More than 500,000 people use dental implants to replace missing teeth every year.
Turns out more than 35 million Americans don’t have any teeth. And, 178 million people are missing at least one tooth.
Edentulism—the fancy way of saying missing teeth—leads directly to social and psychological deficits and functional limitations and impairments.
According to one study, people with missing visible teeth were negatively perceived on all social traits including attractiveness, health status, educational attainment, satisfaction with life, active social life, aggressiveness, intelligence, trustworthiness, amount of caring, friendship, dating, and likelihood to live as a neighbor. As a result, often individuals who are missing teeth experience significant barriers to personal and professional success.
In addition to the aesthetics and social stigma of missing teeth, gaps in your smile are detrimental to your health. Your teeth support the skin around your mouth. Without teeth, the bones around your mouth and cheeks decorate, creating a sagging—making you appear older. Additionally, missing teeth make it difficult to properly chew food, affecting your nutrition and digestive process.
Dental implants to the rescue
If you’re missing teeth, consider replacing with dental implants. Implants look and feel like your natural teeth, and cost on average $1,500-7,500.
All three of our dentists are members of the American Society of Implant & Reconstructive Dentistry (ASIRD). ASIRD membership is by invitation only and consists of highly qualified surgeon and dentist teams who work and train together, providing patients with a highly coordinated case treatment.
This post originally appeared on Infinity Insights, the official blog of Infinity Dental Web.
Eighty-nine million people in the United States watched 1.2 billion online videos today.
Fifty-two percent of consumers say that watching product videos make them more confident in online purchase decisions. And, 96 percent of consumers find videos helpful when making purchase decisions online.
Your social video content needs to be on point
Whether you’re recording a video for YouTube or going live on any of the latest social media video platforms (Facebook, Blab, Periscope, to name a few), social video is currently the most effective marketing tool at your disposal.
1. Prepare, prepare, prepare
Know what you’re going to say. Or, at least have an idea. If rehearsing or writing a second by second script feels inauthentic, at least sketch out your main points. Preparation creates confidence and eliminates “um’s”—meaning you’ll come across as a thought leader.
2. Keep it right, keep it tight
When TED curator Chris Anderson invites the world’s most intelligent leaders to speak, he gives them 18 minutes. Our brains are wired to pay attention for 10 to 18 minutes, no longer. 18 minutes is the length of John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech. If 18 minutes is good enough for JFK, it’s good enough for you.
But, that’s long-form video.
The ideal length of a YouTube video is less than three minutes. Instagram limits video to a maximum of 60 seconds, but ideally video on the platform should be 3 to 15 seconds. For maximum engagement, Facebook videos should be 30 to 45 seconds. Snapchat records for 10.
3. Rule of thirds
Keep in mind the rule of thirds. Using your imagination, divide the video screen in thirds, you should occupy one-third of the screen. If you don’t, move the camera closer (move, don’t zoom). If you’re taking up more than one-third of the screen, move the camera back.
The rule of thirds is one of the most used compositions in film and photography. Use two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines to break up the frame into nine parts.
4. Be aware
When you sit in front of your bookcase, does it look like there’s a plant growing out your head or a trophy that looks like a neck growth? Be aware of what’s behind you and how it looks on camera. Consider positioning yourself in front of a blank wall or sheet.
5. Slow and steady wins the race
Whether you use a tripod or prop up your smartphone with a few books and binder clips, do something to keep your video steady. The “Blair Witch Project” wasn’t good in 1999, so let’s not recreate it. It doesn’t matter how informative, creative, or inspiring your content is, viewers won’t stick around if they get seasick from watching you.
6. Drop the mic
Using your smartphone to record? Invest in a smartphone mic. I purchased mine on Amazon for less than $30. It’s unidirectional and plugs directly into the headphone jack.
7. Light the way
If your office tends to be a bit dark—and even if you think it’s not—add additional lights. Desk lamps on either side of the camera, pointed in your direction are an inexpensive and effective way to brighten your video.
Video–including social video–now appears in 70 percent of the top 100 Google search results.
Adapt your video content to best fit the platform. Sharing the same content across every platform is inappropriate. Where a live Q&A might work on Blab or Facebook Live, a demonstration or tutorial might be more appropriate for YouTube.
No matter the platform or the content, it must be interesting, emotional, positive, and brand-centric.
This post originally appeared on Infinity Insights, the official blog of Infinity Dental Web.
It’s morning. You breeze into the office, tea in hand, ready to take on the day.
Your intentions are noble. Today’s the day you’re going to hammer out that tooth fairy blog post, record a video of your hygienist teaching patients proper flossing techniques, and create an infographic about dental emergencies. And then…life happens.
If you’re reading this blog post, chances are you feel your social media marketing efforts have gone askew.
Or. You’re my mom.
Hi Mom!
Social media content comes in a variety of forms—e.g., status updates, live and recorded video, infographics, Pins, Tweets, blog posts, etc. We use this content to establish and cultivate relationships with your target audience. It must be engaging, conversational, and easily digestible.
So how do I keep track of my social media?
Yes, you’re publishing, but without strategy or consistency, are you really meeting your goals? Do you even know what those goals are?
