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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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Using Video to Promote Your Dental Practice

by Naomi Cooper December 4, 2012

Using Video to Promote Your Dental PracticeYouTube is now the Internet’s second-largest search engine. More than sixty hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, and over four billion videos are viewed each day! Dentists around the globe are realizing that offering short videos on their websites and YouTube channels can be an effective part of an overall search engine optimization strategy.

Google bought YouTube in 2006, and therefore has a vested interest in promoting online video and increasing the importance of video in search engine results. Online videos play into Google’s algorithmic preference for fresh, relevant content so your practice is listed higher on Google searches. And the videos posted directly on YouTube drive YouTube search traffic to the practice website as well.

If you want to use video but are not sure what to talk about in the videos, here are a few ideas to get you started:

  • A welcome message from the dentist(s)
  • Introductions to each of the team members
  • A tour of the practice
  • Before and After videos or interviewing satisfied patients upon treatment completion
  • Answers to any frequently asked questions of the dentists or front desk team

Also, check out this informative blog Time to Become a Videographer from Fred Joyal, co-founder and CEO of 1-800-Dentist, and learn some other helpful tricks to help you get started.

Video is increasingly important for dentists to promote their practices online, and it is a great way for potential patients to get to know you before making their first appointment.

Have you posted videos of your practice online? What advice would you have for beginners? If you haven’t used video yet, what is stopping you from getting started?

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Utilize Your Audience and Enhance Your Online Presence

by Naomi Cooper November 30, 2012

Utilize Your Audience and Enhance Your Online PresenceSocial media and online marketing are big topics here on our blog. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, or promoting your dental practice blog, we often talk about getting your message out there in the online world. Social media is about engaging, and let’s face it, being SOCIAL!

For dental practices (and other businesses), there is a fine line between engaging online and being too pushy. The goal is to interact with your patients and colleagues, to be authentic and honest, while keeping your dental practice on the tops of their minds. It’s important to remember that it is sometimes okay to leverage your contacts and friends and ask for their support. Here are just a few situations where it’s a good idea to ask for help:

  • Launching a new website: spread the word to your contacts through an email encouraging them to check out the new site
  • Asking patients, friends, and colleagues to like your Facebook business page, follow you on Twitter, or subscribe to your YouTube Channel
  • Implementing a practice e-newsletter and requesting your patients opt-in to automatically receive it

Recently, Facebook announced a new feature where they’re allowing users to sign up to automatically receive all updates from the users favorite business pages. For more information on this new development, and how you can make it work for your dental practice business page, check out this great blog on the topic from My Social Practice.

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Adding Social Media to Your Must-Do List

by Naomi Cooper September 12, 2012

Adding Social Media to Your Must-Do ListFriending – Tweeting – YouTubing…do you know what these terms mean? Do you think 5 years ago these terms had any relevancy to you? They are, of course, referencing the social media sites Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Social media is a hot topic in dental marketing these days, and it seems like everyone wants to “be on social media”.

However, it is not enough to simply have a presence. Engagement is the name of the game if you want social media to work for your dental practice. No longer is it good enough to just have a website. In fact, it is bad practice to have a Facebook page for your business if you never update it or engage. Times have changed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get on board.

Here are a few key ideas to keep in mind:

Social media is not an event – it’s not something you should do once in awhile. To really utilize social media effectively, it should be integrated into your marketing plan. Just as you have your front desk ask every new patient how they heard about your practice, you should also have a dedicated team member updating and interacting online via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media sites.

As with anything, developing a strong following on social media takes time and effort. We like to tell our clients social media is not a sprint – it’s a marathon. Building a Facebook page alone will not generate results. Encouraging your patients to Like your page, consistently updating your page regularly with informative and relevant status updates, and interacting with patients and colleagues online – these are the tricks of the trade that will boost your following and turn social media into a relatively easy – and fun! – marketing effort for your practice.

Here’s a great article from My Social Practice offering some questions to ask yourself as you dive into this social media world.

There are countless ways to get involved in social media. As long as you view it as another important piece of your marketing plan, and dedicate time and effort toward engaging, social media can be a fun and rewarding way to increase the awareness of your practice throughout your community.

Does your practice utilize social media? How has it worked for you? Please share your thoughts and comments with us!