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.

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.

This is a wonderful time for dentists who use Social Media.  Things they are a changing for the better.  Dentists who have social media and internet profiles should have noticed some changes in the major platforms lately.  Facebook, Google, and Twitter have enacted and announced some cool new features.  These new tools will allow you to share content more easily and to take advantage of new technology.

One of the most obvious changes is Facebook’s shift to “Like”.  Those of you who have a Facebook page for your dental practice probably remember that those who follow your page were called fans.  Now your pages are called official pages and you no longer have fans, you have a cavalcade of people who “Like” your page.  The like is not only a move to add some positivity to the wordage, it marks an effort by Facebook to extend its connections to the entire internet.  Facebook announced that the “Like” option can be connected to most web content.  This means you will be able to add a “Like” button to your blog post or web narrative, allowing a web visitor to easily share the information found there.    Along with the “Like” option Facebook introduced a cooperation with partner sites, the most obvious being Yelp.  When visiting a profile on Yelp, your Facebook profile can be accessed.  This collaboration allows a visitor to share content found on Yelp with Facebook connections.  The collaboration is a great opportunity for Dentists to have their Yelp profile shared across Facebook.

Twitter has also announced some interesting changes coming down the line.  Twitter users know that the platform itself is a very stripped down format.  In order to add functionality to your Twitter experience, you must visit outside websites such as twitpic, tinyurl, or yfrog.  These website applications are created by third party designers outside of Twitter.  Many of these applications have become an integral part of the Twitter experience.  Until now Twitter has stayed out of the development game, but they are now going to develop their own applications.  These “official” applications have started with the like of the new official Twitter application for the Blackberry.  Twitter has also announced some changes in its platform’s infrastructure.  Twitter will soon release the annotation feature, which will allow more information to be included in each tweet.  This will allow for long tail links, and embedding other material which will give the tweets more functionality like Facebook posts.  This move may upset twitter purists, but will allow for greater sharing capabilities.

Google has also announced some changes to its local business center.  All dentists should be familiar with Google’s local business center.  It is where local listings are added, and most potential patients will find you online.  Now all dentists will need to become familiar with Google Places, the local business listing’s new name.  Google places has some cool new features that the business center did not.  Places new geographic features will allow owners to choose a service radius, and pinpoint service areas.  This will be very helpful for practices that service many localities.    Places local listings also has a new feature that allows for status updates much like a social media platform.  What a great way to share a special or share links to your Facebook or Twitter page.  Google places appeals to the mobile market by offering QR codes for each listing.  QR codes are 2 dimensional bar codes that can be scanned by newer mobile devices and link to information like Google listings.  To learn more about QR codes at work visit our blog post from March   http://socialmediadentist.com/blog/?p=107.

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.

Don’t expect your Facebook community to grow on it’s own. Many practices have an influx of admirers when they open their page. There is excitement, and the team may ask family and friends to join … However, in order to keep your patient base growing over time, you’ll need a plan in place.

What is your strategy? Are you posting willy-nilly “when you have time?” Do you have a plan in place for inviting patients to participate? According to Facebook, businesses that promote their Page off-Facebook tend to see a 20% or greater increase in connections. In fact, Facebook itself is said to have recently issued window decals to select local storefront businesses <http://mashable.com/2010/04/27/facebook-window-decals/> .

There is benefit in coordinating your offline marketing to Facebook. Be creative in your efforts.  Include your Facebook links on signage, hardcopy newsletters, postcards … consider events or a “Facebook Friday” in your office.  Wear special Facebook t-shirts or buttons and have fun with it (only if “fun” suits your practice branding and personality of course:)).

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.

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.

It is important for dentists to get in and be active now.  Dentists often try to get the URL yourcitydentist.com (i.e. dallasdentist.com or detroitdentist.com) because these are the major keywords used to search for a dentist on Google.  The URL is the highest point in the website structure, and is the first thing a search engine crawls.  Dentists need to log on and claim their user names now to boost their web presence and also to keep their identity out of the hands of others.  Be sure to claim your name on the big three search engines Google, Bing and Yahoo.  Claim your user names on the big social media sites as well.  Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, YouTube, and Flickr.  Facebook will allow you to claim a URL for a personal account, but be careful not to drive business traffic to your personal profile unless you intend to do so.  A custom URL for a Facebook fan page will require at least 25 fans to grab the URL.  Consider the same parameters when choosing a social media profile name as you would choosing a name for your website.  YouTube and Flickr may not seem like major players in the social media game, but they are the darlings of their respective owners, Google and Yahoo.  Well worded submissions to either will contribute to added web exposure.

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.

Rita Zamora

There’s no denying how important marketing on the web has become.  However does that mean tangible forms of marketing should be ignored?  Consider the fact that email marketing giants claim between 35% and 65% of emails are opened.  The reach of email marketing is only as effective as the size of your list … What percentage of your patients do you have email addresses for?

While I’m a huge fan of email marketing, as well as social media marketing, there’s still a strong argument for tangible marketing.  Newsletters, note cards, and even postcards, continue to play an important role.  For example, hardcopy newsletters allow people to experience news in a much different way than e-communication.  Paper newsletters allow for longer articles, more photos, and richer content than digital formats.

Likewise the handwritten note remains a strong relationship and trust building tool.  Holding a notecard in your hands reaches a physical sense that e-mail cannot achieve.  While email or text follow up continues to grow more popular, there’s a portion of the population that can be captured via postcards or hardcopy newsletters.

If you want your messages to reach a larger portion of your patient population, ensure your marketing communications are well balanced … A combination of both digital and hardcopy marketing tools still makes good sense.

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.