3 Rules for Creating Interactive Content

By: Aiman Ghori

Marketing on social media is not like marketing on legacy mediums like television or newspapers. Websites like Facebook and Twitter allow for heightened immediacy in interaction between buyers and sellers that the previously mentioned mediums do not allow. This has led to the development of a whole new set of rules when creating content for prospective clients.

Customer engagement, service visualization, and content customization are some of the few elements that can and should be refined as much as possible to incite customers to interact with your office.

Below we outline 3 rules to keep in mind when creating content for your practice.

Customization

By trying to cast a wide net and appealing to a large audience, chances are you won't appeal to many. Audiences are usually able to easily differentiate between meaningful content and content that is generic. Content that is personalized and contextualized for a specific audience is more likely to attract user engagement. Content, whether it's a social media post or a blog post, can be as broad as users who live in a specific country, or as narrow as targeting neighbourhood blocks. There is a heavy saturation of content online and users are constantly receiving an influx of information as well as ads telling them to buy their product or service. However personalization allows your practice to gain the attention of prospective customers.

There is plethora of variables you can use to identify the kind of audience you want to attract and ultimately engage with, but that is only the beginning of customizing your content. From there you have to decide what the best way is to use the information you have on prospective clients and how to make the content interactive to keep them engaged with your practice.

Read More: 9 Benefits of Having a Newsletter for Your Healthcare Practice

Interactivity

Now that you have an idea of who you want to customize your online content for, it's important to figure out how to implement it. After attracting consumers to your service, you want to keep them engaged and turn them into customers. This is where interactivity comes in. If your audience comes to your social media page or opens your e-newsletter and finds there is no meaningful content they value, they will leave pretty quickly and most likely will not come again. So, it's crucial to create a unique interactive experience that will keep them coming back every time you post or send an e-newsletter.

Some ideas to throw around are: online polls, infographics, and possibly the simplest, genuinely engaging with users through comments or emails.

Online polls allow you to ask your audience directly what is it they want from you or the industry in general. Polls are a great way to find out how you can customize your content further. Using the results from those polls you can create engaging infographics that can be displayed back to the contributing audience. In this way they will be connecting with you as well as others in our audience. Try mixing and matching different ways to interact with prospective clients to find the one that works best for your practice.

Read More: Are You Using Social Media to its Full Potential?

Value

In the midst of all this content creation and interactivity it's easy to see your audience as a target rather than what they are, individuals. Individuals appreciate being valued and feeling that the service provider genuinely cares about their needs so the newsletter article you are sending them or Facebook post you're showing them should reflect that. Consumers in this time lean towards practices that put in extra time and effort to reach out to them and acknowledge their loyalty if they are a long time customer. This doesn't have to stop at a generic thank you, although that is very important as well, but goes beyond that. Personalization and interactivity should be interwoven in the way you appreciate customers/patients as well as in the content you create to attract prospective clients.

Read More: How to Capitalize on User-Generated Content

Making regular content for your online pages and newsletters is already a step in the right direction to gaining interest in your practice and the rules outlined above will only boost your image. Personalizing your messages to cater to your specific audience and keep them engaged with interactive content will build brand loyalty. Patients will appreciate the effort put in to give them meaningful information that is relevant to their needs.

To learn more about how to customize your online content and how it can benefit your practice, contact an UpOnline representative today.

9 Benefits of Having a Newsletter for Your Healthcare Practice

By: Faiza Akbar

Patient communication is one of the foundations of any healthcare practice. In an ever-evolving digital world, it can be difficult to grab the attention of new patients, and keep the interest of existing ones. Newsletters offer a dynamic and personalized approach for you to keep patients engaged, and also promote and grow your practice in a trackable, strategic way. If you're looking to retain existing patients, and also acquire new ones, here are a few reasons newsletters might be the tool you've been searching for.

Engagement

Email newsletters are one of the most effective ways of boosting your patient engagement. In fact, a recent study of 300 unique demographic target markets found that online newsletters generate a 70% higher response rate than printed counterparts. There are many ways you can encourage engagement through a newsletter. One way is to include informative articles in newsletters but instead of posting the entire article in the newsletter, include a "read full article" button right after an eye catching title and excerpt. You should also include links to your website and social media platforms, which after receiving and reading through a newsletter, a potential or returning patient is more likely to press, whether to book an appointment or just request to more information. Engagement does not stop after you have sent out your newsletter. Once sent, you should add past newsletters to a section on your website. A tip to keep in mind is to add past newsletters as text links, not graphics, making it easier for search engines to locate your articles and enjoy and increased SEO benefit. If there is an article in particular that might be of interest to a broader audience (not only applicable to your patients) someone might stumble across your website during an internet search. For those doing research on a particular topic, it is possible that they cite your article, further boosting your website back-links.