If you’re not using a social media content calendar already, then your efforts probably aren’t working as well as you’d like. Using a social media content calendar allows you to:
1. Never again miss a post or a social media trend
To be effective, your social media marketing efforts require ongoing management and consistent, fresh activity. An editorial calendar is a planning document that gives you and your team a plan of attack.
When your content is planned in advance, you can easily pivot when trends arise. Your brain—and your team—are free to be creative.
2. Meet your goals—or, in some cases, define your goals.
Do your fans tend to be online late at night or early morning? Are your followers predominantly over 45? Are they married? Do they like hiking, or running, or watching a lot of Law & Order SVU?
Nearly all social media platforms offer insights. Consistency in posting creates a larger sample size, thus making these analytics useful. Analytics are key to tracking your progress and making informed decisions regarding the ROI of specific ads, tactics, and content types.
Wouldn’t you feel more motivated to write a blog post, if you knew for a fact it would lead to a new patient? Of course you would.
3. Create high-quality content.
When you prioritize your efforts to match clearly defined objectives, your content quality is higher.
High quality content adds value for your patients. When you’re not adding value, there’s little chance your patients will return to your Facebook page or social blog.
4. Define your brand’s personality.
The first time I posted a social media update on behalf of a brand, I felt super uncomfortable. Was I supposed to be pithy? Witty? Sarcastic? Stoic?
Before you post one word online, it’s critical to define your brand’s voice and tone.
Wondering what the difference between voice and tone is?
You have the same voice all the time, but your tone changes. You use one tone when you’re out to dinner with your mother-in-law, and a different tone when you’re in a business meeting—hopefully.
With clear expectations of your brand’s voice and tone, you empower other team members to create content with consistency.
Social media gives you the opportunity to build awareness, while also highlighting the quality of your services and trustworthiness. Planning your social content allows you to optimize your social networks in order to reach more potential patients.
Trying to get started?
Download Your social media content calendar template here.
Goals? Objectives? Brand guidelines? We don’t have any of those!
Dave often entertains the team with anecdotes from dental school. While highly amusing, these tidbits are also chock-full of helpful insights into the psyche of a dentist.
For example, it turns out, most dental students take a course that covers the basics of managing a dental practice—including marketing.
To compliment this extensive training (really, there still isn’t a sarcasm font?), we’ve created a samplePractice Marketing Plan that asks the important business questions—like where your team is going for lunch, or other, more strategic questions.
Your marketing plan:
Aligns your marketing objectives with your business goals;
Identifies the needs of your target audience and defines how your practice will meet these needs;
Defines your competition and allows you to best position your brand’s products and services in comparison;
Establishes a foundation for decision-making and focuses your marketing efforts;
Provides a clear and actionable path to position your practice for growth;
Ensures you’re using resources effectively; and
Creates appropriate metrics for tracking your progress.
This post originally appeared on Infinity Insights, the official blog of Infinity Dental Web.
When it comes to marketing, one of the fastest ways to lose your audience is copy that sounds stuffy and formal. This applies to all forms of marketing content—social media updates, blog posts, emails, websites, whitepapers, infographics, videos, podcasts, et cetera, et cetera.
Readers pay more attention to conversational copy.
Dentists and dental marketers, when I say “readers,” I mean current and potential patients.
Why? Conversational copy allows the reader to believe he or she is involved. Conversational content engages your reader.
The more conversational your tone, the more your reader believes you’re talking to her.
Don’t marketers know this?
No.
The inspiration for this blog post came from a radio commercial I heard while driving to work Monday.
It seems, a casino in Tucson, Arizona, offers active duty military members, retired military members, and veterans a military tribute card with a number of so-called VIP benefits.
Pause to mention that it seems disingenuous and self-serving to encourage veterans and military members–many of whom are experiencing a number of psychological challenges leading to impulse control–to engage in activities that ultimately risk their retirement benefits and the salaries that they earned by standing between us and bullets. But, I digress.
The commercial so obviously missed the mark. With phrases like “we should thank them” and “we’re offering active duty military members, retired military members, and veterans.”
You should thank them? Or you are thanking them? Darn right you should. But didyou?
And, the whole time, I felt as if the announcer was speaking directly to me. Not to those who deserve the thank you, and to whom the casino is offering the card. Yes, statistics show that people spend more with brands that support the military and charitable endeavors, but this commercial was so obviously telling me that the casino is benevolent that it was a turn off. Soap box moment over.
So, how do you write authoritative, engaging, informative, AND conversational copy?
I’ve got ten ideas to get you started.
1. Don’t think about it.
According to Hemingway, “the first draft of anything is shit.”
You’re going to edit. Then probably edit again. Oh! And, did I mention edit?
Stream of consciousness writing provides an outlet for the multitudes of thoughts cluttering your brain, thus facilitating conversation by forcing you to not over think.
It’s okay if your first draft isn’t error free. It’s more important that you’ve got something to work with, whether it’s an outline or a working draft.
2. Read it out loud.
Pick an email you recently sent to a business colleague. Does it contain the words “per our conversation…”?
Have you ever successfully struck up a conversation with your smoking hot barista starting with “as you requested…”?
Normal humans, doing normal human things, don’t talk like that.
Reading your work out loud feels strange, no matter how many times you do it. Especially if you sit in a cubical farm surrounded by judgy co-workers. Or, if you’re taking advantage of your morning commute by working on the “L.”
