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ThePowerofSocialMediaforDentists

ShareableMedia2016.AllRightsReserved.

ThePowerofSocialMediaforDentists

PatientCommunicationsHasChangedinthe21stCentury

ShareableMedia2016.AllRightsReserved 2

Socialmedianowreachesmorepeoplethananyotherlocalmediaoutlet,anddatashowsthatithassigni@icantin@luenceinthehealthcaredecision-makingprocess.Tobuildadentalpracticeintoday’sdigitallysavvyworld,socialmedianeedstobeapriority.Patientsexpectitaspartofthedentist-patientrelationship,andit’sbecomeamarketingtoolthatdentistscan’tignore.

*  7outof10adults18+usesocialmediaregularly–includingyourpatientsandprospects.

*  Facebookhas1billionusersdailyandamarket

capgreaterthanGE,andFordandGMcombined.*  Socialmedia’shouseholdpenetration,frequencyof

use,and“shareofmind”inyourmarketfarexceedsothertraditionallocalmarketingservices.

*  Traditionallocalmediaisinaslowdeathspiral–

householdpenetrationoflocalnewspapersis<25%nationally,localradioratingsareindecline,YellowPagesandPennySaversarenowirrelevant.Google,Facebook,andthemobilerevolutionaredrivingthis.

*  89%ofU.S.companieswithrevenues>$10

millionusesocialmediaformarketingpurposes.Thereisareasontheydoso:Itworks.

22ReasonsWhySocialMediaissoPowerfulforDentists


1)  Socialmediapro@ilesrankveryhighinsearchengineslikeGoogle--andsometimesevenhigherthanapractice’swebsite.Ifyoudon’thaveapro@ile,you’relimitingyourexposure.Ifyouhaveonebutit’semptyorout-of-date,itcouldappearasifyou’reoutofbusinesswhensomeoneclicksovertoitstraightfromsearch.

2)  In2016,FacebookandTwitterwilloffermorereasonstoconductlocal“nearme”searchesdirectly

ontheirplatforms.Youwillneedtopostregularlytoappearinthoseresults–ifyoudon’t,youriskbecomingdigitallyinvisibleontwoofthebiggestplatformsintheworld.

3)  Whenyoupostusefulinformationonsocialmedia,newpatientscanlearnmoreaboutyoubeyonda

listofcredentialsinabiographyonyourwebsite,whichcanonlyaidintheirdecision-makingprocesstoseeyou.

4)  Everydentisthasanonlinereputationandfootprintwhetherhe/shewantsoneornot.Youcan

eitherignoreit–ortakechargeofitbyconveyingtheimageyouwanttoconveyinsteadofrelyingonwhatotherswriteaboutyouonsiteslikeonHealthgradesorYelp.

5)  Itintroducesandconnectsyouwithprospectivepatientsinamoremeaningfulwaythanan

advertisement,andinamuchmoreinexpensivewaythandirectmailoranadvertisementinalocalpublication.


SocialMediaMakesItEasierforProspectivePatientstoFindandChooseYou

6)  Patientsexpecttheirdentiststobecurrentandup-to-dateintheireducation,treatments,andpatientcommunicationmethods.Ifyou’renotonsocialmedia,youriskappearingout-of-touchandold-fashioned.

7)  Themorefrequentlyyoupostonsocialmedia,themorechancesyou’llhavethatyourpatientswill

shareyourpoststotheirownsocialnetworks–leadingtomoreexposureforyourpracticeandmoreword-of-mouthreferrals.

8)  Whenpatients’seeusefulcontentfromyouonsocialmedia,theyrealizethatyoucareabouttheirday-

to-daywell-being,andthatyouunderstandtheirneeds.Ifyoudon’t,itimpliesanattitudeofindifference.

9)  Youcanimprovehealthoutcomesforpatientsthroughthetipsandcontentyoushareonsocialmedia.10) Fewerpeoplearecallingfriends/familyforreferralsandrecommendations;they’repostingrequests

onsocialmediaforpeopleintheirownnetworkstoanswer.Infact,“socialmediawillamajorreferralsourceforhealthcareproviders,”accordingtoaJan.2016articleinForbes.Thisissomethingmoneycan’tbuy.


SocialMediaImprovesPatientRelationships&EncouragesWord-of-MouthReferrals

11)  61%ofsocialmediauserstrustsocialmediapostsandactivitybyhealthcareprofessionalsoveranyothergroup.1

12)  41%ofpeoplesaysocialmediawouldaffecttheirchoiceofhealthcarefacility.213)  Morethan40%ofconsumerssaythatinformationfoundviasocialmediaaffectsthewaytheydeal

withtheirhealth.Ifthatinformationdoesn’tcomefromyou,it’llcomefromsomeoneelse.314)  Socialmediaiswhereyourpatientscommunicatewitheachother,especiallywhenitcomestotheir

health.Infact,recentstatsshowthat33%ofconsumersnowusesocialmediaforhealth-relatedmatters,includinghowtheyfeelabouthealthproviders,drugs,treatments,medicaldevicesandhealthplans.4

15)  45%ofconsumerssayinformationfromsocialmediawouldaffecttheirdecisionstoseekasecondopinion.5

16)  88%ofconsumersarein@luencedbyreviewsandcommentsonlineandtheabilitytosearchonFacebookwillconnectpeopletothesecommentsquickly.6


DataShowsthatPatientsUseSocialMediaforHealthcareDecisions

1PriceWaterhouseCoopers2Demi&Cooper3Mediabistro

4SparkReport5PriceWaterhouseCoopers6LocalVox

17)  Youcanpromotenewcredentialsyou’veacquired;newtreatmentsandproductsyouoffer;articlesyou’vepublished;presentationsyou’vegiven;yourwebsite;andmore.

18)  YoucangainattentionforcausesyoubelieveinlikeNationalChildren’sDentalHealthMonthand

gumdiseaseprevention.19)  Youcanspreadthewordaboutstate-of-the-arttreatmentsthatyourpatientscanbene@itfrom.20)  Itgivesyouaneasyandtimelywaytoeducateandcommentonitemsinthenewstohelpyour

patientsdiscernbetweenhypeandtruth.21)  Throughsocialnetworkingcommunitiesandgroups,youcanconnectwithcolleaguesandother

industryexperts.22)   Itkeepsyoutop-of-mind.Whenpatientsseethatyou’repostingcontentthat’susefulandrelevant

totheirlives,theyconsideryoutheirgo-tosourceforinformationinsteadofWebMDorGoogle--whileremindingthemyou’rethereforthem.


SocialMediaExponentiallyAmpliQiesYourExperienceandExpertise


Themoredentistsembracesocialmedia,themorepatientsandprospectsyou’llreach.Buttodosocialmediarightthattakestime–

somethingyouprobablydon’thave.

Wedo.

Contactustoday:[email protected]

Yoursocialmediapresenceshouldbeasprofessionalasyouareintheof@ice.LettheprofessionalsatShareableMediahelp.

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