Tips For Using Social Media to Grow Your Medical Practice
- 1. The Best Tips & Techniquesfor Using Social Media to Grow Your Practicein 2011Monique RamseyCosmetic Social Media
- 2. Meet Monique Monique Ramsey Founder, Cosmetic Social Media20 years experience: medical practice management, marketing, training, and consulting
- 3. Certified Social Media Strategist since 2009
- 4. Winner 2010 #influenceSD Award for Best Social Media in Business
- 5. Alert Presence recognition of her work with Top 5 Medical Practice Facebook Fan Pages
- 7. Interviewed by SmartMoney Magazine, American Medical Association, Dermatology Times
- 8. Contributor to Cosmetic Surgery for Dummies®, published by Wiley & Sons
- 9. Development and Implementation Team for Inform&Enhance® practice management software Referral Paths – Then & Now
- 10. Social Media by the NumbersTwitter120 Million Daily Visitors
- 11. 55 million Tweets per day
- 12. 300,000 new users per day
- 13. Twitter search engine gets roughly 600 million search queries per day
- 14. 10th most popular website on the internetSource: ReachLocal
- 15. Social Media by the NumbersFacebook500+ Million Active Users
- 16. 150 million accessing via their mobile devices
- 17. 700 billion+ minutes per month
- 18. 30-45 age fastest growing
- 19. 2nd most trafficked site on web
- 20. 700,000 local business pages
- 21. 30 billion+ pieces of content shared each month Source: ReachLocal
- 22. Brand Monitoring80% of Twitter usage is outside of twitter… People update anywhere, anytime… Imagine what that means for bad (AND GOOD) customer experiences!?
- 23. Resistance is FutileIf a conversation takes place online and you’re not there to hear it, did it actually happen?Of course it did…and it continues – with or without you.
- 24. DYK (Did You Know)…80% of U.S. Internet consumers research health information onlineMost popular online activities:* 1) email 2) using a search engine3) researching health information24% of US online consumers said they engage in some form of health-related social media at least once monthly**72% of e-patients searched for medical information just before or after a doctor’s visit****Pew Internet Project report**Forrester Research, MediaPost.com***Q1 Productions
- 25. Social Media“It’s not something; it’s what you do with it.” Ian Kennedy / Yahoo!“It’s not a noun- it’s an adjective! It’s something we connect with other people through. Cave paintings were the original social media…. It was sort of a story, it was visual, and it had so many different elements to it.”-Chris Heuer, founder, The Social Media Club
- 26. When Done Right…Social media...Creates emotional connections
- 27. Gives patients sense of:
- 28. Belonging
- 29. Community
- 30. Ownership
- 31. Positions MD/Practitioner as the expert
- 32. Informs patients
- 33. Can ultimately increase quality of life for MD, staff and patientsNow What?!
- 34. Monique’s Social Media High T’sHigh Transparency
- 35. HighTrust
- 36. High Touch
- 37. High TractionHigh TransparencyTransparency leads to credibility
- 39. Be Authentic
- 40. Be Humble
- 41. Be Yourself
- 42. Controlling vs. *influencing*Image Source: EverydayTenacity.com
- 43. High TrustWord of Mouth (WOM) is the most powerful medium on the planet. It’s honest and natural.
- 44. Social media can harness the power of WOM recommendations and make them “go viral”.
- 45. Social Media and the web as a referral validators.
- 46. 3rd party review sites (Yelp, Google, Vitals.com)Source: Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey, April 2009
- 47. High TouchNatural extension of your marketing plan
- 48. Adding more touchpoints with your patients creates top of mind awareness
- 49. Build your online community by engaging
- 50. Give them something of value & expect nothing in return
- 51. Know what they like – give them what they need
- 52. If you don’t someone else willHigh TractionRadical Strategic Visibility
- 53. Fresh ContentBlogging Helps SEO
- 54. Social & SEOSource: http://thefuturebuzz.com
- 55. Blogging Attracts LinksSource: Data from over 1,500 small businesses - http://bit.ly/XDkQV
- 56. Blogging = Social Media Success
- 57. Blogging Brings More Site Visitors
- 59. Who Should Blog?SEO/Webmaster GuyThe InternThe ReceptionistYour ChildThe PhysicianHired WriterThe Office ManagerYour ExThe Pizza Guy
- 60. What to Write AboutInformation is a valuable commodity
- 61. Write about a question you hear every day
- 62. Talk about the latest theories
- 63. Debunk myths
- 64. Help them learn something they didn't know beforeElements of a good blog postCompelling HeadlineSimple writingTells a Story “Someone Like Me”Short & Sweet (350 words max)Optimized with links and key wordsLa Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Centre Blog
- 65. Best Tips & Techniques for FacebookChoose the right VOICE for the practice and share relevant content dailyAllow fans to post – leads to valuable dialogue & sharing!Don’t just sell… mix it upTest to see what resonatesHave some personality!
- 66. Facebook
- 67. EngagementEncourage participation with…Polls and Quizzes
- 68. Questions
- 69. Contests (be sure to check the rules) http://www.facebook.com/promotions_guidelines.php
- 70. TestimonialsTopicsInsider / FamilyShow them your world to make them feel like a part of your family
- 71. Show off the pictures of the latest office party, seminar, or other “behind the scenes” gathering
- 72. Have fun, be humanTipsBe quick to respond- so check oftenLimit #posts/day – think about your own news feed – clutter leads to peeps hiding youHave your Facebook posts auto-feed to Twitter & LinkedInPhotos- Upload practice pictures periodically and encourage your fans to upload photos anytime they wish. When your fans upload a photo, the thumbnail posts to their profile wall and out into the news feeds of their friends.
