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Social Media Helps NYC Dentist get New Patients

How can Social Media help my business grow? This is a question I get asked a lot. And I can quote lots of examples of how businesses are successfully using Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. But use Social Media to grow a medical practice? That may seem a little far-fetched, right?

I have a client who is a dentist. Not only is he a great dentist, he’s also a lot of fun. His personality combined with is skill is the reason why his patients (myself included) love (and don’t dread) going to the dentist.

I helped him develop a website, and now create a blog. For many months, he asked me over and over, “I don’t understand what blogging is going to do for me”. I really felt, and so did his friends, that my dentist’s natural love of conversation and pontificating on any subject is the perfect combination of traits to make a great blogger!

So, finally, armed with a laptop, the doctor began to blog, usually on train on his way home. In the meantime, I set up a Facebook Fan Page for him and invited all his personal friends to become his fans (of course, his children were his first fans!).

The first blog was posted last week and simultaneously appeared on the doc’s Facebook Fan Page. Lo and behold! On her wall, some of his daughter’s Facebook friends saw the post and said “Hey! I didn’t know your dad is a dentist! I need a new dentist!” Guess what? New patients!

So, what’s the moral of this story?

• Blogging increases the visibility of your business, even if you are a medical professional.

• Your friends’ friends are a great source of new customers (patients).

• Social Media works!

Do you have any similar experiences you can share?

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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 10:36 am and is filed under Blogging, Facebook, Local Business, Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


4 Responses to “Social Media Helps NYC Dentist get New Patients”

Social Media is Sexy | Just Ask Betsy Says:
December 14th, 2009 at 9:18 am

[...] blogging, using Facebook Fan Pages, LinkedIn and Twitter. And we are seeing good results (even my dentist is getting new patients from his Social Media [...]

David Sherberg Says:
January 26th, 2010 at 12:12 pm

Great article, but as a dentist I’m finding creating the Facebook Page/blog is the easy part. Actually getting patients to join your page and become involved in your conversation is a whole different animal…

admin Says:
February 27th, 2010 at 8:23 am

Hi David,
Somehow, I missed your comment. I apologize. Facebook is a challenge because people don’t want to become a fan unless there is something in it for them…a contest, your posts are so interesting that they want to share them with their friends, etc. Of course, you want to start with your patient base, which means that you need to spend some time finding your patients on Facebook and inviting them to become your fan. On the other hand, using Twitter is a very easy way to find people who may be ready for a new dentist. It’s totally public and there are ways to find people who are in your area, and who fit the demographic that you want to reach. The most important thing to figure out, before you begin is what makes you or your practice special so you can create a persona and stand out from the crowd. Hope this helps and thanks for reading my blog!

admin Says:
February 27th, 2010 at 8:24 am

Hi David,
Somehow, I missed your comment. I apologize. Facebook is a challenge because people don’t want to become your fan unless there is something in it for them such as a contest, your posts are so interesting that they want to share them with their friends, etc. Of course, you want to start with your patient base, which means that you need to spend some time finding your patients on Facebook and inviting them to become your fans. On the other hand, using Twitter is a very easy way to find people who may be ready for a new dentist. It’s totally public and there are ways to find people who are in your area, and who fit the demographic that you want to reach and you can easily engage them in conversation. The most important thing to figure out, before you begin is what makes you or your practice special so you can create a persona and stand out from the crowd. Hope this helps and thanks for reading my blog!

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