Archive for the ‘Online Marketing’ Category
Create Exceptional Web Content: You Have the Tools
February 1st, 2012
Posted in Blogging & Social Media, Online Marketing
When it comes to internet marketing for dentists, creating content for use on your website, blog and other social platforms can make or break your marketing strategy. The good news is that as a dental professional, you have all the tools in your toolbox to allow you to create web content that converts readers into new patients!
Exactly what does this mean? Read on to learn why dentists and their staff are qualified to create blog posts, Facebook updates, and even YouTube videos that better business and really influence people:
- Your education and expertise. Your credibility as a long term provider of excellent dental care, coupled with your extensive training qualify you to expertly field questions that web readers need answers to. Credibility in your field qualifies you to create valuable web content!
- The ability and drive to better the lives of those you treat. Isn’t this why you pursued a career in dentistry? Your website and social media sites enable you to provide the same tips for better oral health that you do to your regular clientele, but on a grander scale. This kind of actionable content establishes you as an authority, increasing your chances of converting readers, and ultimately helping them improve their health!
- You know what your audience needs. What are the questions you hear day after day from patients sitting in your dental chair? These are the same questions that countless of web users are typing into their browser right now! Using your online platforms to provide the answers they need increases your marketability by allowing you to create valuable content!
So, have you been inspired to log in to your blog or Facebook and start typing, or perhaps even start recording a video? Terrific! For more information on the specifics of creating such content, remember to check back here regularly, and contact your experts in dental website design and internet marketing for dentists at Roadside Multimedia today.
Market Your Expertise! The Dental Professional’s Guide to Q&A Websites
January 31st, 2012
Posted in Dental Internet Marketing, Dental Link Building, Online Marketing, SEO
If you are a dental professional who understands the impact that a successful internet marketing campaign can potentially have on your bottom line, no doubt you are looking for every possible avenue to enhance your exposure on the web. Well, at Roadside Multimedia, we’re here to help!
Time and again, we’ve extolled the advantages of sharing your dental expertise in blog posts and social updates, as a way to gain credibility and convert web users into new patients. Another area that you might consider, however, is the Q&A site. Websites like Yahoo! Answers, or Ask afford persons with real expertise in their field the opportunity to share that knowledge in a meaningful way, with individuals who are in need of such help! While you’re not likely to experience any tidal-wave-like influx of new patients after adding Q&A sites to your marketing strategy, doing so can nonetheless help to build your status as an authority online, possibly build a few external links, and round out an already formidable web presence.
When it comes to using Q&A sites to answer questions, among the simplest and most effective may be Yahoo! Answers. Simply create an account by registering, click through “Browse Open Questions,” then follow the links to the category that best describes your expertise (for most of our readers, this will be “Health,” then “Dental”). You may be surprised by the multitude of questions you’ll encounter! But who better to provide helpful, meaningful answers than someone with your training and experience?
Here are a few tips from your dental marketing experts at Roadside Multimedia:
- Be genuine. Answer questions in the Q&A forum exactly as you would face-to-face with a patient sitting in your own chair. Be kind and helpful, rather than serving up a canned advertisement for your practice.
- Be picky. As mentioned above, you will likely find many hundreds of questions in your field of expertise awaiting an answer. Instead of attempting to answer a great many, focus on providing very high-quality answers to just a handful. Doing so will ensure that your presence on the forum doesn’t become a nuisance.
- Be smart. Market your practice without abusing the intended purpose of the Q&A site. When the opportunity arises, you may give a frank answer to an open question, and then invite the reader to get a fuller understanding by providing a link to your blog or website. By doing this, you’ll provide the user with the opportunity to learn more about his/her question, and you’ll also boost your linking power and overall SEO.
- Be courteous. After providing an answer, sign off graciously: “Warm Regards, Dr. Smith.” Many of the questions relate to upcoming dental work, (i.e. “I have a crown appointment next week, and I’m scared. Is it gonna hurt?”), and the posters would no doubt love to hear the feedback of an actual dental professional such as yourself!
We hope this gives you a good jump-start to adding Q&A websites to your marketing strategy. If you have any questions, or for more information on how Roadside Multimedia provides expert marketing for dentists, contact us today!
