Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

page 9DTß cal at his approach. Enlightening me to his theory, Ifty explained that us- ing links in the correct for- mats (Linked-in for example) throughout the profile page could result in viewers sub- scribing to a service via links to the main practice website; the ‘wall’ would provide a platform for customers to leave feedback, and for the practice to pro- mote special offers, and finally, there can be links back to the practice website for people to leave their CV, browse prod- ucts, check out those special of- fers and most importantly, book appointments. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that you can monitor the click and viewing rate using the measurement tools in Account Settings. “In response to dentists,” Ifty added, “it could be the difference between gaining patients from the NHS to gaining patients who wish to go private.” Haven It would seem then that Fa- cebook generates a haven of marketing potential: The site supports the provider’s main destination (their website) and offers a place for feedback and future development. But is this really the way forward for dentists when it comes to gain- ing patients and pushing their practice out into the spotlight? To answer this question I needed to consider how Facebook stands in relation to marketing. Word of mouth on digital steroids One of the basic principles of- marketing is delivering your message to as many peo- ple as possible. With this in mind Facebook can be a pow- erful recruitment tool, and even though shifts from the traditional practice of com- munication have somewhat altered the way in which consumers search for services and the way that companies de- liver their products, the basics remain intact. Erik Qualman, the author of Socialnomics, wrote that so- cial networking is like word of mouth on digital steroids1 and if used appropriately, social networking can be a weapon in the advertising world. “Take, for example, two peo- ple having a conversation,” Rita explained, “the conversation is short term and limited to the two people involved. Place this conversation on Facebook and the conversation is available to a far greater audience. The con- versation becomes long lasting – it has an indefinite shelf life; it can continually be searched for and discovered in search engines and news feeds. It is word of mouth but amplified!” But the steroids don’t stop working there. As Ifty demonstrated, Face- book has a unique advantage: it has the ability to target individ- uals by checking status updates and then selling products and services directly to the buyer’s needs. To quote Qualman, it is “sophisticated targeting”2 , providing a platform for in- teraction with people in a way that no other advertising tool can replicate. So has Facebook really be- come a complex advertising tool built on the foundations of word of mouth? In reality, social media is at the core of modern existence, altering how the world communicates and it would seem that no matter what direction I look in, “businesses don’t have the choice on wheth- er or not they do social media; the choice is on how well they do it.”3 A marriage made in media Putting aside the elements of social media, social network- ing, in whatever way you look at it, is high maintenance. “Think of it like a garden where you have to prepare the soil and then constantly nurture the plants as they grow. You can’t let it run wild otherwise you won’t have the result that you want.” Rita suggested. Of course, there are other aspects that have to be taken into consideration, such as us- ing the proper type of Facebook account. In some cases, prac- tices mix up personal profiles and fan pages (business pages), which could result in account deletion. (To save this issue from happening dental prac- tices must use a fan page if they wish to broadcast their practice on Facebook.) Tracing back to the issue of control, if the dentist doesn’t have control of their page or the page content, there is a poten- tial for problems to arise. If you have Facebook you must con- sider what your posts say and constantly monitor the presence of what people are saying etc. At the end of the day, commit- ment is the most important aspect of making the most out of any relationship - social me- dia included. Am I missing something here? Undeniably, the world has become entangled inside the web of social networking: We breathe in the blogosphere and become socially unaccountable for if we fail to become part of the “social graph”. So all in all, there does seem to be some economic potential of getting involved with social media and putting your face out into that virtual world that is rap- idly entangling society. I’m just not too sure if Facebook is the right way. As Rita outlined, social mar- keting is only “one tool in a tool box”. There is never simply just one tool to sustain practice marketing and make it flour- ish, and despite the hullabaloo of social media, websites con- tinue to remain an important function of running a practice. Never forget that websites turn visitors into phone calls, and phone calls can become pa- tients. Care in communications And finally, going back to basics, word of mouth (in whichever form it takes) is the greatest asset to any company or practice. It is real people shar- ing real experiences, views and opinions. So, take care in com- munications – it is the life line for any practice. DT ‘Think of it like a garden where you have to prepare the soil and then constantly nur- ture the plants as they grow. You can’t let it run wild otherwise you won’t have the result that you want’ References 1 Pg. xxii Socialnomics, Erik Qualman 2 Pg. xxii Socialnomics, Erik Qualman. 3 Pg. xxii Socialnomics, Erik Qualman Facebook can be a powerful recruitment tool delivering messages across the world it is possible to monitor view stats for your fan page March 14-20, 201110 Feature United Kingdom Edition