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Posts Tagged ‘social media marketing’

“Getting to Know You” is a show tune sung by Julie Andrews from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, but it could very well be the theme of social media.  Social Media:  Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You.

Traditional marketing  such as telephone book ads, magazine ads, and direct mail are static ads.  Once mailed there isn’t any more contact unless someone replies to the ad. The only thing the viewer knows about you is just what you’ve been able to place within the ad space.  There’s no interaction and the ad just stays there until the next ad renewal only to be renewed “as is”. 

With Social Media Marketing such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and your blog, there’s no limit to the amount of information the viewer can learn about you, your practice, your team, and your skills.  In addition to practice information, the viewer also can learn about your hobbies, your interests, even your likes and dislikes. 

Yes, social media has given dentists the opportunity to show personality, to show skills, to show techniques, and to gain their patients trust. But most importantly social media gives dentists the opportunity to show they’re real!

Let’s face it…who likes going to the dentist?  I don’t and I work in dentistry (a 30 year dental business office professional)!  Most all of us have a fear of dentists, some much more than others.  It’s the biggest reason given for not going to the dentist until there’s a dental emergency.

New patients walking in the door today already know far more about the dentist than the dentist knows about the patient. Because of social media and reading the social posts, the new patient has connected with the dentist because the dentist loves dogs, loves fishing, loves to cook, has teenagers in their family, has a military background from their same branch of service, attended the same college, loves the same sports team….and the reasons go on and on.

The real benefit of social media:  Helping to take the fear out of going to the dentist and drawing more people into the practice for the dental health care they need, because with social media ~  patients are getting to know you, getting to know all about you! What a huge benefit!

What connection has social media played in bringing in new patients to your practice?

Technorati Tags: Building Business, engaging and connecting, engaging social media, Facebook, Facebook for business, Internet Marketing, Livvie Matthews, social media marketing, Twitter

Whether it’s using social media platforms, newsletters, direct mail, or print ads…it’s all about keeping your name in front of your patients or new prospects and the end of the year presents one of the best opportunities…Year End Benefit Reminders.  

As we all know, the last quarter of the year is a busy time.  Businesses are pushing for that year end rush and people are gearing up for the holidays. 

The last thing on their mind is a trip to the dentist…but…they may have also forgotten about those unused flex benefits and unused insurance benefits that have been deducted from their salary all year and they will be lost if not used!

Sending your patients a Year End Benefit Reminder not only benefits you, it can present a big benefit to your patients especially if they have forgotten.   If you haven’t already sent reminders, NOW is the time, it’s not too late.  Sending now will give you time to send any PreTreatment Estimates needed and still have time to seat any crowns before the end of the year (if paying by seat date).  

If you are using Demand Force or Sesame Communications  getting the message out can be very simple. You can even utilize your own newsletter or your practice blog and social sites, the point is make sure you remind your patients. 

ADDED BONUS:  Remember to Tweet and post on Facebook, even your YouTube video reminder…New pospects looking for a dentist have unused flex benefits and unused insurance benefits, too,  and you just let them know where they can use them!

Here is a sample letter:

Subject:  Year End Benefit Reminder

Another year is winding down!  We wanted to remind you to make sure you take advantage of any unused dental insurance benefits and/or unused  flex (FSA) or healthcare (HSA) benefits you may have remaining since most companies do not allow you to carry these over to the next year. 

Call (office telephone number) or email (office email address) to schedule your appointment or if we can be of assistance in any way.  We’re here for you!

Look forward to seeing you soon!

(Doctor’s Name)

Year End Benefit Reminder letters sent in house or by social sites are just one of the many ways to keep your name in front of your patients and new prospects.  What are some other ways you use?

Technorati Tags: Building Business, Dental Marketing, Facebook, keeping your name in front of patients, Livvie Matthews, social media marketing, Social Media Specialist, Social Media Specialist Charlotte NC, Twitter, unused dental benefits, year end benefit letter, year end insurance reminder

Excited about  upcoming Free Teleseminar interviewing Dr Dhru Shan, the man behind Dentinal Tubules- Online Dental Marketing Resource and Community!  http://bit.ly/9rR3Kv

In just a little over a year Dentinal Tubules has gone from concept to reality to reaching all corners of the global dental communities! Looking forward to hearing his advice…it’s going to be a great call!

