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Use SMM to reach potential patients before they look for you
Social media marketing targets a predefined group and provides answers before they ask questions.
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Having spent some time lecturing with colleagues and discussing social media, it is fascinating to learn how many ODs are using it to market, improve patient communications and engage their practices. Often the conversation turns to search engine optimization, or SEO, and oftentimes I explain how SEO is different from social media marketing strategies, or SMM.
First we must consider who it is that searches for us and our services. In short, there are three kinds of patients. The first is those who need an urgent consult, such as a foreign body in the eye or an eye infection, who will find you by proximity. The second is those patients who will be referred by family or friends. Last is those patients who will search for us. It is this latter category that most commonly uses search engines and listings online. To these patients, having a comprehensive website and being easily found via SEO is important.
Many factors are involved in SEO, including services that provide initial listings and review sites such as Yelp and doctor directories such as ZocDoc, a useful referral service with Yelp-like features. ZocDoc allows patients to search for doctors based on the insurance they accept and then write reviews that are useful to other potential patients.
SEO aims at creating first search page positioning and placement of any of your listings, be it your website, a review site or a medical directory. SEO aims to be there when the patient is looking for you or your services.
SMM is a different tool, with the intent to actively reach out to patients before they look for you or your services. The key word here is “before.” In SMM, the concept is to target a specific, predefined group of patients and engage by answering questions. As such, SMM is more versatile in the sense that you can engage the family and friends of those people who engage with you and reiterate your position as the doctor to go to by interacting in one of many ways.
So, in short, while SEO is an important tool to be found in search engines; SMM is an important tool to target, engage and answer questions for patients even before they think of using your services or search for you.
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- Agustin L. Gonzalez, OD, FAAO, is in private practice in Dallas, serves as adjunct faculty at InterAmerican University and is a member of the Primary Care Optometry News Editorial Board.
Disclosure: Gonzalez reports no relevant financial disclosures.