Social Media Checklist
The top three things your practice should be doing on social media
By Holly Lafferty
More and more ECPs are recognizing the value in having a strong social media presence. The question is no longer whether you should use social media for your practice, but how you should you use it.
You may not have the resources of Zappos.com or Pepsi, but you can still find ways to leverage social media in a manner that will benefit your practice.
Here are the top three steps you can take to enhance your practice’s social media presence.
GET STARTED
√ At the risk of being obvious, you can’t leverage your social media presence if you’re not even in the game. It can be overwhelming when you’re not sure where to begin, but something is better than nothing.
GET ON FACEBOOK. With 67 percent of Internet users active on Facebook, having a presence on this social media network is essential for your practice. Odds are, the majority of your patients already have Facebook accounts (not to mention your competitors).
| DID YOU KNOW… |
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72% of mothers with children in the U.S. have Facebook accounts. 700 billion minutes are spent on Facebook every month. 35% of businesses actively blog at least once a month. |
Facebook also offers a significant opportunity to provide a higher level of customer service to your patients. So, if you don’t know where to begin, start by creating a Facebook account for your practice and commit to updating it regularly (e.g., once a day or once a week). Again, anything is better than nothing.
START A TWITTER FEED. Like Facebook, Twitter is a great place to service your clients. With the hashtag (#) search function and the short-and-sweet, 140-character limit, this micro-blogging network is appealing and user friendly. It’s also easily linked to your Facebook account, so you don’t necessarily need to spend extra time posting to two separate social media channels.
START A BLOG. Businesses that blog get 55 percent more website visitors than those that do not. That could be huge for helping your practice attract new patients and retain current ones. In years past, you’d easily pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for Yellow Pages or radio ads to get that traffic.
TRY LINKEDIN. Though LinkedIn isn’t primarily designed for business-to-consumer relationships, it’s a great place for you to network with other professionals and stay on top of current news and trends in the industry. Join discussion groups focused on optometry or other categories of interest and keep an eye out for potential rock-star hires in your area.
BE A STUDENT
√ Getting your social media accounts set up is only the first step. You also want to know how to leverage those accounts in the best way for your practice, right? Be a student in the world of social media and educate yourself. There are several things you can learn to do well even if you have little to no understanding of social media.
AUDIENCE. The first step is knowing your audience. Who is on social media? The median age of users is increasingly moving upward, with more women than men active on social networks. This is a target demographic for optometrists and other ECPs, and should help determine which items of interest you post on your feeds.
PATTERNS. Get to know a little bit more about how people use the different social networks. For example, Twitter moves more quickly than Facebook—it’s OK to tweet more frequently than it is to post several times a day on Facebook. Facebook users tend to respond well to images—memes, cartoons, funny photos, etc.
TRACK AND TEST. Keep track of which posts and tweets get the most response. Facebook Insights will show you which posts got the most engagement—which ones got the most likes, shares, and comments. Experiment with the time of day that you post—which time gets the most engagement? Use this info to nail down a social media strategy.
| THE 70/20/10 RULE |
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When sharing on your feeds, follow the 70/20/10 rule: 70% of the time, post things that will further your brand. These can be informative in nature (patient education, trivia) entertaining (memes, funny quotes), or relevant to your business (patient testimonials, employee highlights). 20% of the time, share something from a third party—like a sale going on at another local business or an upcoming community event. 10% of the time, it’s perfectly acceptable to indulge in a little self-promotion—announce a new line of frames you’re carrying, a trunk show, or a special discount you’re offering. |
STICK WITH IT
√ You may feel frustrated if you’re posting engaging content on a regular basis and you’re not getting an influx of likes or followers, but don’t be discouraged.
COMMITMENT. It can take time to build a strong presence on social media. Commit yourself to regular posting for six months to a year and then re-evaluate your efforts.
RESULTS. Results can’t be measured in only new patients or dispensary sales. Customer service and patient satisfaction should also carry weight. After all, it’s much easier and more cost-effective to retain patients than it is to bring in new ones. If your current patients feel cared-for and heard, they’re more likely to stay loyal to you. And social media is a key tool in ensuring that they feel heard. EB
Holly Lafferty is a social media expert and content specialist at the Williams Group in Lincoln, NE.
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