Danger ahead! Social media can be a great way to engage with your patient base and raise your practice’s profile, but beware these social media marketing pitfalls:
Social media is a common method by which members of a community engage with local business. Creating and maintaining a quality page can attract new patients and raise your profile in your area. However, using social media to promote your business is not without risk. Watch out for these social media marketing pitfalls, and make your outreach a stress-free success!
Disaster 1: Personal account, tied to inside jokes and political opinions
Never try to use your personal social media page as the online face of your business. Rule number one of social media marketing is to create a business page, a single-purpose page solely to represent your business to the public. Currently, on many websites such as Facebook, you will need a personal account to start and manage a business page, but this personal account will not show up unless you add it.
This allows you to separate your personal page from your business page, and keeps any political opinions or colorful descriptions of the opponent’s starting quarterback away from your potential patients. As a final warning, remember that anything you say or do online is never really private, and never really anonymous.
Disaster 2: Misuse of memes
A meme is simply a series of jokes based around a theme and usually an image. These are extremely popular ways to communicate relatable misfortunes, feelings, or amusing observations among the internet-savvy. A well-executed meme can be fun, but do your research! Use www.knowyourmeme.com to verify there’s nothing offensive implied, and to see examples of proper use.
However, some of these memes are being used ironically, but where irony stops and literality begins, no one really knows. Consult r/FellowKids on Reddit to see examples of misused or misunderstood memes. Much like disco, the “dab” dance move was never cool; everyone was just pretending. Don’t repost content that you’re not 100 percent confident you understand!
Disaster 3: Not checking your page or pages frequently.
Abandoned pages convey a sense of disinterest and/or neglect to audiences, so even if it’s just re-posting a photo of something interesting or sharing seasonal good wishes, make sure to remain engaged. Aim to post three times a week at most, or once a week at least, and try to respond to any questions or comments on your page within two days.
Comments need to be curated, as well. Unlike Yelp or HealthGrades, Facebook reviews are capable of being moderated by the page owner, to some degree, including the hiding of review text that you do not want to be displayed on your page. A neglected page could have a bad review posted for weeks that’s not even about your practice, so check in frequently and be sure to solicit positive reviews from satisfied patients.
The information contained in this, or any case study post in Incisor should never be considered a proper replacement for necessary training and/or education regarding adult oral conscious sedation. Regulations regarding sedation vary by state. This is an educational and informational piece. DOCS Education accepts no liability whatsoever for any damages resulting from any direct or indirect recipient's use of or failure to use any of the information contained herein. DOCS Education would be happy to answer any questions or concerns mailed to us at 106 Lenora Street, Seattle, WA 98121. Please print a copy of this posting and include it with your question or request.