Do it anyway.
More often than not, you’ll find typos, awkward sentences, gobbledygook, and content that flat out doesn’t sound like you. Change what you don’t like. Then read it—out loud—again. It’s takes time, but in the end it’s worth it.
3. Write to one person.
Picture her.
Your ideal patient.
Constance.
She has a husband and a family. She works in real estate, and on Tuesdays she prepares a make-your-own-sandwich bar for dinner. Her sons–ages nine and seven–play baseball and flag football. They ask for a puppy every morning. She religiously books her family’s dental appointments every six months and, comes prepared with updated insurance information and the family’s medical history.
Or, what about Liam?
Liam manages to get to your office every 18 months or so. He originally came to your practice because he chipped a tooth playing softball on his company team. He’s a single banker with dreams of owning an Audi R8—which are slowly fading as his girlfriend shows him engagement rings on Pinterest.
Technology is important to Liam. He’s a first-mover. He stood in line for an iPhone 6. So when he chipped his tooth, he narrowed his emergency dental options down to practices. Liam choose you because your website explained that you’re trained on the Solea hard tissue laser and offer 3-D x-rays.
Okay, so Constance and Liam aren’t real. They’re patient personas.
Personas are a marketing tool used to identify the demographics, desires, and pain points of a key segment of your audience.
When you sit down to compose a social media update, marketing email, or a blog post, write to a single persona. Not everyone in your database. Writing to everyone dilutes your message.
By hyper-targeting your message, you’re meeting the needs of your reader. While Constance would appreciate if you share advice on fun ways to encourage your kids to brush their teeth, Liam wants to read a blog post about your latest lecture at Boston University.
4. Keep sentences short.
If you’re a child of the 80’s or 90’s, you probably remember Micro Machines.
You probably also remember the commercials. Fast talking actor John Moschitta, Jr. touted the attributes of the vehicles, always ending with the slogan “remember if it doesn’t say Micro Machines, it’s not the real thing!” (Which frankly is the only part of the commercial I understand).
Unless you’re Twista, normal speech requires you to take breaks to breathe. Conversational writing requires breaks.
Shorter sentences—less than 35 words—mimic natural conversation and increase scannability.
5. Don’t just bend the rules, break ’em.
Forget everything your teachers ever taught you.
Okay, don’t go that far.
But, keep in mind that conversational writing isn’t technically perfect. When we speak, we fragment our sentences, use contractions, and end sentences with prepositions.
As long as you’re communicating effectively, starting a sentence with “and” or “but” isn’t going to get you sent to the principal’s office, but it will get you noticed by your readers.
6. Oh, what a tangled web you weave.
A few weeks ago, my fiancé and I were watching Disney’s “Aladdin” with his kids. The movie opens on a peddler from the bazaar in Agrabah singing “Arabian Nights.” As he steps down from his camel, he attempts to sell us—his worthy friends—his wares. A Hookah slash coffee-maker that also juliennes fries. Tupperware from the Dead Sea. And, his most famous merchandise, an extraordinary lamp that changes lives.
Essentially the entire movie is a tale spun by the peddler, though the opening monologue is his only appearance in the film.
Disney uses this peddler—and his legends—as a way to engage the audience. We’re immediately enthralled by his account of the boy who was a diamond in the rough.
Stories—examples, similes, and metaphors—make communicating interesting and engaging. They make complex ideas easier to understand. They give your audience something to relate to.
When you’re telling a story, you have a clear purpose in mind. A desired reaction.
You want your audience to be outraged. You want them to be sympathetic—or empathetic. You might need advice, or simply be seeking an outlet. Frame your story in a way that elicits this desired emotion.
For compelling, and conversational, copy, write like you’re telling the story to your best friend. What would you tell him about your practice?
7. What are you asking?
Similar to telling a story, a hypothetical question draws your reader in.
Much like the peddler in “Aladdin” asked if perhaps we “want to hear the tale?” Of course we do!
A hypothetical question helps your reader to feel like you’re speaking directly to them. And, that you trust them to figure out the information on their own.
Of course, don’t actually blindly trust our readers. We want to give the appearance of trust, not whole-hearted trust. After all, your reader may answer the question incorrectly. Try something like:
How many teeth would you be comfortable with losing from a lack of care? None, of course!”
The conclusion you want your reader to arrive at immediately follows the hypothetical situation in the copy.
8. Common words.
Do you know someone who uses SAT words in normal, everyday conversation? Do you think he sounds like a pompous douche? Yeah, me too.
We tend to use words with less than three syllables when we speak. When writing conversationally, avoid highly-technical or industry-specific jargon. Instead, use common vocab and expressions.
In some cases, consider the use of slang—or even a well-placed curse word, if it fits your brand or personality. And, if you’re a person who can appreciate a good pun or who embraces a well-placed cliché, go ahead and throw ’em in.
9. Speak to your reader in the first person.
Every paper you wrote in college, high school, and grade school. The news. Government reports.
These are formal methods of communication. They are through, complex, and objective. Which often means they’re cold and impersonal. And, they’re always written in the third person.
Conversational writing speaks directly to the reader. Pronouns like you, your, and yours engage your audience, creating a scenario in which she feels like you’re speaking directly to her.