New FastTrak Site Launch: issaquahmoderndentistry.com
January 27th, 2012
Posted in Conversion, Dental Internet Marketing, FastTrak Dental Websites, New Site Launch
We are very excited to announce the launch of one of our first FastTrak dental websites! Dr. Eric Jorgensen and his wife, Rose, worked enthusiastically to help us make the most beautiful site for their practice: Modern Family Dentistry of Issaquah. Dr. Jorgensen and Rose carefully selected each photo for their site to strike an emotional chord with prospective patients and to encourage them to want to learn more. They wanted their patients to relate easily with the stock images they selected and eventually, they plan to use actual patient photos throughout their site.
Dr. Jorgensen chose the FastTrak design “Traveler.” Traveler is a very beautiful template option because of the large welcome movie and the soft background textures. Another great thing about this template is the scrolling call to action bar. On every page there is a contact us button, but additionally, at the top of every page there is a bar that scrolls with you so the phone number and social media are always available to a potential patient. This makes it extremely easy for a new patient to contact their office if they want to make an appointment.
Prior to working with Roadside, they had an old site with another company, but it did not have a very strong online presence. The area they serve is highly competitive, and understanding that they needed better visibility on search engines, they came to Roadside seeking assistance. Our marketing team came up with a plan of action designed specifically for Dr. Jorgensen, strategically considering their target market and their specific needs. We are positive that our monthly work on their behalf will greatly help them attract new patients!
A Simple Way to Increase Likes on Facebook!
January 11th, 2012
Posted in Blogging & Social Media, Online Marketing
Getting “likes” for your Facebook page is huge. The more fans your business page has, the more opportunity you have to interact with current and future patients and the more ability you have to reach a wider audience. You need at least 25 likes in order to get a vanity URL on Facebook. (A vanity URL is a web address that can be your business name instead of a long string of numbers and letters.) If your patients don’t know that you have a Facebook page, it may be difficult to do this.
Roadside Multimedia recommends you to add “Like us on Facebook!” to your email signature. This simple line can convert a large number of fans to your page, especially if you send email blasts to your patients, your friends, and your family. An important thing to remember is to make sure the line links to your Facebook page.
I will outline how exactly to add a signature and make it a hyperlink to your page in Gmail and Outlook.
Gmail:
- Sign into your Gmail account
- Clink on the Settings wheel at the top right hand corner of the Gmail page.
- Scroll down to the Signature box, put in your signature and underneath “Like us on Facebook!”.
- Highlight the “Like us on Facebook!” There will be a button at the top of the signature box that resembles XX. Click on this button and in the web address section type in the URL to your Facebook Page.
- Click Save Changes.
Outlook:
- Select Tools under Options from Outlook’s main menu.
- Go to the Mail Format tab, click Signature under Signatures.
- Go to the Email Signature tab, click New.
- Type the Signatures desired name.
- Click OK
- Write your signature under Edit Signature with “Like us on Facebook!” underneath.
- Highlight “Like us on Facebook!” there will be a button that resembles XX, and type in your Facebook page under web address here.
- Click OK
- Click OK again.
If you have a different email provider than the ones outlined above or have any further questions regarding this, please don’t hesitate to contact your account manager or any of the social media experts here at Roadside!
Use Your Dental Expertise to Create Meaningful Online Content
January 10th, 2012
Posted in Blogging & Social Media, Dental Internet Marketing, Online Marketing, SEO
If you are a marketing client of Roadside Multimedia, you’ve likely heard our frequent and enthusiastic encouragement of creating fresh, engaging, interesting content for your blogs, Facebook posts, Twitter feeds, etc. We’d like to complement those of you who’ve taken the initiative to create fun blog articles and social media posts that are brilliantly showcasing the personality of your practice and building lasting relationships with your valued patients. Kudos!
In today’s blog post, we want to focus on another category of online content that you create: Information designed to educate your current and potential clients. The fact is, search engines regularly field a multitude of queries regarding dental health issues (and no doubt your patients have questions of their own as well). Who better to answer these than a qualified dental professional such as yourself?
