Friday Five Roundup: Beyonce and Social Media Marketing

1
CBC

Liberals Commit $150M a Year in Dental Care For Youth, Aging Quebecers



Quebec Liberal Party Leader Philippe Couillard says his party will invest an additional $150 million a year to expand dental coverage to more young and aging Quebecers, if it gets a second mandate.

Read the article on cbc.ca>

2
Forbes

Marketing After Beyonce: The State Of The Surprise Album


Beyoncé was certainly not the first person to make an album appear out of thin air, but hers does stand as a marker of when things changed for the industry.

Read the article on forbes.com>

Friday Five Roundup: From 'Guardians of the Gums' to becoming a billionaire by playing nice

1
Yahoo News

From 'Guardians of the Gums' to 'Tartar Wars': Movie-loving dentist's billboards go viral



The Guardians of the Galaxy spoof advertises ArDente Dental of Frankfort, Ind., and simultaneously reveals a competitively priced braces plan ($199/month), a Groot knockoff shouting “I am Tooth!”, and a female Star Lord brandishing a large toothbrush. Turns out, that plaque-fighting superhero is none other than dentist Jill Snyder.

Read the article on news.yahoo.com>

2
Quartz

Slack Was Able to Become a $7 Billion Company by Playing Nice With Others


Slack’s ethos is one of inclusion. On a product level, its ability to integrate with other companies and apps set it apart. Though it was by no means the first workplace messaging app, the platform was built to seamlessly work with other workplace tools like Salesforce and Google Docs, which became a unique selling point.

Read the article on qz.com>

4 Must Haves for Your Practice’s Facebook Page


 
By: Mira Rawady
 
Connecting with your patients online requires a bit of strategy and follow through, and this post aims to help you figure out how to build a trusted brand and attract new patients on Facebook. Your social networking pages are not your website - they're for connecting with patients socially as part of your dental marketing strategy! Your dental practice's Facebook page is a very powerful tool, and these 4 guidelines will help you use it to its full potential.

1. Make Sure Your Facebook Page Is Found

Before worrying about anything else, you need to make sure existing and prospective patients know that you're on Facebook. A key component of your Facebook dental marketing strategy is continuously promoting your page and letting people know you're active on social media! Clients rarely think to look you up on Facebook themselves unless prompted to do so, which means that you need to include a strong call-to-action wherever patients will see it.


Some of the best ways to promote your dental practice's Facebook page:
  1. Place a linked icon to your Facebook page on your dental practice's website header. This will remind people to follow and like you on Facebook as they browse through your website.
  2. Customize Your Vanity URL and add your practice's name so your Facebook business page doesn't look something like this: Facebook.com/68058675043/. Optimizing your Facebook URL helps you get higher search engine rankings and makes it easier for patients to find you.
  3. Invite friends and family to like your page. Although they aren't strictly patients, if they share and promote your Facebook page, you’re bound to catch an eye or two. Don't overlook this source of potential referrals!
  4. Put up a visible poster about your Facebook presence in your dental office's waiting room. Analog calls-to-action still exist! Make sure your staff tells patients to follow your page and keep up with what's happening online.


2. Post Engaging Content

Your dental practice's Facebook page is meant to provide information about services, your facilities, staff and events. It's often forgotten that posts should also tell your practice's story. Represent your practice on Facebook with unique team and office photos! This provides patients with the opportunity to get familiar with your practice and meet your team.

Posting about teeth whitening, oral hygiene, and professional dental experience is all well and good, but people won't choose to make you their dentist because you can fix teeth - that's a given. People choose dentists based on the people who work at your practice and the experience they expect from a visit.

Here are some ideas and examples of posts that can represent your dental team and practice in a positive, approachable light:
  • Staff members with patients (Kid’s first visit to the dentist, long-term patients that have been loyal to your practice for several years, smile makeover patients...)
  • Employees having fun and taking part in your dental practice’s activities
  • Employees' value and loyalty towards your dental practice
  • Office celebrations (birthdays, anniversaries…)
  • Contests and promotions
  • Community involvement
Here's an example from our client, Dentistry on Dundas' Facebook page and the kind of engaging content is posted on their page.


Related Article: The Importance of Content-Based Marketing

3. Optimize Page and Posts

Having all of your practice's important information clearly displayed on your Facebook page will allow you to effectively attract prospective clients and increase appointment requests. Make it convenient for patients to request appointments, ask a question, or contact your practice by including appropriate CTA buttons in your header. (Facebook lets you choose your CTAs according to your type of business and goals).

Optimizing your Facebook page also includes adding the following to your 'About' and 'Our Story' sections:
  • Complete practice contact information (aside from the CTA)
  • Hours of operation
  • Accurate statements concerning your dental practice and some differentiating information.
  • A link to your website
  • A Google Map to visually show physical location
  • Add the dentistry categories you consider your practice part of in the 'edit your details' section.