Equally as important, conversational writing makes use of first person to reference the author. Unless your brand is truly a sole proprietor, when referencing your brand, use first person plural. You know, the royal we—and, our, ours, and us. For example, “we loved this advice!”
10. Get active.
Readers prefer we use active voice.
Active voice creates clarity and allows us to communicate effectively. In active voice, the subject of your sentence performs a specific action. This helps to eliminate ambiguity and creates an authoritative tone.
If at any time, you’re struggling to use active voice, try putting the subject first, changing the verb to eliminate any helping verbs, or completely rethink your sentence.
Can you think of any other tips for writing conversational social media posts or marketing copy? Leave your favorites in the comments.
This post originally appeared on Infinity Insights, the official blog of Infinity Dental Web.
Social media platforms are crowded and noisy. So what can you do to stand out from the crowd?
Content with relevant images received 94 percent more views than content without relevant images. These posts garner attention and drive engagement.
Jazz up your posts with photos. Then add filters, borders, or stickers using your favorite image editor—PicMonkey, Canva, Pixlr Express, and Gimp and are just options. Add a cinemagraph using Flixel or create a video or slideshow with Animoto.
No matter the image type, each social network has their own language, best practices, limitations, and—of course—dimension requirements. Because social networks frequently change layouts, the dimension requirements change—a lot.
Your 2016 Social Media Image Size Cheat Sheet
Keep this post bookmarked, and we promise to revise the infographic as these social networks update their requirements.
Let me know if you notice anything that needs updating in the comments.
Updated in July 2016
I recently came across a post from top Facebook marketing expert and social media thought leader Mari Smith about updates to the Facebook cover image size. I’ve updated the infographic to reflect these changes.
This post originally appeared on Infinity Insights, the official blog of Infinity Dental Web.
I’m not usually one for making concrete and definitive New Year’s resolutions. Every year the clock strikes midnight on Jan. 1, and I promise to do the same thing. Smile more in the upcoming year.
Sure, there’s no real way to measure success. But, if I can look back at a year and say I embraced every opportunity life threw at me, overcame the challenges, and learned a few lessons along the way, I probably came out in the black.
While this may work in my personal life, I’m not aware of a company that experienced sustained success by throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks—or at least not without a strategy behind the toss.
If changes to existing social networks, the additions of new networks, and ever-evolving best practices have you feeling like you spent the 2015 playing catch up, have no fear. I’ve put together a list of social media marketing resolutions to add to your list.
It’s all about the Benjamins
Adults online report noticing approximately three sponsored social media messages per day. In our newsfeeds sponsored social looks and acts like native content, making it almost impervious to ad blocking—intentionally, or unintentionally, not looking at the right-hand side of a webpage to avoid ads.
In addition to visibility, sponsored social offers consumers something else. Value. Hyper-targeting allows marketers to serve content to the audience seeking that information. For example, a family dentist might target a blog post on the reasons a family should see the same dentist throughout the course of each member’s lifetime to new and expectant moms within 10 miles who have a propensity to click on health-related content.
In 2015, 54 percent of marketers sponsored social content; and significantly more marketers are expected to get onboard in 2016. New sponsored social opportunities (think: carousel and Instagram ads, andpromoted pins) and additional players entering the auction-based market, will continue to drive up ad prices. While these ads remain significantly less expensive—and more effective—than traditional advertising, you’ll need a budget to ensure these messages get to the right audience at the optimal time.
Resolution: In 2016, I will increase my budget for sponsored social.
Live in the moment
Discussions about real-time marketing dominate list after list of social media trends. Consumers expect brands to be nimble enough to respond to what’s happening in the world.
Facebook recently announced a small percentage of iPhone users in the United States are testing live video. Similar in concept to Meerkat, Periscope, and Blab, throughout your broadcast you’ll see the number of live viewers and their names, as well as any comments in a comment stream. When finished, broadcasts save to your Timeline for future viewing.
By clearly defining your brand’s authentic voice and persona, you empower your social media team to participate in in-the-moment marketing. Knowing the brand allows them to know what the brand would “say” in these impromptu situations.
Real-time marketing shouldn’t completely circumvent planned content. Successful social brands plan the majority of their content, so that they can take advantage of situations in which they interact with fans and consumers in a more off the cuff manner.
Try collaborating with your Sonicare rep to chat about the benefits (and even drawbacks) to the Sonicare DiamondClean. Or, ask your hygienist to demonstrate proper brushing and flossing techniques. If you’re on the lecture circuit, try flipping the script—broadcast from the stage while you’re warming up or during the Q&A session.
Resolution: In 2016, I will make instant, real-time connections by marketing in the moment.
Video killed the radio star
In case you missed the last time I mentioned it, video is kind of a big deal. In last year’s 2015 State of Digital Marketing, 70 percent of brands reported video as being the most effective content marketing tool available. And, in November, Facebook announced video views hit 8 billion daily (literally doubling just eight short months).
With Facebook expected to roll out a dedicated video stream featuring suggested videos in early 2016;360 video and native Twitter videos already available; short-format video on Vine and Instagram (including one-second Boomerangs), and features like Story replies, lenses, and filters building Snapchatinto a more relevant (and exciting) branding tool, expect an upswing in the amount of video users consume in 2016.
