Keep in mind every business and audience is different.  In general, however, most people don’t want to hear from their health care provider that often, unless you have a really unique community (and if you do, let us know because we’d like to check you out:)).

Twenty posts can drown out other posts in a newsfeed.  Facebook is meant primarily for fun and socializing.  Seeing ten or more posts at a time on periodontal disease, root canals, or flossing can be frustrating for some folks.  When you post too much, too often, you risk having your future posts hidden.

Most importantly, you could also scare off potential new “Likes”.  Once people see how often you post, they’ll likely decline.  One possible indicator that you may be posting too much is a flat community, or having to heavily incentivize people to join your page.

We’ve reached the point where we want to know how often we’ll get emails if we subscribe.  Likewise, especially as Facebook pages become more common, people will scrutinize what you are posting and how often before they’ll “Like” your page.

Facebook marketing is all about exploring what works for you and your community.  Even if you’re really excited and have a lot to say, try to stage your posts out over time.  The benefit is that you’ll have plenty of content to use and you won’t have to struggle to brainstorm future posts.

How many posts do you think is appropriate per day, week or month?

The Referral System How-To Guidebook For Dentists. With over sixteen years experience in dentistry, Rita has trained, coached and motivated dentists and teams in marketing, patient relations, communication and social media. Find more about Dental Relationship Marketing on Rita’s blog.

The most important thing to consider is the commodity of dental care available on the market today. It’s become easy to replicate digital x-rays, a modern reception room, flexible hours or cool staff uniforms—what’s impossible to replicate is your genuine self.  Showing a bit of your personality can go a long way in building trust and relationships.  The added bonus is you’ll give patients something easy to remember (and fun to talk about) when they refer to you.  

Some of the most successful dentists I know have learned it’s okay to share a bit of their personality with patients.  They may love dogs, fishing, golf, music, travel, volunteering, etc.  Whatever their passion, they confidently show a part of their authentic self. This in turn comes across to patients as genuine, real and trustworthy.

What better way to easily connect with someone than through shared interests?  For example, over 3 billion dollars are expected to be spent on pet services in the United States alone this year––we Americans love our pets.  The love of dogs is just one example of a personal interest you might share with your patients.

Share your personality, interests, and authentic self with patients via newsletter tidbits, Facebook posts or tweets … weave it into your marketing communication.  Allow your truly unique traits to shine through.  By doing so, you’ll likely attract more ideal patients.  Remember, patients that find you genuine and personable are more apt to quickly build trust with you––which in turn affects case acceptance and referrals.  What does your marketing communication say about you?

Rita Zamora is a relationship-focused dental marketer, specializing in referral marketing, patient relations, case acceptance and social media for general and specialty practices.  Rita developed her referral marketing expertise working hands-on in specialty and general dentistry practices. She is the author of the ebook The Referral System How-To Guidebook For Dentists. With over sixteen years experience in dentistry, Rita has trained, coached and motivated dentists and teams in marketing, patient relations, communication and social media. Find more about Dental Relationship Marketing on Rita’s blog.

The problems arose when Facebook switched from its default platform of “All private until made public” to “All public until made private”.  This switched all profiles to a public setup until the user actually changed the privacy settings.  At that time I encouraged everyone to evaluate their privacy settings, and make sure that they fall in line with their plans.  This is also why I discourage the use of a personal profile for business use.  It is very hard to maintain privacy while advertising your business from the same profile.

Facebook has also incorporated instant personalization with partner websites like Yelp.  The instant personalization pulls profile information from Facebook while you search Yelp in order to give more pertinent search info.  Privacy advocates see this instant personalization as a threat, and invasion of privacy.  Facebook is also making more information from profiles and posts visible on the internal Facebook search engine, as well as third party search engines.  This is a great concern for the Facebook population, because they feel that their posts are somewhat private.

The truth is, this is all nothing new.  Google stores every email sent through its GMail platform, and indexes the content of your emails to provide targeted advertising.  Have you ever received an email about a dental procedure and noticed that the ads on the side are all about dentistry?  Google also has a picture of my house on the Internet, and various other facts.  Even if you don’t pursue an Internet presence, it is already there.

There are ways to protect yourself.  Facebook is totally voluntary.  You do not have to have a profile if you don’t want one.  You also don’t have to provide every tidbit of information about yourself.  The old expression garbage in, garbage out definitely applies here.  Only post information that you want others to see.  Be sure to use the privacy settings given to you.  Take the time to evaluate each setting, and make sure it is to your liking.  Facebook recently added a new privacy feature to address public searches.

This feature will allow you to exclude your profile in search queries.

