before and this can make it painful…stiffness (learning the how to’s), tight fit (learning how to not be distracted), maybe even a blister (finding what to say and what not to say) but social media is a fast learn, becomes a lot more comfortable (less expensive than traditional), and is incredibibly more beneficial for your practice!

Through your social marketing strategies and platforms, you have an ongoing representative marketing your practice…24/7…creating credibility for you and your practice…gaining their trust…and building profitable relationships.  You’re REAL…they’ve gotten to KNOW you! 

What steps have you  taken out of your comfort zone?

Technorati Tags: changing how to market, Dental Marketing, engaging and connecting, Internet Marketing, Livvie Matthews, Social media and Internet marketing, social media comfort zones, social media marketing