Elsevier

Dental Abstracts

Volume 60, Issue 5, September–October 2015, Page e137
Dental Abstracts

The Front Office
Maximize social media presence

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.denabs.2014.08.010Get rights and content

Section snippets

Background

Patients choose to spend more time on social media than on any other Internet activity. Dental professionals are aware that print advertising is no longer the best method for reaching patients or potential patients and must alter their marketing efforts to use social media to their advantage. Eighty-two percent of dentists in one study believe a website is important to success, and nearly half believe a social media presence is needed. Strategies to help build a loyal patient community and

Sites

The sites that maximize exposure and engagement with the target audience are Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Seven of every 10 Americans use Facebook to communicate. In addition, of the 84 million Americans on LinkedIn, nearly 80% are age 35 years or older, which is an ideal demographic range. YouTube offers rich content and provides an excellent way to deliver messages to patients.

Community

Fifty percent of small business owners report they acquire new customers through social media. Having individuals follow a practice’s social media sites is critical to developing a community. It’s important to promote the practice’s social presence offline and online, use signage in the office, highlight it on the practice website, and add it to all communication with patients. Timely, thoughtful messages posted on social media can build patient loyalty and impress future patients. Your

Branding

A consistent brand presence should be followed to ensure that the unique character of the practice is maintained. The same logo and pictures should be used across all the online media so that your practice and personnel are easily recognized at each online touch point. In addition, you need to ensure your presence is optimized for mobile apps. Many cell phone users access social networking sites via their phones, and if your site is not optimized for mobile devices, they will move on rather

References (0)

Cited by (0)

Friedman DP: Three strategies to energize your social media presence. Dental Economics 104:50, 52, 2014

Reprints available from DP Friedman; e-mail: [email protected]

View full text