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Twitter for Dentists: Update Your Profile Now!

by Naomi Cooper April 30, 2014

Twitter for Dentists: Update Your Profile Now!If you regularly use Twitter for your dental practice, you may have noticed the remarkable changes to your profile page. Twitter has been rolling out an update to user profiles, with an emphasis made on visual content. They’ve made images a huge focus of the new profile page, reflecting the current trend of visual content across the Internet. If you haven’t yet signed up for Twitter, now is as good of a time as any to jump in! Keep your profile looking its best by updating the following:

Profile & Header Photos: They have made the profile photo larger. This is the image that appears in the feed next to your tweet. The header photo is also now more prominent, spanning across the width of the page.

For dentists, the Profile & Header photos are terrific branding opportunities. If you have an icon feature within your logo, that works great for the profile photo. Twitter has made it easier than ever to upload an image for the profile by automatically resizing any image to fit within the parameters. As far as the header photo, the practice name often works best but whatever you choose, make sure to keep it consistent with your existing branding. They recommend keeping the size to 1500×500 and a maximum size of 5MB. If you are unable to resize on your own, your graphic designer (who designed your logo) should be able to assist you.

Practice Info: The changes also include a shift in the placement of the location, website address and bio. This information used to be at the top, within the old header, which often made it hard to read. It has now been moved to the left side of the page, under the profile photo. Be sure to completely fill out this information, including the brief bio section where you can describe your practice in 160 characters or less.

Pinning Your Tweets: Users can now “pin” their favorite tweets to the top of the page. So if you have a previous tweet that garnered multiple retweets, or maybe a patient tweeted a positive comment about your practice, you can now highlight these individual tweets so that they appear at the top of your page, making it easy for users to see when viewing your profile.

Overall the information is more organized, with the ability to pin top tweets as well as having all photos and images easily accessible. Some users like the new layout; others aren’t as criticizing it for its strong similarities to Facebook pages.

What do you think? Have you updated your dental practice profile to the new layout?

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Social Media Marketing: Why the 80/20 Rule is Your Key to Success

by Naomi Cooper March 26, 2014

Social Media Marketing: Why the 80/20 Rule is Your Key to SuccessSocial media has taken the dental marketing industry by storm. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ give dentists countless opportunities to stay connected with patients like never before.

Check out these stats:

  • 72% of online adults were using social networking sites
  • 8 in 10 social media users in the US would rather connect with companies via social media than via corporate websites

Engagement is the name of the game when it comes to social media marketing for dentists and in order to build your followers and keep them connected long-term, a good rule of thumb is to abide by the 80/20 rule.

What is the 80/20 rule? 80% of the content you share should be of interest and value to your audience; 20% of your content can be about your practice.

Think of it in terms of a face-to-face conversation. Ever been in a conversation where the other person only talks about themselves the entire time? It’s annoying. It’s rude. And it’s extremely off-putting. I bet you couldn’t get out of the conversation fast enough.

The same idea can be applied to social media engagement. Think about your audience, and what interests them, and tailor your social media posts accordingly. Your patients will be much more likely to engage with you when you share content they find appealing, and you’ll be on your way to building a powerful social media presence.

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Tools for Dentists: Sample Email Templates

by Naomi Cooper September 22, 2013

Tools for Dentists: Sample Email TemplatesOne of the most common questions I get when one of my clients is in the process of planning a big announcement, such as a practice grand opening, a practice website launch is, “How do we tell our community about this exciting news?”

For practices that have over 60-70% of their patients’ email addresses and an automated patient communication system, I definitely recommend communicating news to existing patients via email whenever possible – sending an email blast via these methods is free and can be quite effective! However, for practices that are still using traditional postcard reminders and/or haven’t converted to electronic communication, a traditional letter on practice letterhead also works very well. Scroll down for a sample patient email/letter templates announcing practice news and feel free to copy and paste for your own use.

1. Email blast for New Practice Grand Opening

Email Subject Line: <<DENTALPRACTICENAME>> Grand Opening!

Greetings!

We are happy to announce the official opening of <<DENTALPRACTICENAME>>. Our goal is to provide the local <<CITY/NEIGHBORHOODNAME>> community with high quality dental care with a specific focus and attention to our patients.

Located at <<PRACTICE ADDRESS>>, <<DENTALPRACTICENAME>> is a <<SPECIALTY>> practice, specializing in the <<SERVICESOFFERED>>. In order to welcome patients to our new practice, we are hosting an Open House on <<DATE>> from <<TIME>>. We are excited to see our patients, friends and colleagues while providing brief tours and information about our new practice.

We are now accepting appointments. Patients may contact our office via phone at <<PHONENUMBER>>, or online at our practice website <<WEBSITEADDRESS>>. And we invite the community to connect with us on Facebook <<HYPERLINKTO FACEBOOKPAGE>>.

We look forward to seeing you in the new practice soon!

2. Email blast to announce new Dental Practice Facebook Page

Email Subject Line: Like the <<DENTALPRACTICENAME>> Facebook Page!

Hello Patients!

We are happy to announce the official launch of the new <<DENTALPRACTICENAME>> Facebook Page. Our goal is for this page is to be a resource for our patients, offering useful content including:

  • Important updates from around the practice
  • Oral health best practices and tips
  • Links to compelling articles and blog posts on a variety of oral health topics
  • Doctor and team profiles
  • Photos & videos…and more!