The other new feature you will see when you log in will be the computer registration.  Computer registration is meant to prevent phishing attacks, by authenticating log ins.  Many of you have probably been the victim of, or seen phishing attacks.  Here is one that I recently received.

It is the typical phishing attack.  It has a funny comment that says something like “Is this you” or “Check out this funny picture” then a shortened link to obscure its true target.  Once you visit the link, the scammers will piggy back onto your account and send out similar messages to your friends.  A nice virus or malware will probably attack your computer also.  The computer registration will help prevent these attacks from piggy backing your account, so don’t take them lightly.

Now we have established that all of these privacy changes are bad, RIGHT??  Not necessarily.  The whole goal of putting your dental practice on Social Media is to gain visibility.  The privacy changes, for all of their faults, are actually a plus for small businesses.  The changes allow for mundane posts from your fan page to populate search results and be seen by more people.   They also allow you access to the social consciousness, and find out what people are thinking around you.  Instant personalization as seen on Yelp.com can make it easier for people to share your listing.  It allows for more content to cross the Internet/social media gap.   So while you may want to shore up your personal profile, let your public fan page fly.  Enjoy the features that may make you a social media dental star.

Be sure to become a fan of Social Media for Dentists on Facebook.    http://facebook.com/socialmediadentist.

Jason T. Lipscomb is a general dentist in Richmond, VA and a co-author of Social Media for Dentists.  Dr. Lipscomb has developed the methods used by Social Media for Dentists after several years of private practice.  He maintains a unique perspective on dental marketing by operating two busy practices and researching social media practices.  Social Media for Dentists is one of the only dental specific Social Media marketing books.  Social Media for Dentists L.L.C. offers hands on training to dentists all over the country.

Many of you who have used Facebook have already experienced FBML in use.  Almost all of the apps and games (Farmville and Mafia Wars) use FBML.  Many other big brands like BestBuy, McDonalds, and Coca Cola use FBML to customize their Facebook pages and give them rich graphic content.  FBML is not just for big brands like these.  Dentists can also use FBML to create mini websites within their Facebook page, and improve a visitor’s experience there.  FBML can allow visitors to make an appointment, get directions, or fill in a email contact form right on your Facebook page.

So what is FBML?  I am sure the majority of you out there have a web page or at least have visited one.  Many of you also know that HTML is the backbone of these websites.  HTML is the code that is used to assemble websites from pictures and text, and tells where to place them all to create a functioning website.  In simple terms, FBML is the HTML of Facebook.  Facebook is obviously based in HTML, but it has a lot of interesting features.  FBML allows a designer to easily change HTML within Facebook by using a simple code.  The results allow Facebook to have interesting graphics, tools, and games that interact with its users.

How do I get started with FBML?  We give a quick starter about FBML in our book “Social Media for Dentists” , and I recently posted a “Make an appointment button” feature on our blog (socialmediadentist.com/blog).  These will show you how to get FBML on your Facebook page, and to get started with a simple exercise.  Once you have FBML activated on your page, the possibilities are endless.  The best way to use FBML is to create a custom landing page.  It is important to have a call to action, collect information, and get the visitor to make an appointment.  You can have up to 9 FBML based tabs on your Facebook page.  I often suggest to have a welcome page then address other topics on subsequent pages.

FBML is the future of Facebook pages.  Contact us at http://socialmediadentist.com or email me at jason@socialmediadentist.com for more information about custom Facebook pages.

Jason T. Lipscomb is a general dentist in Richmond, VA and a co-author of Social Media for Dentists.  Dr. Lipscomb has developed the methods used by Social Media for Dentists after several years of private practice.  He maintains a unique perspective on dental marketing by operating two busy practices and researching social media practices.  Social Media for Dentists is one of the only dental specific Social Media marketing books.  Social Media for Dentists L.L.C. offers hands on training to dentists all over the country.

If you don’t like Facebook and you think Twitter is a waste of time, perhaps you’ll still explore it … for business purposes. Let’s say you know your clients or customers are spending a lot of time in social media, so you decide you must explore it.  Do so with caution or consider enlisting the help of a professional to help you co-manage your efforts.

Here is a real life example of what not to do. This is an “active” Facebook Page that hasn’t been updated since 2009.  It belongs to a healthcare provider.  This message is posted in the bio section of their Facebook wall:

DISCLAIMER

WE DO NOT CHECK FACEBOOK OR TWITTER ON A REGULAR BASIS! SHOULD YOU NEED TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT, OR HAVE A QUESTION FOR ONE OF THE DOCTORS PLEASE CALL OUR OFFICE AT … THE PRACTICE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO DECLINE, DELET

The word delete is cut off.  Whoever set this copy up did not even take the time to ensure their entire message posted.  This Page represents what is probably a perfectly good healthcare provider in very poor light.  The message implies, “We’re here on Facebook, but we don’t want to be. Just call us if you need to.”

