The Optometric Minute

Grow Your Practice with Hyper-Local Social Media

Oct. 26, 2016

Alan Glazier, OD, FAAO, tells how “hyper-local” social media, with new marketing tools from Facebook, Google and Yelp, can connect you with local people and fill your exam chairs. Further, new dashboard analytics systems can help you refine your marketing efforts and accelerate practice growth.

CONNECT AT LOCAL LEVEL. Use new geo-marketing tools to specifically reach patients and potential patients in your metro. Turn them into  returning patients and new patients.

TAKE GRASS ROOTS APPROACH. Put compelling content about your practice onto sites like Facebook or Instagram, and then invest in targeted advertising, such as Facebook Ads with a localized reach.

INCREASE FINDABILITY. Completely fill out your practice profile on https://www.google.com/business/, and do the same on Yelp, and other platforms with a location finder. Make your practice name and location exactly the same in all places it is listed (“road” each time rather than “Rd” another time). That way, Google can easily find you and verify your practice. This increases your presence in the Google 3-Pack when consumers search.

TRACK WITH ANALYTICS DASHBOARD. New and improved analytics programs can track the effectiveness of your marketing and display it on a dashboard. This allows you to compute ROI and adjust your marketing efforts and messages.

HIGHLIGHT PATIENTS AND EVENTS ONLINE. Promote special events, like a Patient’s Appreciation Day, and post event photos online. Take photos of patients in new eyewear or contact lenses, and (with their permission via a signed HIPAA Authorization Form) and post them on your site and social media. Encourage patients in the photos to share them with their friends and family, furthering your reach into the community.

Alan Glazier, OD, FAAO, is the owner of Shady Grove Eye and Vision Care in Rockville, Md. He is the founder of ODs on Facebook.

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