3 Ways to Optimize Your Practice for Mobile

By: Aiman Ghori
Mobile optimization is essentially setting up your site to be accessible and user friendly for visitors accessing it from various smartphones, tablets and other smart devices. 80% of internet users own a smart-phone so more searches are now done on mobile than on desktop, according to Google. Mobile platforms also host up to 60% of digital media time. This opens a up a whole new scope of marketing. Mobile marketing is the future and effectively using this could help increase new patients and elevate customer loyalty. There are several innovative ways to make your practice mobile friendly, and below we've outlined 3 specific ways to start.

Related Article: Why Your Business Should be Mobile Friendly

Is Your Website Mobile Friendly?

As of 2015, Google takes mobile-friendliness into consideration when ranking sites for search results. This means not having a mobile site is not an option if you want high search results. Google looks for high quality, relevant, and quick loading content to provide the best results for their searchers and has even put together a guide to help website developers build sites customized for mobile. There are two major directions your office can take to optimize your site for mobile devices:


• Creating a mini version of your current site
• Making your current site responsive


A separate mobile site alongside your full desktop site can be fully customized, and for the sake of quick load time, hold the very basic information the visitor will need. This easy to implement option allows you to tap into the 95% of adults who primarily use their smart-phones to access content and information. However, it does come with its fall backs. Since the mobile site is on a completely different URL, extra vigilance is required to keep the content consistent, and properly code duplicate content for the full desktop site, making it more expensive to maintain.

Do your patients know which whitening you offer?

By:Faiza Akbar
Everyone wants a radiant and healthy looking smile. People often consider various methods to achieve this, the most popular being teeth whitening, a relatively simple cosmetic dental procedure. Teeth whitening can be a sensitive subject to bring up with patients. You want to remain informative, without offending anyone. There are many different whitening options on the market, some that patients can administer themselves at home, and others they can have done professionally in your office. With any service you offer, the first step to acquiring patients is providing them with information. If patients don’t know something is available, how can they pursue it? As teeth whitening is the most popular cosmetic dental procedure, with the industry expected to reach $7.4 billion by 2024, you want to make the most of it.

There is clearly patient demand for the service, so make sure to emphasize that whitening is not a one size fits all procedure - there are many options that patients can work with you to tailor to their personal preferences. So does it matter if patients know which specific whitening options you provide? Absolutely. If you want additional patient business, increased online and in-person engagement, and a stronger patient-dentist relationship, then including more information about your teeth whitening options could be a major way of achieving this.

Misinformation is rampant and many patients may simply be uninformed or unaware of the whitening options that are available. They might be under the impression that an over-the-counter whitening kit is the same as getting their teeth whitened professionally. It is possible that your patient previously had an unsatisfactory whitening experience, so it may be important to let them know that modern whitening solutions are faster, painless, more effective, and result in less sensitivity than procedures of the past. Some patients may also think you only offer whitening services in your office, and not realize that you offer take home whitening kits as well. Along with clarifying the availability of take home options, you should highlight the differences between those kits and the ones they can purchase from drugstores themselves to clear up any misunderstandings patients might have.

Just because someone hasn’t asked you about your whitening options yet does not mean they are not interested. Communicating with your patients and inquiring about their preferred level of tooth whiteness can get a conversation started. This conversation can begin with a consultation but carry its way through appointments and touch ups. A good time to mention whitening is around holidays and events, whether it be Christmas or back-to-school season, your patients are more likely to show interest in whitening solutions.

How you inform your patients is also important. You may choose to tell them directly during an appointment, or if you prefer a less direct approach, you can include information about whitening in a monthly newsletter, email, or through social media. Including more specific details about whitening options might also increase the engagement on your website. Does your website’s teeth whitening page contain a breakdown of different service options? This will make it more likely for patients to have the page open for a longer duration to read through the information, as opposed to briefly visiting the page to check for quick facts. Additionally, once reading the informative sections, patients will be more likely to press a call-to-action button to inquire further, increasing engagement even more. While most social newsfeeds will be saturated with quick facts and graphics, having the option of detailed information may foster interest for a longer time, and make click-through more likely, especially if you mention a promotion for the service.

Often times, patients are undecided about whether or not they will go through with whitening procedures and it is typically the uncertainty of results that is holding them back. They might be unsure of the following: If the results will be what they want How long the results will last How much of a time commitment the procedure will be. Providing your patients with information regarding the whitening options will alleviate any doubts or misunderstandings they have about whitening and make it more likely for them to follow through with the procedure they have been wanting.

