Social Media: What Should I Post?
Do you ever feel stumped when it comes to posting on your business’s social media pages? Its only natural to feel a bit of stage fright. After all, your business decisions are important ones.
Demandforce recommends that you post to your Facebook and Twitter pages at least once per day to stay relevant with your patients. If once a day sounds overwhelming, try starting with 2 posts per week. If you don’t feel particularly savvy with social media, consider asking someone on your staff to take on this responsibility. Or, make the time to tune in for a quick lesson and you will be a pro in no time. We’re serious, it’s that simple.
Have you established a ‘voice’ for communicating with your patients?
Use this question as a guideline for what you intend on posting. Unlike a personal Facebook page, its important that posts on your business page maintain some consistency. For example, we use Demandforce’s Twitter account as a tool for sharing top stories in the small business world. Weekly, we research the latest articles in business, social media, marketing, strategy, and technology to share with our customers. For your business page, you may consider choosing few relevant sources from which you can grab content. Demandforce likes to use Mashable, The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, and Social Times as a few great resources for our tweets. Find the ones that relate to you and create a bookmark tab for the websites you will be using frequently for easy access.
Helpful Tools
- Google Alerts: Not enough time in the day to even THINK about social media? Google alerts can help. These are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your specific search terms. Simply enter a term you’d like to monitor and the results will be delivered to your inbox daily. You may choose something like “Social Media Ideas for Dental” or “San Francisco Events” for posting topics. You are free to choose the type and frequency of the results. 50 % of the time that we receive a “Demandforce” Google alert, the information is applicable to our social media pages.
- Timely: Sound familiar? This time saving tool is found in your Demandforce portal. Timely grants you the ability to schedule your Facebook and Twitter posts AHEAD of time. Take 30 minutes out of 1 day and set up all your posts for the month. We like to say, “Set it and forget it.” As we encounter useful articles throughout our day, we simply add them to our Timely queue for future posting. Learn more about Timely.
Ideas for Posting
Events: Use the events in your community to create participation on your page.
- Mention that you’ll be attending the homecoming game this Friday.
- Attending an amazing concert this weekend? Tell everyone about it.
- Excited about the upcoming baseball season? Ask who they think will make it to the World Series this season!
Highlight Your 5 Star Reviews: Show your patients that you care about their feedback.
- Take pride in these accomplishments and post them to your wall.
- “I LOVE Smiles SF, they always treat me like a VIP!”
- Make sure you thank them with a shout out, “Thanks for the love, Jamie!”
Quotes & Fun Facts: Everyone loves learning something new.
- “Did you know, the average person swallows 8 spiders in a lifetime? Make sure you brush in the morning!”
- “If you’ve been to the dentist multiple times, you know the drill.”
- “A wise man ought to realize that health is his most valuable possession.” -Hippocrates
Photos: Provide a more personal approach to your patients.
- Did Haley just get her braces taken off? Take a picture of her new smile and share the joy.
- Who are your most loyal patients? Feature a cool fact about them on your page with a photo.
- Choose a “patient of the week”. Tell everyone why this patient is so amazing.
Videos: Show off your creative side.
- Patient testimonials will highlight happy patients and show off your awesome customer service.
- Share the YouTube videos that you just can’t get enough of. Have a little fun.
- Showcase your awesome staff. What are the perks of working at your practice?
Celebrate Your Team’s Achievements: What does your staff do outside the office?
- Congratulate your receptionist on getting accepted into graduate school.
- Share your involvement in any fundraising events .
- Invite your patients to join you!
Giveaways & Contests: Everyone loves free swag.
- “Where did Dr. Smith go to dental school? First person to call/ email us with the answer will receive 2 movie tickets!”
- Have a raffle! Donate the proceeds to the cause of your choice.
- The latest Demandforce contest is all about Campaigns. Customers who create the coolest Campaigns are winning a pizza party on us!
Holidays: Use these special days as opportunities to wish your patients well.
- Engage your patients by asking what they are doing to celebrate the day.
Ask for Input: Different perspectives can be highly beneficial to your business.
- Ask your patients for their thoughts on any changes to the office.
Many of these ideas include casual involvement from your patients. The small investment in these posts will be returned the second just ONE patient comes in for a visit! Remember, your social media pages are essential for building these connections with your patient base.
Okay, time to get post happy! Have some fun getting your patients involved.
