The Social Media Revolution
A New Day in the USA – “A Tale of Two Dentists” (with apologies to Dickens)
Once upon a time, in the bustling city of Anywhere, USA, there lived two dentists, Doctor Smith and Doctor Jones. Dr. Smith, with a long established practice, lived high upon a hill in the nicest part of town. He had a fancy car, a fancy house and a fancy life. He even had a fancy plaque on his front door that said “Dr. Smith, D.D.S.” He liked his plaque and shined it each morning. He was in the habit of walking his fancy dog before work and tipped his hat to all of his patients as he passed them on the street. He was a good dentist and knew just about everyone in town. He whistled as he walked along his familiar street. He was content with his life.
In another part of town lived Dr. Jones. He didn’t live in a fancy house or have a fancy dog or a fancy life. He lived in a small apartment with his parrot name Petey. Although a good dentist as well, with similar credentials, he didn’t have as many patients as Dr. Smith. As he prepared for work, his parrot would sit on his perch and squawk a friendly “hello” to Doctor’s Smith’s patients as they strolled past the apartment window where his cage hung but nobody even noticed. Poor Petey!
Every morning, both dentists read their newspapers as they ate their breakfasts. An editorial about social media caught both of their eyes.” Social media,” said Dr. Smith. “Bah! Another fad like the hula hoop. Just a lot of tomfoolery!” He dismissed the editorial and turned to the financial page. He knew he could rely on his satisfied patients and their word of mouth advertising. It had always worked in the past. In his mind, social media was just a waste of good money and time, like throwing good money after bad.
“Wow! What a concept,” remarked Doctor Jones, reading the same editorial. “This could really work!” You see, Dr. Jones believed in and understood the importance of change to his practice. He had already tried sending out neighborhood postcards with limited results and discarded any notion of billboards and bus signs. He remembered seeing one driver busy multi-tasking as he drove along – balancing his Starbucks coffee cup between his legs while simultaneously steering with his knees, texting and trying to avoid a rear-end collision. He thought that the idea of using social media to advertise his dental practice might be “just what the doctor ordered.” What Dr. Smith saw as “tomfoolery,” he saw as “opportunity” and jumped at the chance to tell people his story. He hoped it would work and boy did it!
He got a business Facebook page and posted and posted like there was no tomorrow. He even told about his parrot Petey. Now when patients walked by his apartment window and Petey says his cheery “hello,” they wave and shout, calling out his name. Petey is noticed and so is Dr. Jones. His patients brought patients. He got doctors and lawyers and teachers, Oh My! He got so many “likes” that he didn’t know what to say.
The more he posted, the faster the patients came. His little office in Anywhere USA became another office in Anywhere Else USA and another and another. He grew and grew and soon had his own fancy car and a fancy house and even a fancy dog but he still kept his friend Petey, now in a bigger cage near a bigger window.
Dr. Smith, on the other hand, grew sadder and sadder as his practice began to shrink. He still had mothers and fathers and uncles and aunts, but even they began to switch to Dr. Jones. “This won’t do,” thought Dr. Smith. “Maybe I should try Facebook too.” And so he did. Then a strange thing began to happen; his practice began to grow and grow and grow just like Dr. Jones … and both dentists lived happily ever after.
Childish, wasn’t it? The moral of this story is simple. Embrace social media in your marketing plan to expand your practice. Don’t want to be a Dr. Smith? Get a business Facebook account and post on a regular basis. Out of sight really is out of mind!
Learn from Dr. Jones;
- Stay active and try to post at least 3-4 times a week
- Remember to listen and engage with your audience
- Facebook users love to give their opinions. Have innovative options like puzzles, quizzes and contests, things that will engage your audience and keep them coming back
- Your business Facebook account offers a tool called “Insight” which helps you to better understand your audience and their engagement. You will know who is engaging with your posts, what part of the town they live in and it even identifies what time of day you should be posting.
- Interact with other community pages to become more visible in the community
- Run fun contest to increase brand awareness
- Be fun and social!
- And most importantly, remembering you and your message.
Take a chance. Join the social revolution! Your practice and your patients will thank you for it.
Written by
Jackie Ulasewich
Co-Founder, My Dental Agency