Avoiding video because of the expense? Great video content doesn’t have to have a high-production value. We have several clients who’ve incorporated video into their content strategy by taking advantage of their Smartphone’s video capability. The addition of these videos has increased their organic visibility and elevated their online reputations. Start recording.
Resolution: In 2016, I will incorporate video—produced and real time—in my social content.
SEO has a new friend
Ask five friends where they would go to learn how to French braid their daughter’s hair. Go ahead, I’ll wait. I asked this same question to five friends last week. Without fail, all five said they’d search YouTube for a video. YouTube. Not Google. Not Bing. While your results may not be unanimous, I’ll bet your survey participants mention YouTube as well.
A culture shift is on the horizon in which we’ll see an increase on the number of consumers using social media networks in lieu of search engines to research a product or service. Even now, if you search a particular business (or long-tail keywords), Google results are peppered with the social accounts of that brand. This is one reason why Facebook is critical to your successful local SEO strategy.
Consumers are influenced by other consumers’ online comments. While the specific survey results vary—Moz reports more than 67 percent, while BrightLocal reports that the number is closer to 88 percent. In the dental vertical specifically, our research found that 57 percent of prospective patients read online reviews before booking. And, according to Healthgrades, “nine out of 10 consumers check patient reviews before choosing a physician—and most trust these reviews as much as a personal recommendation.” Because social media content regularly features online reviews and customer testimonials, customers will skip Google and Bing, and heading straight to Facebook, YouTube, Yelp, and Pinterest for options.
Social results are more visual than the text heavy results that appear in search results and on websites. Visual content (photos, videos, infographic) is easier to digest for consumers, and considered more trustworthy.
Resolution: In 2016, my social media content will closely reflect my SEO strategy, particularly long-tail keywords. Bonus, I’ll also offer discounts or specials developed specifically for social users.
I think I’ve found myself a cheerleader
The seemingly overnight success of Slack—the social media like collaboration tool for business—suggests that employers are now embracing the concept of social in the workplace. With the launch of Facebook at Work planned for early 2016, employees at Fortune 500s, small to mid-size businesses, and startups will have access to company news and information nearly instantaneously.
Your employees are already on social media—and 50 percent of them are talking about you. Employee activism allows companies to add value to those messages. According to Nielsen, 90 percent of consumers trust recommendations from people they know.
Only about one-third of employers encourage employees to use social media to share information about their organization. Providing your employees branded messages allows them to actively engage their networks, leading to increased sales (72 percent increase in sales versus 48 percent in increased sales for companies not encouraging employee activism) and brand awareness.
Resolution: In 2016, I will engage my employees in our social media efforts, encouraging them to advocate on behalf of our organization.
Facebook is the new Facebook
Facebook currently claims about 54.4 percent of social networking market share. Don’t expect that to change. What will change, however, is the demographics of the social network. Facebook’s over 65 demographic is growing, as well as their international audience.
With mainstream networks like Facebook and Twitter already saturated, brands are turning to alternate, niche platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, and Periscope for increased viability. And they’re smart to do so. Engagement on these apps is sky-high, which works out well for the brands with a presence on these platforms.
Resolution: In 2016, I will evaluate the social networks I’m currently active on and consider potential networks based on my target market.
Do you even sell bro?
Mobile and social commerce are no longer the future. They. Are. Here. This year Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter introduced a new way to shop—Buy buttons—giving consumers the ability to purchase items directly though their network.
Consumers are embracing these buttons. A Shopify study found that the average price of purchase made on Pinterest is $50. What if a customer is at the top of the sales funnel? Shopify reported as many as 93 percent of Pinterest users plan their purchases with the platform.
Expect social commerce to skyrocket in 2016.
Resolution: In 2016, I will evaluate our products and services for ecommerce opportunities—can I see myself selling gift certificates or Sonicare using social platforms?
Content still reigns
2015 was the year of content as social media shifted from funny memes and baby pictures to a platform on which brands were sharing relevant, valuable content. “Content is king” was used by marketing thought leaders ad nauseam, and when the horse was dead they added the caveat, “but, context is queen.”
The addition of publishing platforms like Facebook’s Instant Articles, Twitter Moments, and Snapchat Stories, on top of oldies such as Medium, Tumblr, and Reddit, reinforce the importance of good content (presented in a relevant context).
Having a good product isn’t enough. Being a great dentist isn’t enough. Your practice has a unique story. Telling that story in a meaningful way resonates with today’s consumer.
Resolution: In 2016, I will continue to produce and share relevant and useful content.
If I ruled the world
Good social media seamlessly blends public relations, customer service, brand management, advertising, and sales in a way that provides value for the consumer and the brand.
Gone are the days when social media or digital teams worked in a silo. Social media, SEO, digital, content, and community manager positions are now considered integral parts of the marketing team, allowing for a more comprehensive marketing plan.
Resolution: In 2016, I will include my social media team in marketing discussions, ensuring that our social strategy ladders up to meet overall marketing goals and business objectives.
Often social media is your first line of customer service. Remember the Friends episode during which Phoebe’s on hold with the customer service department of her bank for like 48 hours? Yeah, five minutes on hold is about my limit.
