The problem with social media and Facebook specifically is what we call third party content.  Third party content is content created by others that you do not control – yet it reflects on you and your business.  For instance, let’s say you have added a like page to your home page like I did.  I received a complaint about my site and went to see what the user was talking about and someone had liked me and had changed their avatar/icon to a swastika.  I later noticed someone with a questionable image of a sexual nature.  So my home page reflected values that I was not controlling and could not realistically monitor, police, or patrol.  I dropped my like page add-in code.

Let’s say you have a wonderful Facebook page with thousands of friends who follow you or like you and unfortunately one has a bad experience once and a short fuse.  Next thing you know everyone is reading a post on your page about something horrible you have seemingly done.  In some cases it would be better not to have a Facebook page!  Unfortunately, mathematically, at some point someone will write a bad post and this does not mean you should abandon the medium.  Instead, you should learn how to deal with it. 

I have read many articles on how to handle negative social media and I decided to continually post and update links here to good articles rather than regurgitate some. 

Here’s a start, this article is nicely organized and comprehensive.  The only important item I would add is to not get in an argument online.  Your Facebook wall is not the place for you to look argumentative or like you have lost your cool.

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/7-tips-for-dealing-with-upset-facebook-fans/

Enjoy the reading and check back for more!

A Social Media Guidebook for Dental Practices

So you’ve decided to engage in social media and have created a Facebook page as well as a Twitter, YouTube channel – and perhaps more.  Now what?

This is the step where most practices fail in properly utilizing social media.  They fail because they don’t know the following:

1. Who to add as a friend?
2. What to post?
3. When to post?
4. Which site do I post to?

The purpose of this particular blog is not to get into the How’s or Why’s – that’s a different article and a subject well reviewed already.

Who are my Friends?

After creating a new profile the first step on any social media is to add friends. The important thing to remember is that this profile is for your business, not your personal account.  In any marketing effort, rule #1 is to KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE.  In this case, your audience is anyone online who is or may be a potential patient.

In card games and dominos, there’s also a saying – Not all money is good money.  Likewise, not all friends are good friends.  Since Facebook is a great area for referrals, you don’t want to invite a patient who had a potentially bad experience to Join you on Facebook.  If you do, next thing you know you may be doing damage control.

Many practices hand out cards or ask for reviews when a patient who seems to have had a good experience is checking out.  This is the same idea.  If you trust this patient or feel like their experience has been exceptional, hand them a card asking them to like you on Facebook or write a Yelp review for you.

You have the ability to regulate your friend base and in doing so you have the ability help shape and spin your public opinion.

Which Site do I Post to?

So you have your profiles set up and now have a friends base – which social media site do you place your post on?  Here are some general guidelines:

1. Link your Facebook and Twitter accounts.  Keep your posts short for Facebook and they will automatically get tweeted for you.  You can kill two birds with one stone this way.
2. YouTube – this site is purposed for Video sharing.  Here you will post any videos you have of your practice.  Don’t ignore this YouTube, if you don’t have any videos – make some!  You would include videos such as: office tour, patient testimonials, message from the doctor, etc.  Embed these videos on your web site too.
3. LinkedIn – this site is purposed for professionals and their associations.  This is more for business type posts than personal or fun posts.  It is important to maintain your professional relationships as well.  There are many dental groups you can join.  Yes, many of the members send out incessant marketing spam, but there are genuine dentists only groups where professional research and ideas can be shared.  It is a great place to get doctor referrals.
4. Digg, Stumble, etc – Each of these sites has a purpose, know the idea and feel of the site and understand the community prior to posting.

How Often do I Post?

Again, it is important to understand the community you will be posting to.  It is recommended to take 1-2 months of watching others post prior to making your own.  You can see what impresses or upsets the community that way.

When you are ready to post, do not post every day.  For SEO (Search Engine Optimization) purposes it is recommended to post at least once per month but no more than once per week.

Social media can become a burden and there is no need to hire someone to monitor your campaigns full time.  I recommend posting every other week and picking one day per week as social media day.  It should take 2-4 hours to research groups, add friends, accept requests, etc.  You do want to check and respond to message at least every other day  (preferable every day) – but this shouldn’t take long at all.

What do I Post?

First of all, you don’t want to be the community bore.  Everyone hates posts that just say – “I’m going to the store now”, or “Check out this pic of my dog in a new sweater”.  If you are not careful in your postings, you can destroy that carefully built friends list.  People will drop you as a friend and you will lose traction in the community.  Your posts will come to be ignored.

Instead, it is important to post items of value.  Posts should do as much of the following as possible:

1. Humor people.
2. Interest or intrigue people.
3. Posts that others would want to share.
4. Show your community involvement and your local activities.

If you would like information on sharing photos, here is an excellent article on Tips to Enhance Your Facebook Page with Photos.