At the end of the day, if you don’t want to be on Facebook or Twitter, don’t.   Marketing is most effective when you invest time, money and energy in options you believe in.

Most importantly, social marketing is not a postcard, it’s not an ad in the newspaper, or a few sentences printed in the phone book.  Social marketing is a living document that offers you the opportunity to illustrate your practice essence—for better or worse.

What do you want your Facebook Page to say about you and your practice?  What does it really say?

Rita Zamora is a relationship-focused dental marketer, specializing in referral marketing, patient relations, case acceptance and social media for general and specialty practices.  Rita developed her referral marketing expertise working hands-on in specialty and general dentistry practices. She is the author of the ebook The Referral System How-To Guidebook For Dentists. With over sixteen years experience in dentistry, Rita has trained, coached and motivated dentists and teams in marketing, patient relations, communication and social media. Find more about Dental Relationship Marketing on Rita’s blog.

Consider the time involved and whether you want to maintain a presence on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube or if it makes more sense to begin with just one account.  
There will be time involved to plan what will be posted on your behalf and how to maximize the benefits of your social programs. You’ll also want to think about how often you’d like to post.  Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can “wing it” or “it’s free”… unless you or your team have free time to spare on a regular basis.

Have you read the article 10 common social media mistakes <http://econsultancy.com/blog/5684-10-common-social-media-mistakes> ? The article is written by Patricio Robles, tech reporter at Econsultancy. Several points in the article are so important, I’ve decided to review several key “mistakes” one at a time and recommend solutions.

Article excerpt:

“Signing up for a Twitter account and Facebook Page, for instance, may not cost any money, but managing them (and managing them well) doesn’t magically happen without an investment that can be quantified in dollars and cents. Social media will always require somebody’s time and may require that certain corporate resources be allocated differently. Businesses can’t ignore these costs when planning their social media strategies and evaluating what they’re delivering..”

Rita Zamora is a relationship-focused dental marketer, specializing in referral marketing, patient relations, case acceptance and social media for general and specialty practices.  Rita developed her referral marketing expertise working hands-on in specialty and general dentistry practices. She is the author of the ebook The Referral System How-To Guidebook For Dentists. With over sixteen years experience in dentistry, Rita has trained, coached and motivated dentists and teams in marketing, patient relations, communication and social media. Find more about Dental Relationship Marketing on Rita’s blog.

One doctor recently said, “Asking patients to become my Facebook fan is just as hard as asking for referrals.”  (Over the years, asking for referrals is one of the most common roadblocks I hear practitioners and teams complain about.)  Once the shiny newness of having a Facebook page wears off, it’s time to consider how you can keep the momentum going.  Here are a few tips to help boost your Facebook participation.

1. Will the doctor invite patients to join your Facebook community, or will it be another team member? Whoever is talking to patients about Facebook should be intimate with your page, and the page’s activity.  Discuss this with your team in advance and decide who is best to handle this.
2. Plan what to say when you talk about Facebook. I’m a fan of scripts. Many years ago, I resisted scripts and thought they’d make you sound like a robot.  However with personalization, scripts can be customized to your authentic voice and they can prove invaluable.
3. Determine what you want the “purpose” of your page to be. Will you put root canal videos in your patient’s newsfeeds every week? Or will you be sharing fun news about you and your team, such as the photos of your recent team outing.  When you feel good about your posts, it’s a lot easier to invite patients to join you.

An additional benefit of a Facebook page is to use it as a barometer to show how well you are promoting the page offline (talking about it with patients in your office).  If your page has no recent activity and the fan base is flat, chances are you need to step up the conversation in your practice.  Now, if only there were a measurement tool to determine how often doctors and teams were inviting patients to refer as well: )

Rita Zamora is a relationship-focused dental marketer, specializing in referral marketing, patient relations, case acceptance and social media for general and specialty practices.  Rita developed her referral marketing expertise working hands-on in specialty and general dentistry practices. She is the author of the ebook The Referral System How-To Guidebook For Dentists. With over sixteen years experience in dentistry, Rita has trained, coached and motivated dentists and teams in marketing, patient relations, communication and social media.

