Social media is like an ADA meeting.
To successfully connect with other users, you need to be a social media butterfly and interact with everyone on the platform. Listen to the conversations others are having around you, add your input and start your own conversations. While you do this, remember that you need to be the one that everybody likes, without being the one always talking about themselves. This requires that your input to conversations is compelling and can grab the attention of the users around you, but isn’t always about you.
“Social Media Should Be: 60% Promoting Your Business, 30% Posts Geared Towards Engaging with Customers, 10% Reposting and Sharing Content“ - Christopher Sandel, PD Social Media Specialist
Create Engaging Social Media Content
The engaging part of a post is, more or less, you creating content that isn’t necessarily about you, but is geared towards interacting with your clients. For example, one dental practice asked their followers, “Do you still sing a song to brush your teeth? What song do you sing?” This is an effective, engaging post because it catches attention and allows clients to interact with the practice in a fun way that they can relate to.
At the same time, posting on social media for your practice means you are representing your brand. Your social media presence is, in essence, simply an extension of your brand. So, no matter what platform you are on (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram), your content needs to accurately reflect your brand message, which shows the personality of your practice and lets clients know who you are.
Who are you as a practice? Your message needs to clearly reflect your mission and goals. To develop this idea, really think about where your practice is going, where you want it to go and who your target audience should be. Then, take your mission statement and follow it to create your goals, and use social media to support them. Put simply, a brand message is built off of your practice mission statement, which guides your practice in the direction you want it to go. Tailor your social media posts and content to effectively relay that message in a consistent manner, and it will relate to the appropriate target audience.
With every post, remember that you are increasing brand awareness within your community. It is crucial that all of your messaging consistently reflects the personality of your practice, whether it be fun, relaxed, or comfortable. Let people know who you are by posting about group or office events so they get a feel for the atmosphere. Are you involved within the community? Post about it, and take advantage of photography. Photos are a great way to increase engagement on social media, and lets followers see real people they can relate with.
Establish a Social Media Leader
This person should be in charge of managing all of your social media accounts and creating a schedule or calendar for your posts. Why only one person? Having one person create and post keeps the messaging consistent, and relayed in one voice. Your followers will come to recognize this voice as your brand, so make this decision carefully. They are going to be the one posting content with the goal of getting followers to engage with you, and you with them. On days they aren’t posting, they will also need to stay actively involved with the social media community by liking, commenting, sharing, retweeting and reposting content from followers.
Having a representative that positively and consistently reflects your brand is key to your social media success.
Focus on Consistency
• Create and optimize your social media pages so all images, “About Us” content, and profile photos accurately and seamlessly reflect your brand.
• Know when you check each of your social media accounts, how often, and how active you are on the different platforms.
• Create a content plan so you know what type of content is being posted, and when.
• Use the same name across all platforms. (i.e. Do not use the doctor’s name for some accounts and the practice name for others.)
Need Help?
Progressive Dental, or PD, works with dental practices to help them promote a consistent message. We are their social media partner for making sure their content is not generic, and every page is custom to the practice and their message to reach the appropriate audience.
For more social media tips, or to reach out for help developing your brand message across social media platforms, contact one of our practice growth specialists. Call us at 727-286-6211.