For text posts, one of the easiest things to post are basic dental related facts.  These are written with a bit of a twist so that they are educational and informative but also humorous or interesting.  Feel free to use these on your page.  Here are 10 of our favorites:

• Children who receive preventive dental care early in life have lifetime dental costs that are 40% lower than children who do not receive care.
• A toothpick is one of the objects most often choked on by Americans.
• Like fingerprints, everyone’s tongue print is different.
• People who drink 3 or more sugary sodas daily have 62% more dental decay, fillings and tooth loss.
• A Dentist invented ‘Fairy Floss’ or Cotton Candy.
• A tooth that has been knocked out starts to die within 15 minutes, but if you put it in milk or hold it in your mouth it will survive longer. See your dentist ASAP!
• In general, girls have more taste buds than boys do.
• Common oral problems have been linked to heart disease, diabetes, premature birth, and more. http://ht.ly/2VVDr
• Did you know that 80% of unused brand new toothbrushes are contaminated with bacteria? Always disinfect your new brush.
• You get two sets of teeth for free in a lifetime, but the third one will cost you

You can review a more complete list here: http://www.dentistbytes.com/?p=8

Also post to videos of dental related topics or fun pics, here are some ideas:

• Funny toothpaste video (not for British dentists usage): http://www.fanpop.com/spots/chris-farley/videos/1702089/title/saturday-night-live-hedley-wyche
• A great way to pull a tooth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPhRiaNW4UQ

Feel free to comment on this blog and add your own ideas for everyone to read.

·         $50 billion – the amount spent on dental care annually; $100 billion – the amount spent on hair care; $300 billion – the amount spent on lotto tickets.

·         18 yards – the amount of floss bought each year per person; 122 yards – the amount of floss that should be bought each year.

·         Children who receive preventive dental care early in life have lifetime dental costs that are 40% lower than children who do not receive care.

·         A toothpick is one of the objects most often choked on by Americans.

·         60% of people who don’t know that a sore jaw, when combined with chest pain, can signal heart attack-especially in women.

·         Adults with post-high-school degrees had an average of three more teeth than those without a high school diploma.

·         Like fingerprints, everyone’s tongue print is different.

·         Employed adults lose more than 164 million hours of work each year due to oral health problems or dental visits.

·         People who drink 3 or more sugary sodas daily have 62% more dental decay, fillings and tooth loss.

·         A Dentist invented ‘Fairy Floss’ or Cotton Candy.

·         The first crude toothbrush was used in 4000 B.C.E.

·         A tooth that has been knocked out starts to die within 15 minutes, but if you put it in milk or hold it in your mouth it will survive longer. See your dentist ASAP!

·         If you don’t floss, you miss cleaning 35% of your tooth surfaces.

·         The average human produces 25,000 quarts of saliva (spit) in a lifetime. That is enough saliva to fill 2 swimming pools!

·         Most tooth loss in people under 35 years of age is caused by athletic trauma, fights or accidents. Most tooth loss in people over the age 35 is from Periodontal Disease.

·         In general, girls have more tastebuds than boys do.

·         Chewing sugarfree gum increases the production of saliva by up to 10 times the resting rate.

·         If you can’t afford prevention, how can you afford disease?

·         Common oral problems have been linked to heart disease, diabetes, premature birth, and more. http://ht.ly/2VVDr

·         Mother’s Oral Hygiene Directly Impacts Child’s Oral Health http://ht.ly/300iT

·         If your jaws are not properly positioned this could lead to sleep apnea later on in life.

·         Always replace a toothbrush after you had a cold, sore throat or notorious infections. The bacteria remain on the toothbrush which can lead to reinfection.

·         Vigorous brushing does more harm than good. Overzealous brushing can lead to eroded enamel which never grows back causing teeth sensitivity along with other oral problems.

·         The popular practice of placing a cap on toothbrush head actually favors bacterial growth on it as moisture is increased in enclosed containers favoring the growth of bacteria.

·         The peak bacterial count in your toothbrush peaks in three months. Thus, it’s another reason to change your brush every quarter.

·         Everytime you flush, a million bacteria are released in the air. Where do they go? They land on your toothbrush which is the most fertile part of your bathroom. Why fertile? Well, it’s moist, stored in a dark place and has remnants of plaque and food; thereby acting like a culture media. Thus, avoid storing your brush in your bathroom.

·         Cheapest way to disinfect your toothbrush is to dip it in undiluted Listerine for 30 minutes.

·         Did you know that 80% of unused brand new toothbrushes are contaminated with bacteria? Always disinfect your new brush.

·         “A toothbrush can also be defined as an enriched petri dish on a stick…” – Dr. Richard T. Glass

·         “Most of us hate to let go of our toothbrushes. We treat them like old friends. We use the same one, day in and day out, until the bristles practically fall out.” – Dr. Richard T. Glass

·         You know how we are certain the toothbrush was invented in Arkansas? Otherwise it would have been called the teethbrush!

·         It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown

·         A little boy was taken to the dentist. It was discovered that he had a cavity that would have to be filled.  “Now, young man,” asked the dentist, “what kind of filling would you like for that tooth?”  “Chocolate, please,” replied the youngster

·         Little Tommy came to his mom with toothbrush in hand. “I dropped my toothbrush in the toilet.” he said. She replied, “It’s dirty now, we need to throw it away.” A few minutes later Tommy returns with his mother’s toothbrush and says, “Mom, do we need to throw your toothbrush away too? I dropped it in the toilet last week.”

·         You get two sets of teeth for free in a lifetime, but the third one will cost you

·         Minor gum infection left untreated: same bacteria that cause dental plaque can lead to arterial plaque & risk for heart disease & stroke!

·         From gum disease to diabetes to heart disease, Alzheimer’s, your mouth reflects overall health http://ht.ly/2WPRt