How important is it to monitor local reviews?  Very important. In a recent report by Nielsen, Google said that 82% of the population uses local search and reviews and Yahoo says that there are over 100 million local searches performed monthly.  Most prospective patients when searching for a new dentists in their area will perform a search with the name of the city and the word dentist.  A typical search in Google would look like this:

“Richmond dentist.”  Google instantly will return a list of dentists, with other information such as location, phone number and reviews.

Most dentists are not even aware that they have reviews on the internet.   Recently I visited my dermatologist.  He asked me how I had found his practice, and I told him I used Google to find his practice.  I told him that I had read his reviews and that they had all been good, so I scheduled an appointment with him.  He was shocked, he didn’t even realize that he had any reviews online.  Dentists need to be aware that there are online conversations going on every day about them and their practice, whether they want to be involved or not.

So, what do you do if you have a bad review?  Many dentists will ignore the review and hope that others will too.  Responding to bad reviews can be a slippery slope.  Psychologists advise that you do not go toe to toe against someone that has posted a bad review.  Visitors reading the reviews do not want to see a public disagreement, and it will only draw more attention to the negative post.  Instead approach the bad review in a positive nature.

• Do not get angry, do not get emotional, do not start a public argument.
• Acknowledge the issue and rather than becoming defensive offer an explanation.
• Validate the patient’s concerns and respond in a professional manner.
• Let everyone know that everything that you do is focused on a high-quality experience for each patient and that when problems do surface, you take them seriously and work hard to understand the root causes.
• Do not continually re-address the problem.  Address it and move on.   As more positive reviews come in, the bad review will be pushed further down the list.
• Continually focus on doing great work, and building up positive reviews.  Today people are very savvy, having a bad review or two adds validity to your reviews. Address them correctly and you will appear to be level headed, active and concerned.

Another school of thought is to drown a bad review with positive reviews.  Sheer numbers will always win, and if you have 30 great reviews and one bad review you should come out ahead.  Everyone knows that you can have a bad day once and a while, so one bad review won’t spoil the bunch. Bad reviews can also be a valuable tool to know what is happening in your practice.  When you do get that one bad review, think about what is actually behind it.  It might actually clue you in to something that needs to be fixed.

Every once in a while extreme measures may have to be taken.  It’s not very often that this occurs, however there are some very unscrupulous people out there.  There was a dentist near me that had allegations of sexual misconduct with a patient on their Google reviews.  The dentist was a “head in the sand” type, and did not even know it was out there.

Reviews alleging malpractice and illegal actions need to be dealt with quickly.  They are terrible rumor starters and can do serious damage even after they are gone.  Contact legal counsel and the host site and address them immediately.  Taking extreme measures can also be tricky.  I have seen several reviews of dentists which say “Dr. XYZ’s lawyer contacted me today and said to remove this content” or “now they are threatening legal action.”  Some reviewers just don’t know when to quit!  So use caution, you may end up with more than you bargained for.  Remember, controversy draws attention.

The important thing to remember is this, if you continually do good work and continue to get good reviews, people will quickly move past a bad review or two.  Your focus should continually be on improving the quality of your practice and providing exceptional service.  It’s the same with all facets of life, people reward quality, this goes for quality food, quality products and quality service.  I cannot count the number of times that I have seen individuals on Twitter and Facebook recommend a movie, a book or a restaurant.  Actually 25% of all conversations on social media networks evolve around a person’s recommendation of a product or a service.

The main thing to remember is now, more than ever, people have a voice and they are eager to be heard.  People are just as anxious to leave a good review as they are to leave a bad review.  Bad reviews are generally made when a patient feels that they have been mistreated or did not receive the service they believe they deserved.  One dentist that I worked with spent thousands of dollars each month for high search engine rankings.  However, his local reviews said things like “I felt like an automobile, the dentist’s assistants kept pushing service upgrades.  Remember that your patients now have a very powerful voice.

Speaking of powerful voices, it is important to remember that your patients now have many social networks where they talk about their daily lives.  Thousands of posts go out everyday on Twitter and Facebook from people’s mobile phones.  I’ve seen a number of posts on Twitter from people sitting in the dentists chair.  As professionals we have to remember that we live in a transparent world of mobile texting, instant photo upload and viral sharing.  Embrace this opportunity to open the lines of communication with your patients in order to improve their experience and expand your practice.

Jason T. Lipscomb is a general dentist in Richmond, VA and a co-author of Social Media for Dentists.  Dr. Lipscomb has developed the methods used by Social Media for Dentists after several years of private practice.  He maintains a unique perspective on dental marketing by operating two busy practices and researching social media practices.  Social Media for Dentists is one of the only dental specific Social Media marketing books.  Social Media for Dentists L.L.C. offers hands on training to dentists all over the country.