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Posts Tagged ‘women using 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

Over the weekend, I was a panelist at the 2nd Annual All Women’s Social Media Summit.  But contrary to the title, there also was a Men’s Panel there for discussion, questions, and answers regarding women in business and social media.

They shared information from protecting your identity online to how our pictures (Avatars) are viewed.   

Points presented on protecting your Identify:

• Be careful about posting your children’s names
• Be careful not to post your address
• Do not post pictures of your home

I’d also like to add to be extrememly careful of posting where you are going to meet friends or family and the time to be there.  By posting this informatin you’re opening yourself to someone waiting in the shadows from you when you get there, when you return home, or possible burglary.  Posts with specific details are best left to personal messages. 

But the most pointed question was “In their opinions…What should women STOP doing?”  I think all of us in the room expected several answers to be given, however they all answered the same…”Stop apologizing!” 

We all were amazed and at the same time knew this was so true. For whatever reason, we women think we have to apologize for everything…even things that we didn’t do. 

When someone says they’ve had a bad day…I find myself saying, “I’m sorry”.  I didn’t cause them to have a bad day, so why should I apologize?  If I do feel the need to apologize, then what I should say is “I’m sorry that your day’s been difficult”. 

Another point brought up was the tone used with your voice.  A high pitched voice is equated to less experience or youthfullness.  But a medium to lower pitched voice projects more authority.

Something to be aware of is to NOT raise your voice at the end of your sentence as we were taught several years back to do, but rather keep your voice at the same level at the end of your sentence.  This is projecting trust. 

These where just a couple of the items discussed from a man’s point of view for a business woman, and were important factors to be shared. 

What about you…what do you think about these few items?  Do you have one to add?

Technorati Tags: a man's point of view for women in business, Building Business, engaging and connecting, engaging social media, Internet Marketing, Livvie Matthews, women in business, women using social media

Mashable released a great post by Jennifer Van Grove How Women Use The Web (Report) stating more women than men visit social networking sites spending as much as 30% more time on the sites and are more engaging with the sites than men. 

This ties right in with my recent post 4 Social Media Myths and relates to Myth # 2 – Social Media Platform Are Only For Teenagers.  Read Myth #2 here:

Myth #2: Social Media Platforms Are Only For Teenagers

Social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are no longer sites just for teenagers.  Businesses have found these networking sites to present an incredible opportunity for connecting with and engaging their audience.  

According to Inside Facebook, a Facebook tracking source ,the fastest growing demographic is Women over 55.  Women also comprised over 56.2% of Facebooks audience, and 45% of Facebook’s US audience is women over age 26.  

What does this mean for you:  Women make approximately 80% of the decisions concerning purchases for themselves and their families. 

What percentage of women are in your practice and what’s their average age…bet they fall into one of these two ranges above.  Women are extremely active on the Internet and social media networks.  When the phone rings at your office, well over the majority of the calls are from women scheduling appointments or getting information.  

Social marketing and women presents tremendous opportunities for your practice to be able to connect, engage, and communicate in real time. 

Unlike the old traditional marketing of placing a static ad in a telephone book, magazine, or direct mail out,  and once printed there was no opportunity to connect and engage.  Social network marketing sites are all about relationship marketing ~ connecting and engaging ~ which is what we’ve preached in dentistry forever. 

Cosmetic Dentistry in years past was thought to be only for celebrities ~ the rich and famous ~ however we all know it’s the trend, it’s here, and it’s not going away.

Like Cosmetic Dentistry, Social Media is not a fad, it’s not going away, it’s firmly planted and here to stay. 

With Facebook passing their 500 million active users and buinesses gearing up for even more social media  marketing, it’s time to realistically look at your marketing plans in terms of what can social media do for your practice, which social media networks will benefit your practice the most, and how soon can you get started. 

If you are already utilizing social media in your practice, you may be ready to crank it up a notch expanding on what you’re already doing. 

But if you are one of the practices not yet started with social media, don’t worry, it’s not too late…in fact, it’s really the perfect time, because most practices have only been using it for a few months, but it’s an incredible opportunity you don’t want your practice (or your bottom line) to miss out on!

How are you using social marketing in your practice?  What benefits have you seen?

Technorati Tags: benefits of social media, Dental Marketing, engaging and connecting, engaging social media, Internet Marketing, Livvie Matthews, social media and women, women using social media