September October 2011 PS250 Survey

Issue: September/October 2011

Perspective

Without a doubt we find that our presence on Facebook does drive patients to our practice. Some of our more cooperative patients will post their experience, including video of their surgery that we give them, and provide testimonials and contact information. This is invaluable and will usually generate the interest that will take prospective patients over the fear hurdle. In these difficult economic times, the desire for LASIK and visual enhancement is there; it is only muffled by the constant drone of “fear and terror” news reporting. We find that Facebook and other social media, along with our website, help to direct patients around the fear barrier and get them in the door. Once we have them, we can change their lives, and Facebook helps to deliver directly to prospective candidates the miracle that vision improvement provides our patients. — Steven B. Siepser, MD, FACS

Perspective

We are, like many people, new to the use of social media. We have established a LASIK Facebook page. Recently we got iPads and started recording and posting day-1 LASIK postop visit messages on our Facebook page and made this available for patients to post on their Facebook pages, as well. It is too early to tell exactly what effect this has had, but the patients seem enthusiastic about it. We also did a Groupon about 2 weeks ago, and it has created at least 25 new patient appointments so far. The large discount necessitated by the Groupon format is a concern, but again we are too early in our experience to make any judgments.

We went into this as a “try it and see what happens” experiment, however, not as a new marketing strategy. We are sticking our toe into the water with LASIK first and might then go on to cataract after assessing what the LASIK experience is. — James C. Hays, MD

Perspective

As the fabric of society evolves, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have replaced traditional medical marketing methods such as newsprint, broadcast radio and yellow page advertising. The socio-technologic milieu is now the primary source of the exchange of information from provider to consumer, and more importantly, from consumer to consumer. In today’s world, “word of mouth” has become “post on Web.”

In our practice, we encourage instant social media exchange of the patient experience by providing a combination live-surgery observation and Internet kiosk alcove. Patients’ family and friends are able to observe surgery on closed circuit while simultaneously conducting an online dialogue, joining us as Facebook friends and posting comments, or capturing and uploading surgery video. We strive to market our practice’s social media profile through the use of convenient and immediately accessible in-office technology, constantly updated practice sites and postings, and the use of incentives and promotions for patient participation in our social networks. — Scott W. Tunis, MD, FACS

Perspective

Social media provides an interactive tool with which we can have dialogue with both current and new patients. We have to be ready to talk with them, though, and not to them. Using a 90/10 plan, we only talk about our services or products 10% of the time. On Facebook, we try to post interesting content targeted to our fan base — we discuss things in the news, fun things to do in town, and information about the practice and services. With Twitter we are able to listen to the community overall and begin conversations with leads who are complaining about their eyes and looking for referrals for vision correction. Social media efforts are also a vehicle to improve our search engine optimization efforts, particularly with YouTube. We upload videos that allow prospective patients to learn more about the practice and have an opportunity to see us in action, which in turn improves our overall organic rankings on Google. Blogging allows us to become a real resource to our community, keeping us top of mind when someone has a need to seek care.

I believe the “offensive” strategy of increasing sales is somewhat limited and unique to succeed; however, the danger of getting into a damaging spiral is easy, so social media has to assist in the reversal of negative elements that target your practice unfairly. People do look at reviews, and negative ones are potentially damaging if there are a number of them without a corresponding list of positive ones. — Jeffrey Whitman, MD

Perspective

Facebook is our social media tool of choice and has been a valuable addition to our marketing mix. We use Facebook to market our practice services and events, with a focus on our elective procedures — LASIK, premium IOLs and aesthetics. Facebook has given our practice a personality and relevance as a trusted source of eye care information online.

Our postings are frequently updated with information both current and educational. Along the way, we’ve found creative ways to communicate, inform and encourage “fan” participation. An example is our recent “Myths and Truths” LASIK contest, which addressed reasons a person may elect not to move forward with the procedure. After posting a series of LASIK myths and truths, we invited our LASIK patients to share their own stories and invite friends to ‘like’ their entry, with the most ‘likes’ determining the winner. The contest engaged our audience and was a key catalyst in increasing our online community by 20%. We also advertise our premium IOL seminars through Facebook and local print media, and these are always well attended and generate significant patient interest. — Quentin B. Allen, MD