- 73. Use Apps to Your AdvantagePost = 420 character maxOver 420 – use “Notes” SectionImport your blog to Notes or use an app such as Networked BlogsUse the Video sectionfor any short (90 seconds or less) informational videosUse apps such as SlideShare to re-purpose that last seminar you did (with proper permissions, of course!)
- 74. Pet PeevesBetter It’s called FACEbook for a reasonAn empty section is not engagingvs.
- 75. Volume Of Facebook Sharing By DayBut… do what works best for you – whatever will give you the best chance of consistency (success)
- 76. Most Shareable Words on Facebook Source: Science of Facebook - http://bit.ly/aWL2JX
- 77. Join My ListWhat better way to grow your email list than Facebook!Constant Contact app allows people to sign up for your list without ever leaving Facebook!Quantity vs. Quality
- 79. LinkedIn
- 80. Best Tips & Techniques for LinkedInTypically used for professional to professional contact– but…More and more savvy e-patients are using LinkedIn for their own professional networking.
- 81. The more new tools that become available for sharing, connecting, finding common ground (similar to Facebook) the more comfortable people will get with using it… and ultimately use for finding a good doctor.Best Tips & Techniques for LinkedInUses apps similar to Facebook – hook up your blog feed, Twitter updates, SlideShare presentations, etc.Fill out your profile completely! Get 100%
- 82. Best Tips & Techniques for LinkedInJoin groups and see what’s happening in your field(s) of interestChoose digest settings to receive email of group updatesFollow conversations on relevant topics with just one clickGet and give recommendations
- 83. Twitter
- 84. Twitter CAN Bring New Patients!
- 85. Best Tips & Techniques for TwitterMake use of the extensive “search” functionality to follow influencers and leadersUse a tool such as CoTweet to schedule Tweets70/30 or 80/20 ruleGive something of valueUse a link-shortener such as bit.ly or budurl# = “HashTag” – use like this: #beauty (makes it searchable!)Add yourself to Twellow (Twitter Yellow Pages) and use their categories to search for followers and key people to followin your industry and local comminutyPersonalize your Twitter page so it is branded – use avatar photo of yourself or a “face” of the practiceVoice is still importantSocial graces are importantRT = re-tweet#FF = Follow FridayTrending Topics
- 86. YouTube
- 87. YouTubeDid you know?You can have your very own branded YouTube channel?Radical Strategic VisibilityYouTube is the world’s 2nd largest search engine…People are watching 2 billion videos a day on YouTubeEvery minute, 24 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube
- 89. Your Social Media RxCannot “set it and forget it” – social media is engaging with people – not messaging at people
- 90. Content is King – commit to 10 minutes a day on creating content. Type it, dictate it or do an audible post at audioboo.fm
- 91. An apple a day… you need to be posting every day (or 5/7)
- 92. Keep it professional – NY Times Front Page Rule
- 93. Social Media is not a quick fix. Don’t give up – it takes time to build communities!A Word About PrivacyNew AMA policy encourages physicians to:Use privacy settings to safeguard personal information and content to the fullest extent possible on social networking sites.
- 94. Routinely monitor their own Internet presence to ensure that the personal and professional information on their own sites and content posted about them by others, is accurate and appropriate.
- 95. Maintain appropriate boundaries of the patient-physician relationship when interacting with patients online and ensure patient privacy and confidentiality is maintained.
- 96. Consider separating personal and professional content online.
- 97. Recognize that actions online and content posted can negatively affect their reputations among patients and colleagues, and may even have consequences for their medical careers. Final ThoughtsSocial media is no longer optional. You will reap the rewards but need to invest the time to get the benefit.“When a brand does its job right, it creates an emotional connection.” –Brian Solis It's not about ROI - It's about creating awareness, having people understand the brand will create engagement, which will lead to revenue.
- 98. “If you aren't constantly evolving along with your customers you will be doomed to fail.” – Steve Kaufer, CEO - TripAdvisor
- 99. We Adjust to Your NeedsWe provide a spectrum of services:…we handle all of the details and run your social media campaigns so you don’t have to!… a Social Media and Patient Engagement Marketing Strategy for your company…put the strategy into action and let you take over the reigns…teach you the basics and beyond so you can do it yourself
- 100. Questions?
Editor's Notes
- (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.
- "For companies, resistance to social media is futile. Millions of people are creating content for the social Web. Your competitors are already there. Your customers have been there for a long time. If your business isn't putting itself out there, it ought to be." -Business Week, Feb. 19, 2009Social Media impacts every business, every brand, and in doing so, connects a network of distributedcommunities of influence, making the world a much smaller place in the process. Small businesses are in fact at an advantage in Social Media Marketing as they can focus on hyper-local activity that can offer immediate rewards or at the very least, the real-time feedback or lack thereof says everything about next steps.
- “Blogging - In my opinion blogging is one of the greatest guerilla marketing techniques at your disposal. Not only does it provide you with a way of increasing your brand exposure and trust but it also allows you to connect more deeply with your audience. If you aren’t doing it - you should be. Readers who are interested in your content and your products choose to listen. It’s just up to you to provide them with what they want.” –quote There are over 200,000,000 blogs