Dental Tribune UK Edition, October 4-10, 2010, No.24 Vol.4

October 4-10, 201020 Business Management Tribune United Kingdom Edition I t seems that in recent years, social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, have been coming on leaps and bounds, and it is easy to understand their popularity when it comes to networking with friends and relatives. But for many people the business benefits of such forums is often less clear. So what do you need to know? The following tips are de- signed to give you all the infor- mation you need to choose the best social media outlets for your business, and to show you how they can help you market your practice, create brand aware- ness, network with colleagues and increase communication with your patients. Is it for you? With social media becoming so popular, and the economy forcing everyone to be on their toes, dental practices should try and explore every option to help them increase patient numbers and maintain the patients they have. Not only can social media allow you to share all your lat- est news and information with colleagues and patients, but the real-time nature of online up- dates can cause a real buzz and interest in what you have to say. Furthermore, users can interact and comment on your messages, giving you a sense of what the people that matter to you and your business really think. It is important however, not to be too sales oriented when using any form of social media - if your fol- lowers feel they are being sold to they will often switch off. Social media is also a great way of increasing traffic to your website, as the more networking you do, and links you have go- ing to your website, the higher your ranking will become on search engines such as Google. This means that when a poten- tial patient searches for a dentist in their area, your practice is far more likely to be at the top of that list. It also means that there are more opportunities for peo- ple to visit your website, as you can put a link to it on any social media sites, as well as any key messages you want to get across. Denplan has recently under- taken a number of social media ventures to enhance its offering even further and I think the fol- lowing sites are a great place to start for any dental practice interested in joining the social Join the Social Media Revolution! Jodie Tisson looks at why dental practices should be making the most of social media and how it can be used to promote your practice and increase com- munication with both colleagues and patients page 22DTà ‘Dental practices should try and ex- plore every option to help them in- crease patient num- bers and maintain the patients they have.’