So, are you using your greatest assets – your training, experience, and knowledge– to generate content for your blog and social media platforms? Here are some great tips for creating useful content from your experts in online marketing for dentists at Roadside Multimedia:
- Give them what they want. Naturally, patients and those in your community already see you as an authority in your field, and they have questions they want answered. These are the questions you hear in your office every day: “How can I get my teeth whiter? Do I really need a crown? How do I know if I grind my teeth? What is causing my tooth pain?” Using your blog, YouTube channel, and other social media forums to provide helpful answers is giving web users what they want! And ultimately, it makes good marketing sense too.
- Don’t be afraid to highlight the source of your expertise. As you grow in your field and continue to learn and be shaped by courses you take, newly released studies, and professional journals, why not share some of what you are learning with your readers and fans? Sharing helpful links and articles relating to dental health issues communicates to the reader that you have their best interests at heart, and only solidifies your status as an authority in your field!
- Be gentle. For the online user who has a genuine concern relating to their own dental health, or perhaps a family member’s, they could be facing real pain and even embarrassment. With this in mind, articles and posts relating to sensitive dental health issues should be handled delicately, written in a manner that shows dignity and respect to the audience.
Your position as an excellent dental healthcare provider offers you a unique opportunity to create helpful, meaningful online content. Such content can actually serve to better the lives of those who connect with you online. And when done properly, this can enhance your social media marketing and SEO in a way that improves your bottom line!
Consider tapping into our expertise as well – many of the writers and bloggers here at Roadside come from a dental background, and stay up to date on current research on what patients are searching for online. If maintaining your blog or social media on a regular basis seems like it might be too time-consuming, we have a team in place that can help you out! For more information on marketing your dental practice online, contact the team of experts at Roadside Multimedia today!
How to Respond to a Negative Review
January 5th, 2012
Posted in Dental Internet Marketing, Online Marketing, Reputation Management
Picture the scene:
Imagine you are on a beautiful tropic island, basking in the sun, listening to the waves crash, and wondering how life could get any better.
Suddenly, a dog runs up and pees on your leg. At the same moment, a bird soars over and poops on your head. How are you feeling right now?
Similarly, is this how you feel when business is running smoothly, happy guests are leaving your practice with smiles, and all of a sudden someone leaves a negative review about your practice online? You have worked hard to build a good reputation and to create a business that you are proud of, so this can be initially devastating.
Once the initial astonishment has worn off, how do you respond? Take a minute and read over these three main tips for resolving the issue…and then you can take a breath and relax again.
Acknowledge the Issue.
First, let your customers see that you are paying attention to the issue and that their concerns are important to you. Your prospective clients will be reading your reply with great interest. Write this for them. Help them see that when someone has a problem, your business will hear them. It doesn’t matter if the reviewer lied or only told half of the story – acknowledge the issue they wrote about.
Stay positive.
Reviews are invaluable feedback and it’s good to use that information to fix what’s wrong. Use these pieces of public information to build good customer relationships, improve customer service, and improve your services.
Look at it this way: negative reviews give businesses a chance to respond and show how awesome they really are. So, write about your company’s commitment to customer satisfaction. Tell your prospective clients that you have actively made changes to ensure this issue will not happen to them. There is no need to dispute the facts; apologize for the negative experience and then emphasize the incredible services that you and your team are excited to provide. Invite the reviewer and prospective customers to come in to see for themselves your commitment to a positive experience.
It’s a good idea to send a copy of your response to an outside source, ideally someone that doesn’t work at your practice. Ask them to review your response and make sure it doesn’t sound defensive or combative.
Offer to correct the issue.
Never ignore the review. Open up the opportunity to resolve the issue with your unsatisfied customer. Offer to have him or her come in and talk to you personally; tell the individual you will be happy to address his or her complaints. If the situation is resolved successfully, ask the individual to update their review.
When all is said and done:
Once you have acknowledged the complaint, invited customers to see your commitment to their satisfaction, and made any needed changes to ensure a negative review doesn’t pop up again, look at the experience as something that will make your practice better than ever before…and then take that needed vacation.
Reviews are a vital part of successful online marketing, especially in the medical and dental field. Whether searching for a dentist for a regular cleaning or researching to find a cosmetic dentist to redesign a smile, individuals are presented with a plethora of choices on the internet. If a practice has no reviews, this can raise a red flag in the eyes of a potential patient. However, if the patient finds several reviews, this increases credibility, puts the patient’s mind at ease, and increases the probability that they will pick up the phone and make an appointment.