The list goes on further, but the essential point is: If there's an applicable field, fill it and use it to promote your practice.

As for posts, keyword optimization is imperative because Google indexes your post text the same way it does your website content. Use words connected to your services and practice that clients would think of in their searches!

For example, if your practice is located in Whitby, Ontario, your posts could incorporate geographically optimized keywords like "The best smiles in Whitby." If you're a pediatric dentist, post articles about infant dental health and mention your pediatric dentistry services in the caption. It all depends on what your practice can do for people, so make sure to think about what your clients are looking for!

Related Article: Search Engine Optimization: What You Should Know As A Dental Practitioner

4. Respond to Reviews

Managing your online reputation is an essential part of building a loyal, trusting relationship with patients – both prospective and existing. When patients provide their feedback in your Facebook page's "Reviews" section, take the opportunity to respond and engage with them. It's great to let positive reviewers know that their support is appreciated and confirms your care for their opinion and experience.

Negative reviews are even more important to address, because if there's anything worse than a bad review on your page, it's an unanswered one. Patients communicating their concerns and having them ignored tells a lot about how much your practice cares for patient satisfaction.

Related Article: 5 Ways to Publicly Respond to a Bad Online Review

Additionally, other people who see unanswered negative reviews may think that you don’t take feedback into consideration. Your dental practice's Facebook page provides an opportunity to connect with patients and show them how much you care. When you see a negative review, you should respond respectfully and handle the issue in a productive way. So grasp at every chance you can to let people know that concerns, inquiries, and frustrations are taken seriously by your dental team.

Related Article: Tackling Your Online Reviews

There you have it! Four things to keep in mind if you want to make the most out of your dental practice's Facebook page. Here at UpOnline, we are always eager to provide clients with valuable social media strategies and digital marketing services, so contact us if you want to know more about how we can increase your dental practice's online exposure!

Friday Five Roundup: From dental practice successes to chained beer

1
Dental Economics

3 Success Hacks From a $1 Million Practice



What amazed me most about this practice's steady growth is that they use a unique formula to grow their revenue every year, and they don't break their backs doing it. In fact, their success has allowed them both to fulfill their lifelong dreams of traveling.

Read the article on dentaleconomics.com>

2
The Verge

This Cruel Bud Light Smart Fridge Unlocks Only When the Cleveland Browns Win


Football season is almost here, and Bud Light has put together something special for the fans of the eternally suffering Cleveland Browns: Cleveland Browns Victory Fridges, a bunch of custom-made, internet-connected fridges that will only open when the Browns manage to snap their winless streak (currently at 17 games and counting).

Read the article on theverge.com>

How to Use Podcasts to Boost Your Brand Marketing

By: Caitlin Barbin


Podcasts are a great option to boost your brand marketing and can set you apart from your competitors. Podcasts are most-often arranged as a radio show format where the host(s) discusses different topics, often featuring a guest.

Here are a few reasons why podcasts are an excellent form of marketing:

Podcasts are easily accessible

While podcasts are mostly listened to at home (48%), many people also like to listen from their car (26%) or at work (12%). People appreciate the on-demand nature of podcasts and a majority of podcast consumers use a smartphone, tablet, or other portable device for listening. Podcasts are very popular for on-the-go listening and multitasking.

Podcasts are inexpensive

Starting or producing a podcast is often cheaper than many other forms of marketing. The essential tools for creating a podcast are a microphone and (simple) editing software usually available at little or no cost (consider Audacity). You'll of course still have to invest time in writing, recording, and editing your podcast. You can later upgrade to a higher quality microphone and editing software once you're more experienced and the effort shows dividends. However, you should usually focus on the quality of your content before looking into advanced equipment.

Friday Five Roundup: From marketing stunts to money talk

1
Mouthing Off - ASDA

Straight (Money) Talk to a New Dentist



These pointers should help you make thoughtful financial decisions as a dentist, largely without regret.

Read the article on asdablog.com>

2
HubSpot

Billion Dollar Business Models Explained: Uber, Amazon, Netflix, & More


Uber, Amazon, Netflix, Airbnb, and Tesla all have one thing in common: even though they're some of the best brands in tech, the strength and viability of their business models are what propel them to the top of their industries.

Read the article on hubspot.com>

Digital Marketing Terms Decoded - August Edition

By: Mira Rawady


Welcome to the August edition of our Digital Marketing Terms Decoded series, here to help you build a successful online marketing strategy. Whether you've encountered any of the upcoming terminology before or just started dipping a toe into the pool, we’re here to make sure everything's crystal clear! Before diving into this edition, make sure to check out previously explained terms here. Happy Marketing!

August's Digital Marketing Terms Decoded is here with new additions to your marketing glossary. From online advertising to website development, search engine optimization, and user experience, we're breaking it all down.