Friday Oct 8th  8:00 PM UK/BST —3:00PM EST, 2:00 PM CST, 1:00 PM MST, 12 Noon PST -

If you’re unable to attend, a recording of the call will be available for you to download and review!  Dhru has a lot of great information, advice, and “how to’s” to share!  Come on over and join us!  Seating is limited on the call…Sign Up Now!  http://bit.ly/9rR3Kv

Technorati Tags: dental social media, Dentinal Tubules dental resource, engaging social media, Free TeleSeminar Dentinal Tubules, Internet Marketing, Livvie Matthews, social media for dentists, social media marketing

Think of all the expense, not to mention the time, involved with getting the phone to ring…only to loose the caller.   Staggering fact:  As many as 50% of New Patient calls are lost at the front desk due to poor telephone skills! 

Verbal skills, over the phone or in person, dictate:

• First impressions
• Treatment acceptance
• Over the counter collections
• Scheduling
• Quality of service
• Referrals

There isn’t an area in your practice that’s untouched by verbal skills and it all starts with that first telephone call. 

We’ve all heard the saying ” You only get one chance to make a good first impression”.   In real estate it is all about Location, Location, Location!

In Dentistry – it is all about Impressions, Impressions, Impressions!  No, We are not talking  Alganates or Rubber Base Impression here! We’re talking about Mental Impressions ….Your service, service, service! 

Today’s patient is:

• More  Demanding
• More Intelligent

 And more importantly, they have more choice about:

•  Who they will see
•  Who they will spend their money with

Positive verbal skills  make sure it’s with your practice and NOT your competitors!

It’s also been shown the new caller will actually  judge the quality of the Dr’s care, buy how well the phone is answered !

So, lets see….. Doctor, you spent years in college studying dentistry and many more hours of Continuing Ed.  (CE).  Now it can take just a moment to make or break the practice by how well we…. answer the phone!

Does that mean pressure for the Front Office?   You bet it does!

It is crucial the atmosphere of the practice over the telephone and in person, be one of enthusiasm….that means…a Love or Passion about what you are doing!!

Closing thought:  Handle all calls, especially New Patient calls as if that call is the most important call you will receive all day…..it is!

Technorati Tags: Building Business, building telephone skills, Dental Marketing, Internet Marketing, Livvie Matthews, social media marketing, Telephone skill

With all the buzz about social media, social networking, and other social sites, it can get very frustrating not to mention distracting. 

Social media is a great marketing tool, but be careful. It is about being social yes…but you must keep your focus.

 Facebook has many distractions. Applications, games, surveys, sending cards and flowers, joining different groups…etc. Twitter can be distracting as well with all the tweets coming through, applications, responses, direct messages… etc

 I’ve witnessed this first hand. There can be so many things to try to do, applications to try, posting on Facebook and Twitter, creating a profile for LinkedIn and just the day to day “to dos” in addition to so much to learn. 

This is one of the main questions asked, “How much time will I have to put into social media”? The answer depends on what you want to accomplish and yes, you will have to spend some time with update, responses, and blog postings.

How focused you are can determine if it’s a lot of time or just the right amount of time needed.  

Here are a few tips:

 1. Determine your focus: Always stick to your core messages and values. Make sure your posts reflect those messages and values. The general rule is 80%-90% business and 10%-20% personal. 

2. Make a list: Write down what you want to accomplish today, this week, this month. Break it down into “do-able” sizes and cross them off as you complete them. There’s something about seeing a list with accomplishments marked off that keeps the energy flowing.

 3. Set your timer: Allow specific items a specific amount of time to get accomplished. When the timer goes off, wrap it up and move to the next item. If you’ve time it right, hopefully the item is complete, but if it’s not, it’s well on it way to completion when addressed the next time.

4. Allow times for breaks: This can be one of the most look over items. Stop what you are doing, walk away from your desk and on to your porch or deck. Take a few deep breaths of fresh air. If you can’t go out at the moment, if there is a window near your desk, just turn away from your desk and enjoy the view outside your window.

 All through the summer I’ve enjoyed watching several humming birds flying around the hanging basket near my computer room window.

Following through on the suggestions mention above will help with your time.  As your blog and your social sites grow, more responsibilities may come into play.  You can always outsource to a third party as few or as many of those responsibilities as needed for you to be able to concentrate on getting your content out.  

These are just a few things to help you keep your focus. What can you add to the list?

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Dental Marketing, engaging social media, focus your time, how not to be distracted with social media, Internet Marketing, Keeping your focus using social media, Livvie Matthews, social media marketing