You can mention that whitening exists on a spectrum, ranging from basic whitening toothpastes, to deep bleaching which you may provide. The key is to let patients know that there are many options available and you are willing to work with them to find the ideal one. Reassuring those patients who are undecided or skeptical will also lead to establishing trust, as they will now feel more comfortable relying on you to advise them on decisions regarding their cosmetic procedures. Patients may also shy away from whitening if they think it will be extremely costly and time consuming. However, most modern whitening procedures are cost efficient, quick, and non-invasive and can usually be included in a hygienist appointment. The different options may also vary in price, so patients could consider a less expensive option that still achieves their preferred results.

If you feel that your website and social media currently do not include enough information about the whitening options you offer, contact UpOnline to inquire about our social media, website, and newsletter services. We can help ensure your patients are informed and up-to-date about your services so they don’t miss out.

Five Ways to Spot an SEO Scam

By: Aiman Ghori
Search engine optimization can be complicated and sometimes difficult to understand, so you may be seeking help from an SEO expert to generate more traffic to your site, or, just as likely, those claiming to be experts may be seeking your business out, regularly. This creates the perfect opportunity for scammers to take advantage of you and your practice, potentially leading to detrimental results for your business. As with any hiring process, it's important to do research and ask probing questions to see if the SEO experts you're speaking with are legitimate and use ethical strategies/best practices, or if they're just scams. Below are 5 ways to tell if your SEO 'expert' is deceiving you.

"We Guarantee First Page Results"




Nobody can guarantee a specific result and if they claim to, chances are they're not following Google's guidelines. Some companies will claim they can increase traffic to your site incredibly in a very short amount of time but be wary of their promises. Due to the nature of how SEO works, there are no absolute guarantees and you should be aware of the methods they use. Despite there being no guarantees, there are certainly better chances of improving your SEO organically through ethical methods. Experienced SEO companies have spent years learning and refining what methods and work and which ones don't. Their techniques can guarantee that traffic will increase to your site but in a realistic amount of time. Plan to be in regular contact with your SEO service provider and their plan for improving your site's SEO.



"Our Strategies are Confidential"




Lack of communication between a company and client can lead to very bad results, SEO and otherwise. If your SEO expert is unwilling to include you in the planning process and won’t tell you how they’re going to improve your SEO, you should take action immediately. Chances are, they’re using unethical (or 'black-hat') techniques and the consequences could include your SEO falling sooner rather than later, or delisting, directly affecting your practice. If you're looking to hire an SEO company, make sure they are open to communication and provide references you can look into. Ask them for previous examples of their work and speak to their references on how they handled communicating their strategies. If you're currently working with an SEO provider, request timely updates or reports so you can monitor your practice's progress. Ask them to explain clearly the methods they're currently implementing.



"We Know Google’s Algorithm"




Any company or SEO expert that claims to know how Google's algorithm works is lying. Google's algorithm is private intellectual property and changes often enough for anyone to know it in its entirety. Even employees at Google's search department do not know how more than certain parts of the algorithm works, so it's impossible for an outsider to be privy to that information. Most likely, this is just a deceptive sales pitch to get your business. The best way to find out what works and does not work for search engine optimization is following Google's accepted guidelines as well as experimental changes refined over time. So, it's important to ask a potential company about previous experience and case studies. If you hear this claim or read it in a cold email, do not even consider them.



"We'll Link Your Site on Hundreds of Websites"




This is likely a 'black-hat', or unethical, technique where a company links your site indiscriminately on other websites and forums in order to trick Google's robots. Inbound links are great for building your SEO but Google will know almost immediately when those links are irrelevant and spam, and penalize your site for it. It's best to create meaningful and relevant content specifically curated for your target audience that they will be encouraged to share. It will also help to have your own active social media pages where you can link your content. So it's important to ask your current SEO expert or potential SEO company what technical as well as customized strategies they use to increase traffic to your website. Be sure to also ask them how they would use inbound and outbound links to improve your site.

Read More: The Importance of Content-Based Marketing.



"We Offer Free Trials"




Never give your website's access information to anyone you do not trust, particularly someone offering a supposed free trial for their SEO services. SEO optimization and its results take time to develop, they cannot be curated overnight. So if an offer sounds too good to be true in terms of results or price, it probably is and you should do further research into the company before deciding to hire them.

Finding the right SEO expert for your business or practice sounds like a daunting task. However, with the right amount of research and awareness you can equip yourself with sufficient knowledge to hire the best one for your needs. If you're looking for experienced and professional SEO managers, contact UpOnline and ask us about our search engine optimization services.