Whether it’s a private message, public comment, or review, social media is a convenient way to get the attention of a brand, and your customers are using it. It’s important to have a reputation management policy in place. At a minimum, your policy should include who is responsible for responding to posts or reviews, what response should look like, to whom to direct customers for a negative review or questions, and expectations for response time.
Bonus Resolution: In 2016, I will be prepared to respond to positive and negative comments and reviews, in addition to a public relations crisis on social media.
What marketing resolutions are you making in the new year? Share in the comments.
This post originally appeared on Infinity Insights, the official blog of Infinity Dental Web.
I’m not going to a dentist who’s still using a hand drill. Seriously. Ouch.
Professional development is vital to achieving success in any profession, in the fast-paced world of social media, professional development is imperative. Rolled out daily are new trends, new platforms, and new features.
New social media professionals and seasoned marketers building social into their strategy alike, often ask how to keep up with the changes in social media. Because it’s me, and I tend to be a bit loquacious, there isn’t a simple answer to how we social media peeps do what we do.
If you’re not regularly experimenting with your social media efforts, you’re not maximizing your social.” –Neal Schaffer
Much of what we do in social media marketing is experimentation. I know clients like to believe there’s a magic formula for creating a piece of content that goes viral or ads that result in hundreds of new patients, but that’s not quite how it works. There are evergreen principals we always keep in mind—be personable; educate, don’t sell; know your audience; share and entertain. But because social media changes at breakneck speeds, the tactics that garnered organic reach and engagement yesterday may not be effective today—think, Facebook’s Reachageddon.
In addition to trial and error, we turn to other thought leaders and social media experts—who are also experimenting—to learn from, in a kind of collaborative pedagogy.
Webinars, and podcasts, and blogs. Oh my!
In a typical week, I spend maybe twenty hours reading, watching, and listening to what’s happening in social media, digital, inbound, content, and search marketing.
In my completely unbiased (someone should invent a sarcasm font…) opinion, the blog offering the most comprehensive and useful marketing advice for dentists is Infinity Insights. Since you’re already reading our blog, I’ve put together a list of my favorite social media influencers and blogs to take a look at as well.
The award for Influencer of the Year goes to…
My all-time favorite influencer is Gary Vaynerchuk. Crude and no-holds-barred, he reminds me of my grandpa—if my grandpa were a fast-talking Jersey native obsessed with the Jets. Like my grandpa, he’s an entrepreneur and marketing genius. He uses The #AskGaryVee Show as a platform for providing value to other marketing professionals and aspiring business owners by taking questions about social media, entrepreneurship, startups, and family businesses. Oh, and he’s a fan of the vino.
One of the bubbliest humans I’ve ever heard speak, Facebook evangelist Mari Smith landed her dream job this year when Zucks hired her to teach during Facebook’s Boost Your Business series. She’s using Facebook live video and Instagram ads better than any other marketing thought leader.
Speaking of Facebook, Amy Porterfield has owned Facebook marketing since the platform’s inception when she launch Harley Davidson’s social media program. Amy’s now using her blog and podcast to teach the importance of and proper techniques for hosting webinars.
Looking at social media holistically is Kim Garst, owner of Boom Social. I’m not a huge fan of her email campaign, which is more salesy (yep, not technically a word, but it’s my post and I do what I want) than I like, but she offers an incredible library of guides, whitepapers, templates, etc. And, she is killin’ it on Periscope.
Neil Patel is using his blog posts to inform on everything from writing better social media content to evaluating your search engine marketing strategies. Follow his personal Facebook or Instagram accounts for super inspirational, feel-good quotes.
If there were a godfather of direct marketing, it would be Seth Godin. You know the name because he wrote “Tribes,” in which he argued that mass marketing was dying and leadership marketing was the new black. Seth’s blog holds the distinction of being one of the most popular in the world.
Speaking of best-selling authors, we can’t leave Dave Kerpen off this list. Dave authored what I’d consider the first successful book about social media, “Likeable Social Media.” Yes, a book. Like with pages and a spine and stuff. Weird, I know. If you work in social media and you haven’t read it, go back and start at the beginning, which is reading this book.
What’s the happs?
Knowing the latest and greatest in marketing takes some dedication. Like you, I prioritize my day and sometimes I don’t read every single one of the blogs and websites listed below. However, they usually get a cursory look for new developments—an argument for writing interesting headlines, BTW.
Just for fun. Just for a second, just to see how it feels.
Because I try to over deliver, I’m also going to include a few of my favs that don’t necessarily have to do with professional development.
The first is TheSkimm. If you’re not Skimming, then I’m not sure how you’re functioning. TheSkimm is a daily news digest written by some of the most talented writers I’ve come across in a while.
My second go-to entertainment is a Mommy blog, dooce.com. Heather is raw, inspiring, and authentic. And, she curses. A lot. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. By the way, I say I read this is solely for entertainment value, but truthfully Mommy bloggers are mastermind social media marketers. They get social better than many professionals I know. Follow a Mommy blogger and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
I’d love to know who’s influencing you. Leave a comment with your favorite blogs or go-to experts.
This post originally appeared on Infinity Insights, the official blog of Infinity Dental Web.
To me there’s nothing more daunting than sitting down in front of a blank Word document or content calendar. That’s one of the reasons I use templates–although my tendency to overthink things might also play a part in that…
Creating content is the hardest thing we do in social media. Every blog post, status update, Periscope, and ad need to provide value while being engaging, conversational, pithy, and witty. And, it should go without saying, content should also be grammar and spelling mistake free, and within brand guidelines.
As a dentist, or member of a practice’s team, generating social media content probably isn’t the first thing on your mind in the morning. Here are some ideas to help you cultivate shareable content, or to use as inspiration for your own content.
1. Social media content should be social
Use social media to cultivate relationships with existing and potential patients. Allow them to get to know you by posting pictures and videos of your team celebrating a team member’s birthday or from a content you’re hosting in the office. Awards establish your authority, so post links to the magazine or organization that named you the “Valley’s Best Dentist.”
The types of content are up to you, and should reflect your brand. For example, if you’re a luxury cosmetic dentist focusing on smile makeovers in LA or New York, shy away from photos featuring your grandkids. Instead, establish yourself as an expert in your field—perhaps post a picture of you with a celebrity client or lecturing on an advanced cosmetic technique.
2. A little bit professional, a little bit rock and roll
Follow or like the professional organizations to which you belong (e.g., Academy of General Dentistry, American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry), charities you’re affiliated with (e.g., board member for March of Dimes, volunteer for Give Back a Smile), and the brands you offer (e.g., Invisalign, Zoom Whitening, Sonicare). Share or re-tweet content they post.
3. Keep it local
Follow a local news channel and share or comment on local news. This increases your organic visibility.
For example, we have a client who’s a Phoenix Suns fan. When the Phoenix Suns participated in a birthday party for a boy in the hospital, our client commented that he was proud to be a Suns fan. This is a great way to expose him to the more than 1.7M fans of the Phoenix Suns Facebook page.
4. A picture—or infographic—is worth a thousand words
Content doesn’t always have to be written, but it does have to provide value. Cartoons or memes may be funny occasionally, but use these sparingly. They can cheapen your image and provide little value, and therefore no reason for a visitor to return to your page for more expert advice.
If you have graphic design or video skills, create something visual. If you have no skills, Canva.com, has infographic and other visual templates you can fill in with your own images and information. Be sure to pay attention to image copyright limitations and attribute when appropriate. Blogger and social media strategist Jeff Bullas recently wrote a blog post featuring 20 Cool Tools for Creating Infographics.
If you’re going to share an image, be sure it’s the correct size.
5. All you really need to know about social media, you learned in kindergarten
In the real world, sharing sucks. Seriously. No, I have no interest in giving you my last Portillo’s cheese fry.
In the social media world, we share—a lot. For every piece of self-serving marketing or sales content, you should post four educational or interesting pieces of content from other sources and one post lighter nature (think, a behind the scenes picture of your reception desk).
The challenge: curating four articles.
Articles about general dental health, the dental industry, and healthy living make for great sharing material. Sources include blogs like MyNewSmile and PatientConnect365, Dentistry Today, Men’s Health, and MindBodyGreen. There are a plethora of health and dental-related magazines and blogs available online. Because, you know, the Internet.
After you gather this content you can do one of two things:
1. Post a link to the article and include comments about the article. Something like “Wow! We tried tip number three and we’re blown away.”
2. Use the article inspiration for your own blog post. For example, after reading an article about dentistry apps, you could put together a list of your favorite apps for encouraging proper brushing techniques.
6. Hashtag bling that post.
Use hashtag themes to inspire your content for a particular day. We have several cosmetic dental clients who use #MakeoverMonday to highlight their smile galleries. And a general dentist client who dabbles in health education shares tips for healthy living on #WellnessWednesday.
7. Jump on the bandwagon
Pay attention to what’s trending. Social media trends are the one time you won’t be made fun of for jumping on the bandwagon (Yep, I’m talking to you Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers “fans”).
Is it national coffee day? Great! Share an article about the many places giving away free coffee with a comment about your teeth whitening services. Just be aware of what a hashtag or trend is really about. Sometimes a seemingly positive hashtag may have a negative intention.
How about a bonus tip?
Planning what you’re going to post days or weeks ahead of time empowers you to be creative because you’re not under-the-gun. I use a content calendar to pre-schedule content for Infinity Dental Web andMyNewSmile.
Not all content is appropriate for all clients, your brand and persona will determine what content makes sense. Know your voice and clearly define brand guidelines to any employee who’s posting on your behalf.
Where’s your favorite source for great content? Tell us in the comments.
This post originally appeared on Infinity Insights, the official blog of Infinity Dental Web.
My intention for this post was to touch on changes recently implemented on several social media platforms. And then I started writing. When the Facebook section got to four pages, I decided to just focus on the Book.
As Tiffany, Devo, or the Baha Men can tell you, getting to the top is easy, staying at the top takes planning. Which explains Mark Zuckerberg’s obsession with innovation, and his propensity to develop new product offerings—whether you ask for them or not.
Changes to Facebook are harder to keep up with than Blake Shelton’s love life. Facebook announced several updates as recently as yesterday. And, some changes announced as far back as September, are really only now coming to fruition. Grab some popcorn this is going to get interesting.
So…what’s Facebook up to?
First and foremost, if you haven’t heard—don’t forget to give me the address of the rock you’re residing under so I know where to send a Christmas card—Zucks and Cilla are having a baby. So cute!
Years ago Facebook realized the power of image hosting services like Photobucket, and set out to become your favorite place to host photos. How? They deprioritized your text updates in the Newsfeed and prioritized your photo shares. So what did we do? We started uploading more and more, and more, photos. And, when we grew weary of just uploading and began looking for a platform on which to edit and share our photos, Facebook bought that one—yeah, we’re talking about you Instagram.
Facebook continues its quest for world video domination. Streaming platforms like Meerkat, Periscope, and Blab have demonstrated success, so Facebook joined the party—why, hello Mentions with live streams for verified profiles. And, in true Facebook style, they’re taking the medium to the next level with360 Video.
Let’s say you’re not The Rock and don’t own tens of thousands of dollars in video equipment. Facebook’s making several changes applicable at the end user—and most importantly marketer—levels starting with a new Video Newsfeed experience, and multitasking and video saving features. In a move designed to directly contend with YouTube, Facebook’s offering a 55 percent revenue share for content curation. One of my favorite social media thought leaders, and Facebook marketing expert, Mari Smith, recently shared this video highlighting these features.
What would Don Draper do?
Facebook has embraced its pay-to-play mantra. If you’re not already advertising on Facebook, you’re missing out. One of our clients recently advertised their Halloween candy buyback program solely on Facebook. Every single one of their fourteen participants learned of the program through the boosted Facebook event. That’s fourteen potential patients who visited their office, and who were exposed to their brand. With an ad spend of $28.14, that’s a cost of $2.01 per lead. When was the last time you attracted a new patient for $2?
While you’re already in Power Editor, take a look at the new SlideShow option. Create video ads from still pictures using images you already have, or the Facebook stock photo library. This is a great option for a practice without raw video footage, but wanting to take advantage of the power of video.
The Notifications tab gets a makeover
Similar in concept—and name—to Google Now’s Cards, on Monday Facebook rolled out an updated Notification tab featuring Cards for its mobile app.
In addition to traditional updates, the tab now includes information on trending topics, birthday reminders (because really, how else would I remember that kid who ate paste in the fifth grade is turning 29), local events, and newly released movies.
And, because the Internet tends to be a little stalker-ish, Facebook now suggests nearby businesses you probably didn’t know you needed to go, but now that it’s been suggested you really want to visit.
Facebook knows what you need–even if you don’t.
My Grandma…what an intriguing bio you have
Have you viewed your personal profile recently? Facebook added a revised introduction area featuring a short bio and profile tags, a la LinkedIn, as well as featured photos (beware these are publicly available) and a pronunciation button—clearly not necessary for Heather King, but if your name is Siobhan pronounced shi-VAWN you may find this useful.
Profile tags—self-selected labels informing others of your likes, interests, hobbies, and skills—are one of the aforementioned offerings for which most users weren’t clamoring. From a marketing prospective, my educated guess is that Facebook’s planning to incorporate into the options available for hyper-targeting ads. Stay-tuned, it’ll be interesting to see how users respond to the LinkedIn-ification of Facebook.
On a side note, is “taking naps like a boss” a skill or hobby?
Go ahead, I like to watch
It seems your Facebook friends and the creepy dude in apartment 14C have something in common. According to a recent survey by Global Web Index, Facebook users are visiting the platform more than ever, but only 34 percent of them are updating their status. For a medium that relies on content, this could prove problematic, and clearly, Facebook saw this coming and had a plan.
Last year Facebook introduced prompts that appear at the beginning of your timeline. They say things like “The Country Music Awards are on, who’s going home the big winner?” Listen Facebook, ask me to write a status update on why nachos should be breakfast food, and you’ve got yourself a deal.
Facebook recently launched Search FYI, an enhanced search server that not only yields news and the latest trends, but publicly available posts on your search subject. Fresh and engaging content is key to the success of this search engine that could, hence Facebook’s push for your content, photos, and status updates.
Using Facebook to search for information on your favorite political candidate? Expect to see search results with opinions from friends and strangers alike. Cue the drama.
That’s got to be it, right?
Yeppers.
Students in New Deli learned this week that Zucks endeavors to be the creator of an artificial intelligence system that can identify what’s in a video or image–not even The Google can do this yet. This has practical applications for the visually impaired, and technology like this has the potential to change the future of search.
We’re finally seeing previously announced features like Happy Birthday Videos and profile pics that can be temporary or a seven-second looping video pop up on user profiles. And animated GIFs are now supported on pages in addition to personal profiles.
Page administrators got a treat as well. Until recently Page admins could only chat directly with users if the user direct messaged them first. Last month Facebook added the “Message” option in the comments section for faster, private communication. Great for reputation management, this addition allows customer service representatives to take a conversation private quickly, allowing them to better mitigate a dispute.
Finally, as for Reactions, no news seems to be good news. We haven’t heard much from the social giant about those cute little emojis. I assume this means Reactions is getting a thumbs up from users in Ireland and Spain.
What are your favorite–and least favorite–new Facebook offerings? Let us know in the comments.
My So-Cial Life 