Google Ads

Before we get started on this topic, Google has officially changed its famous advertising system's name. The change from Google AdWords to Google Ads is part of a broad rebranding of Google's ad products and lineup. If you didn't know, now you do. Change is the only constant in our digital marketing and advertising universe.

Google Ads is a digital advertising system largely focused on keywords, which businesses can use to promote their brand and online presence via Search Ads, Display Ads, Video Ads, or App Ads. The program works both on a pay-per-click and/or cost-per-impression basis. Businesses and marketers use the platform to create ads based around keywords that people are likely to input in their Google searches. When one of these keywords is searched, the ad is triggered and displayed under 'sponsored links' which show up above/below and separately from organic search results.

Related Article: How To Improve Your Google Ads Campaign

Backlink

When a web page links to any other page, it's referred to as a backlink or inbound link. Backlinks are incoming links to a webpage that can be used to strengthen SEO and determine the popularity of your website. Search engines including Google take backlinks into consideration when determining relevant search results. Including backlinks in your website can also help improve organic ranking and increase referral traffic.

Responsiveness

Responsiveness or Responsive Web Design is an approach to website development that focuses on webpages displaying suitably according to user behaviour, device choice, screen size, platform, orientation, and other visual factors that websites should acknowledge and display themselves according to. The purpose of responsive design is having one website that renders for different devices and screen sizes so as to provide better use experience with the freedom to explore a website on any chosen device. Responsive web design is an essential tool for digital marketing and mobile currently accounts for half of all global web pages served. So far in 2018, 52.2 percent of all website traffic worldwide was generated through mobile phones. Website visitors will likely abandon your website if it doesn’t conveniently adjust to the interface or device they are browsing on.

Related Articles: 

Why Your Practice Should Be Mobile Friendly
What Makes a Good Dental Website?

Long-Tail Keywords

Image Source: neilpatel.com
Much like normal keywords, long tail keywords are used to define what is on a webpage and where it shows up in search engine results. However, long-tail keywords are more specific and are thus less competitive than generic keyword terms. For example, the long-tail version of the term ‘t-shirt’ could be ‘graphic t-shirt slim fit’ which would narrow down the search for users with specific requirements. Using long-tail keywords may pull in less traffic numerically, but you’ll be targeting the audience that you’re looking for and is looking for you right back! That audience is the user group closest to their point of purchase and the most interested in engaging with your brand and services.

Related Article: Most Valuable Keywords

Conversion Rate

The conversion rate is a web analytics term used to measure the percentage of users who take a desired call-to-action on your website. High conversion rates are indicative of successful online marketing and web design that have resulted in visitors wanting what you’re offering and easily being able to get it. In order to improve conversion rate, some businesses test different headlines, buttons, CTAs, or landing page images to see which elements lead to more conversions.

Related Article: How to Craft an Effective CTA

We hope you’ve enjoyed this edition of Digital Marketing Terms Decoded. What marketing concepts or terminology do you want to know more about? Contact UpOnline for more information on online marketing tactics and make sure to follow our blog so you don’t miss out on the upcoming tips, tricks, and trends of digital marketing. Keep an eye out for our next edition!

Related Articles:

Digital Marketing Terms Decoded - June Edition
3 Things To Think About When Designing Your Website
9 Digital Marketing Stats You Should Know

Friday Five Roundup: From safety in digital marketing to dental costs

1
Dentistry Today

Tooth Extraction System Provides Ease of Use



The Physics Foreceps atraumatic extraction system from GoldenDent is designed to provide a simple, predictable, and unconventional method for extracting teeth regardless of the practitioner’s extraction experience, or the condition of the tooth, while providing a positive patient experience.

Read the article on dentistrytoday.com>

2
Quartz

Hackers Account for 90% of Login Attempts at Online Retailers


When you have a 3% success rate you can do a lot of damage (or spend someone else's money) very quickly. Most criminals will try to steal your credentials from 'weaker' security websites and use them on higher security e-commerce sites. So if you wanted to change even thing about your password security, keep that in mind!

Read the article on qz.com>

How to Get More Patient Referrals Through Email Newsletters


By: Caitlin Barbin


Email Newsletters can be a powerful tool for patient referrals. With the right approach and content, enewsletters can build trust and a strong relationship between the patient and the doctor/practice. All of which can translate your brand and reputation, through interactions with your patients outside of the office, to potential referrals.

Email Newsletters' success as a marketing tool comes in large part due to the analytics. At even the basic level, tracking tools allow measuring the open rate of newsletters sent and click-through rates that show how many times viewers opened and/or clicked embedded links. These results give a better idea of what content works best with each subsequent issue. When you figure out what content and links that patients are gravitating towards, you are closer to boosting patient referrals. If you have been considering a newsletter for your practice, it is beneficial to note that emailed versions are also extremely cost-effective compared to print campaigns. If you are considering newsletters or already have an enewsletter and you're looking to maximize its potential, here are 5 ways to earn patient referrals through newsletters: