Social media linking Las Vegas doctors, patients

Here is a great article about social media & physicians.

It used to be that having a website was as high-tech as it got for physicians interested in reaching out to their patients or the public at large. If the site had things such as electronic medical forms, informational videos and online appointments, you had something fairly sophisticated.

But oh, that was so 30 seconds ago.

People now expect some form of two-way communication through social media in nearly every sector of society, and physicians are trying to address that desire by chipping away at the traditional doctor-patient relationship.

It makes good marketing sense because even doctors are trying to run a business. This is a way to get the word out and keep patients, who are among the best sources for referrals, engaged in the practice.

It also leverages what Facebook does so well, which is to create a community, albeit through cyberspace, for those with common interests and concerns.

The bulk of the information on these pages consists of links to medical websites and articles of interest based on practices' specialties. Many of the postings are aimed at showing the more personal side of practices, from items about their involvement with different charities, to photos of the office staff on crazy-Christmas-sweater day.

Read the full article.

I handle the social media for two physicians. Need help with your social media? Contact me!

Five Facebook Tips for Small Businesses

...with Facebook becoming the place you just have to be for businesses of all sizes, a little marketing know-how comes in handy. Paul Gillin recently spoke to Mark Schmulen, general manager of social media at the small-business-focused e-mail service provider Constant Contact about how to go beyond the Facebook wall and make the social network a practical and measurable small business marketing platform.

“When we look at what platforms our small business customers are using for social media marketing, 94% of them are on Facebook,” Schmulen said. However, “Most small businesses are doing Facebook without knowing why they’re doing it.”

That’s the herd mentality at work. While it’s pretty easy to create a Facebook page, the task of convincing visitors to create persistent relationships through the “Like” button and to engage in conversation requires different skills. Forrester Research has estimated fewer than 15% of people who click a Like button ever visit the page again. Getting that repeat traffic is the special sauce of Facebook success.

Here are five tips that Schmulen recommends:

Five Facebook Tips for Small Businesses

5 Things Your Business Needs To Do on Facebook | LegalZoom

If becoming a social media marketer makes you wonder where to begin, here are 5 things you should do on Facebook for your company:

5 Things Your Business Needs To Do on Facebook | LegalZoom

Holiday Digital Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses | LegalZoom

With the holiday shopping season right around the corner, Santa's workshop isn't the only thing buzzing with activity. Search engine activity spikes every year as the holidays approach. It's likely that your current and potential customers are creating at least some of that online activity.

Managing your online presence is important all year round, but how well you accomplish that task can directly impact your bottom line during the holidays.

Here are some tips:

Holiday Digital Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses | LegalZoom

Dive Into Facebook Analytics: Performance Tracking for Facebook

In this first blog in a series, Linkup Marketing's Valorie Reavis walks you through Facebook Insights, explaining what your numbers mean.

Sitting behind your Facebook page, and visible only to you if Facebook Insights, a range of analytical tools that reveals instantly whether a page is thriving or underperforming. There are a lot of numbers to understand, and the authors are going to cover these over the new few blogs in my series—looking in-depth at each section to not only understand what the numbers are, but what they mean for your page.

To start, the author is going to familiarize you with what Insights has to offer.

Performance Tracking for Facebook

Ignoring Facebook as a potential practice tool could leave derms socially stranded

Found this article on Modern Medicine.com.

"EDITOR'S NOTE: Dermatologists who have integrated Facebook into their practices say the widely used social networking platform allows them to communicate news and promotional information quickly, easily, and at virtually no cost. In this issue, we look at experts' recommendations on how to start building your own digital presence — even if you're a novice. "

And the final sentence says it all...

"Let me tell you, if you don't have a dynamic website, have Facebook behind you and, now, YouTube, I think you're missing the ... marketing that social media can give you. It's dynamic," Dr. Torok says. "We only have a population of 20,000 (in Medina), but it doesn't matter. Everybody is on Facebook."

INFOGRAPHIC: 8 Ways To Conquer Facebook Statuses

Here's one of them. Write a fill-in-the-blank sentence, like this: "___________ always makes me smile."

INFOGRAPHIC: 8 Ways To Conquer Facebook Statuses

64 Awesome Facebook Marketing Techniques

I found an interesting Facebook Marketing article.

64 Awesome Facebook Marketing Techniques

7 Facebook Marketing Tips From World’s Top Pros

Some good tips here!
7 Facebook Marketing Tips From World’s Top Pros

How Much Is a Facebook Fan Really Worth?

I recently read this article on Gigaom.com.

Lots of companies — more every day, it seems — want to have Facebook “fan” pages, where customers or would-be customers can connect with them and become part of their online community. But what are those fans actually worth to a company?

Click here to keep reading.