Roadside Multimedia’s Local Services team actively provides recommendations and tips to help you get more reviews. Additionally, the team regularly monitors the major review sites for our Local clients and alerts them to negative reviews so that they can respond right away. They are also available to assist with responding as needed. If you are not currently a Local Services monthly client, call us today to learn more!
January Special: QR Code Printed Materials
January 4th, 2012
Posted in Dental Internet Marketing, Mobile Commerce, Roadside Promotions
Yesterday we posted about the momentum we are seeing in mobile marketing and the use of QR (quick response) codes. Use of printed QR code materials in your dental practice can result in increased Facebook likes, continual engagement with patients online, and a steady rise in positive patient reviews on sites like Google and Yelp.
How can you use these marketing tools to maximize results?
The team here at Roadside Multimedia is thrilled to introduce several options for QR printed materials, specifically designed with dental marketing in mind. Here are a few of our new products that you could use in your own practice:
QR Displays: These beautiful displays are designed to stand freely and to take up minimal space at your front desk or in other high-traffic areas in the office. The most ideal location for at least one of the displays is on the front desk or near where guests check in or check out. Get your staff involved in encouraging patients to scan the codes with their smart phones! As they check a patient out, they can point to the display and encourage the guest to write about their experience on Google. Or, point to the Facebook code and mention that your current promotions and specials can be found on Facebook once the guest “likes” the page!
QR Take-Home Cards: For guests that don’t have smartphones, send them home with one of these convenient cards. The URL for your Facebook page and for your Google review page are listed out on these compact, business cards to allow people to find your page easily once they go back to their home or their office. Consider placing these cards in take-home goodie bags as well.
QR Appointment Cards: These convenient appointment cards contain appointment and contact information on one side, and a QR code and URL for your Facebook page on the other side. Since patients are likely heading home with an appointment card anyways, these are an effective tool to “continue the experience” – encourage patients to interact on your Facebook page and keep them engaged with excited promotions, enticing special offers, and opportunities for last-minute bookings.
The new year is a great time to implement these new tools and to get your staff excited to use them, and so Roadside is excited to share QR SPECIAL OFFERS for the month of January! Choose from one of the packages listed below:
PRO CUSTOM QR package
The Pro Custom package includes:
- 2 displays, custom-designed to coordinate with your website branding. Display will feature your logo, color scheme, and QR codes for your Facebook page and your Google review page.
- 100 take-home cards, featuring codes and URLs for your Facebook and Google review pages, custom designed to match your website branding.
Retail: $400 | January special: $250
PRO QR package
The Pro package includes:
- 2 displays, using one of our beautiful stock designs and featuring your logo and color scheme. The displays include codes for both your Facebook page and your Google review page.
- 100 take-home cards, using one of our stock designs, featuring your logo, color scheme, and codes and URLs for Facebook and Google.
Retail: $350 | January special: $150
PLUS QR package
The Plus package includes:
- 1 display, using one of our beautiful stock designs and featuring your logo and color scheme. The display includes codes for both your Facebook page and your Google review page.
Retail: $150 | January special: $75
QR Appointment Cards
- 250 appointment cards, in one of our beautiful stock designs, featuring your logo and QR code and URL for your Facebook page -OR- your Google reviews page (choose one) on the front, and appointment reminder information and contact info on the back.
Retail: $250 | January special: $150
Discount pricing valid January 1, 2012 – February 1, 2012
As always, the Roadside team is ready and happy to answer any questions you might have about the value of printed QR materials and how to best make use of them in your practice! For additional information or to place an order, contact your Account Representative at Roadside today, or email us at team@roadsidemultimedia.com!
QR Codes: Take Your Dental Marketing to the Next Level!
January 3rd, 2012
Posted in Dental Internet Marketing, Mobile Commerce, SEO
QR (short for quick response) codes are steadily gaining steam as an extremely effective marketing tool. These simple yet ingenious bar-codes work by allowing anyone with a smartphone (nearly a third of the population) to instantly access whatever URL you designate directly from their mobile device with a free QR code scanning application. Major brands are utilizing QR codes in print ads and fliers to direct more web traffic from mobile users to their sites and social platforms, and you can too!
Two exceptionally exciting uses for QR code marketing in the dental office involve directing traffic to Facebook and Google Reviews. A common concern among Roadside’s valued clients is, “How do I get my patients to find me on Facebook and click ‘Like’?” Or, “How do I get more positive online reviews to enhance my SEO?” Well, QR codes can help you to bridge the gap!
By prominently displaying QR codes and then getting your team members involved in actively encouraging the patients they treat to utilize those codes, you can see a drastic increase in your Facebook fans and positive online reviews!
With smartphone adoption increasing, more and more of your patient base will be able to make use of these displays in your office. For the patients who don’t yet have a mobile device capable of scanning a QR code, it would be wise to have some print marketing materials on hand. This way, when they are intrigued by your QR code display, but unable to scan the code right there, you can avoid causing a feeling of alienation by simply handing them a small card which allows them to find the same URLs from the convenience of their home computer.
At Roadside Multimedia, we’ve seen terrific results with clients integrating QR codes into their in-office displays and print marketing materials, possibly in conjunction with incentives for the patient (such as specials or promotions), and always with a willingness to engage patients in a discussion about how and why to utilize such codes.
For help with making QR codes work to increase traffic to your online review forums and social media pages, contact your experts in online marketing for dentists at Roadside Multimedia. Also, stay tuned for some exciting information on an upcoming special on QR code marketing packages from Roadside Multimedia!
Oral Health and New Year’s Resolutions
December 28th, 2011
Posted in Blogging & Social Media, Dental Internet Marketing, Online Marketing
We are regularly brainstorming new ways to help our clients be more successful with their social media. A great way to help your clients get to know you and your practice is to regularly update your blog. What better time is there to do that than New Year’s?
Health and wellness are of large concern after the New Year. Most New Year’s resolutions usually tie in somehow to a person’s health. They try to eat healthier, join a gym, or maybe just try to get more sleep. Whatever it is, it can be tied into their oral health. Most people seem to be aware that their body is a system that works together in order to run appropriately, but they also might forget this as well.
If you are looking for a topic to write about in January, a great subject would be how oral health plays a key role in the functionality of the whole body. The blog can discuss how if your body is fighting off infection in the mouth, it makes the rest of your body weaker and possibly tired. Scheduling and maintaining regular cleanings and great dental hygiene will abate this problem. Any tricks you have learned over the years on maintaining a forever smile are also great tidbits to put in as well. Help your readers see the need to resolve to visit your practice regularly!
For more dental blogging tips, contact us at team@roadsidemultimedia.com today!
Protect Your Dental Practice from Becoming a Casualty of a Down Economy
December 20th, 2011
Posted in Blogging & Social Media, Conversion, Dental Internet Marketing, Online Marketing, SEO
As the American economy continues to struggle, perhaps you’ve found that your dental practice is seeing monthly production numbers lower than in years past. If this is the case, you certainly are not alone. In fact, according to a recent article published in the LA Times: “In the first nine months of 2011, dentists have reported an average 3% decline in revenue and profit.”
What your friendly experts at Roadside Multimedia found especially intriguing in the above mentioned article is what the Times reported what many forward-thinking dental practitioners are doing to counter the effects of the down economy: “The economic downturn has taken a big bite out of dentists’ revenue and profits, forcing them to hire experts to help increase sales. They’re redesigning websites, pampering their clients, and using social media.”
How can you set yourself apart from the competition, and help to ensure that your practice continually sees growth?
- Perform excellent dentistry, provide the cosmetic procedures patients want, and emphasize exceptional customer care.
- Build loyal patient relationships, and reach out to potential new patients in your area through social media.
- Make sure your dental website adequately represents your practice and is useful and helpful to web users.
- Take control of how internet shoppers find your office online by utilizing the latest in proven SEO and online dental marketing techniques.
If bullet points 2-4 left you scratching your head, contact Roadside Multimedia today! It is our business and our passion to provide dental offices such as your own with the necessary tools to utilize web design, SEO, and social media marketing for dentists to ultimately see an increase in new patients and a notable rise in production!
Read the full LA Times article entitled, “Dentists Turn to Marketing after Getting the Brush Off from Patients” by clicking here.