Look for regular posts of fresh and relevant content of interest to you, our patients, who place a value on their oral health, and their overall health in general. And we look forward to the opportunity to staying connected with patients throughout the year!

Click here <<HYPERLINKTOFACEBOOK PAGE>> to check out the <<DENTALPRACTICENAME>> Facebook Page, and if you “Like” what you see, don’t forget to “Like” our page!

Thank you in advance!

Blog

Social Media 101: Reaching Your Dental Patients via Pinterest

by Naomi Cooper February 26, 2013

Social Media 101: Reaching Your Dental Patients via PinterestNot only did Pinterest grow to 18.7 million users in March 2012 from its launch in March 2010, but it’s also a known hub for the dental practice’s ultimate target demographic: Moms. Moms love “pinning” stories, photos and articles to their Pinterest boards. For dentists who have a true general or family practice, and especially for pediatric dentists and orthodontists, Pinterest is the latest addition to the practice’s social media arsenal.

Think of Pinterest as an online pinboard or vision board. Users pin images to their own boards, and these boards are visible not only to the followers of the user, but also to the public so that other Pinterest users can also see the pins.

According to the Huffington Post, 80% of the pins on Pinterest are “repins”. When users repin images from one of your boards, it increases the opportunity to gain new followers, and, it creates a link back to your website, helping to improve your website’s SEO. The higher your website ranks in search results, the greater the chances of reaching new patients when they are searching online for a dentist.

Last November, Pinterest added business pages, enabling businesses to more easily connect with users. If you are interested in using Pinterest for your dental practice, but not sure what pictures or content to include, here are a few ideas to help you get started:

  • Pictures of the dentist(s), staff members and office photos
  • Celebrity Smiles
  • Before and After pictures of your satisfied patients
  • Personal interests – do you like to cook? Include images of your favorite dishes. Like to travel? Pin photos of your favorite destinations.
  • New equipment or technology in the practice

The best aspect of Pinterest is the freedom of creativity. In this social media site, you can truly customize your profile to reflect your personality as both a dentist, and an individual. And pinning material that you think is of interest to your patients is another way to grow your Pinterest following.

Pinterest can be addicting and fun to use, and when implemented in a strategic way, it can help foster connections between your dental practice and both active and new patients.

Have you considered using Pinterest on a professional level? Do you think it would help you reach your target patients? Why or why not?

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Social Media 101: 7 Tips for Setting Up a Facebook Page for Your Dental Practice

by Naomi Cooper January 22, 2013

Social Media 101: 7 Tips for Setting Up a Facebook Page for Your Dental PracticeUnless you’ve been living under a rock, you are probably aware of Facebook and the effect this social network has had on our culture. According to Mashable.com, as of October 2012, Facebook has approximately 1 billion active users who access the site each month!

While you may already be comfortable using Facebook on a personal level, it’s important from a business owner’s perspective to know that having a Facebook business page for your dental practice is a great way to increase the reach of your online profile – and to connect with patients and your community. If you do not yet have a Facebook page for your practice, now is as good a time as any to start.

Here are 7 simple ways to build a page for your dental practice:

  1. Go to www.Facebook.com and set up a personal profile (if you do not already have one). Establishing a personal profile is essential before building your business page.
  2. Set up a business page (in the name of the practice): https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php
  3. Add a cover photo by clicking “Upload Cover Photo” where prompted. This image should be representative of the practice: the logo, photo of the exterior/interior of the office, staff photo.
    **Per Facebook policy, the cover photo cannot be used to promote discounts or include a call-to-action.**
  4. Upload a profile photo by clicking “Upload Profile Photo” where prompted. Again this would be a great spot for a photo of the dentist or possibly the logo.
    **Be aware that the cover (aka background) photo and the profile (aka thumbnail) photo should not be the same.**
  5. In the “About” section, include a brief description of the practice and pertinent information, such as address, website, phone number, etc. This would also be a great place to include the practice philosophy and/or practice mission statement.
  6. If you have pictures available, uploading photos of the practice (interior and exterior) and pictures of the dentist(s), hygienist(s) and staff members are great ways to personalize your fan page.
    **Be sure to hold off from uploading any photos of patients until you have received in writing from each patient a Photo Release Form (link to form with disclaimer to check with an attorney to ensure it’s sufficient).**
  7. Preview the page several times to be sure that all typos and errors are corrected. Once it looks exactly like you want it, hit “Publish” to make the Page public.

Now that you have set up your dental practice business page, it’s up to you to keep it updated. Posting often and consistently will help to build your Facebook following. For more ideas, be sure to check back here for our next Social Media 101 posting on the 3 Best Practice Tips for Your Facebook Business Page.

Do you use Facebook for your dental practice? Why or why not? Start a conversation below.

Blog

Put the Power of Google to Work for Your Dental Practice

by Naomi Cooper December 5, 2012

Put the Power of Google to Work for Your Dental PracticeOnline Marketing…SEO and Websites…Social Media…

Dental practice marketing sure has changed over the past few years. The Internet, and especially social media, have completely changed the way you promote your practice. For beginners, this can be overwhelming. However it is essential to modernize your marketing techniques in order to grow your practice in this digital age.

The first name you need to understand – Google. At first glance, you may think it is just another search engine. In reality, it is so much more. It is an influential Internet powerhouse, and putting it to work for your dental practice is a smart way to reach new patients.

I recently wrote a guest blog for Sesame Communications on this very topic. I encourage you to take a look and challenge you to leverage the power of Google for your dental practice.

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