Many ODs are starting to recognize the value in having a social media presence. The question is no longer whether you should use social media for practice, but how should you use social media for your practice. There are a vast amount of social media channels available and various ways to use them. You may not have the resources of Zappos.com or Pepsi, but you can still find ways to leverage social media to benefit your practice. So without further ado, here is the first thing you can do 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 100% of the time.
- Get on Facebook. With 67% of internet users active on Facebook, having a presence on this social network is essential for your practice. Odds are, the majority of your patients have Facebook accounts (not to mention your competitors). 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 start, start by creating a Facebook account for your practice and commit to updating it regularly (whether that’s 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.
- Try LinkedIn. While 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 optometry industry. Join discussion groups focused on optometry and keep an eye out for potential rock star hires in your area.
Tom Bowen
Executive Vice President
Williams Group
Email Tom Bowen