Your Facebook page success is largely a reflection of how much you talk about it. It’s important to note that Facebook is not a “build it and they will come” marketing tactic. Social media marketing is more like a garden – once you set up your garden, you’ll need to tend to it and nurture it. Likewise, once you set up your Facebook page, the number of likes and comments you get on your page are often a direct result of the continual conversation and promotion done within your practice.
One doctor recently said, “Asking patients to like us on Facebook is just as hard as asking for referrals.” Over the years, I can tell you that asking for referrals was the most common complaint I heard from doctors and team members. Likewise, once the shiny newness of having a Facebook page wears off, you’ll need to consider how you can keep the momentum going.
Below are a few tips to help you overcome the roadblocks to effective – and fun –conversations with patients about Facebook.
Determine who will talk with patients. Will it be the doctor, hygienist, office manager or someone else who will mention Facebook? Whoever is going to talk with patients about your Facebook page should be familiar with the page’s activity (often the more a team member enjoys Facebook personally, the more comfortable they feel talking about it with patients). Discuss this with your team and decide who is best – and willing, or even better, excited – to talk Facebook with your patients.
Plan what to say. No one is really excited about saying, “Hey will you like us?” Take time to brainstorm with your team about how you’d like to promote your Facebook community. I’m a fan of scripts. Determine how you want to talk with patients about Facebook and put it into script format. Your team members can each personalize the script so conversations are authentic to them.
Consider what your Facebook’s “purpose” is. Will you put root canal videos and bloody dental implant abutment photos on your page? Or will you be sharing fun news about you and your team, such as the photos of your recent team outing? When you and your team feel good about your posts and the messaging of your page, it’s a lot easier, and more fun, to invite patients to join you there.
Accept input from your team, and most importantly take your brand into consideration. Whether you intend it or not, your page will ultimately portray a personality and voice for your practice. Set a vision to ensure your Facebook community aligns with your practice values.
You can use your Facebook page metrics as a barometer to show how well you are promoting the page offline (talking with patients in your office). If your page has no recent activity and your likes and comments are flat, chances are you need to step up the conversations in your practice. Talking with patients about Facebook doesn’t have to be a struggle. For many practices it’s just a matter of putting the tips above into action. Keep me posted on your progress!
SO true, Rita…We have had a Facebook page for over almost 2 years now and only have 120 likes! It is not promoted by the staff and this has a direct impact on the activity we see. I am passionate about Facebook and enjoy updating the page, but unfortunately, I am not working at the office on a regular basis and update it from home. I would like to put some of these suggestions into action.
Hi Christina – Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. You are not alone. I hear similar situations from many practices. Try having a conversation with your team, perhaps at your next staff meeting and discuss some of the points above. It’s important for you to have at least one person who works in the office regularly — a point of contact for you, who is also willing to talk with the patients. That contact person can help keep your likes growing and can fill you in on timely info from the practice to include in your posts. Keep in touch! 🙂
Rita,
This is the 6 million dollar question. How to get the team engaged and consistent with facebook and social media with their patients and practice.
With simple things like facebook checkins, recommendations, etc., it can be a challenge to get the team implementing strategies to see positive momentum in this area of content marketing.
Thanks,
Mike
Hi Mike – There could be a million reasons why the team is not engaged. Sometimes it’s because the person responsible for managing their Facebook doesn’t even like Facebook (true story!), or it could be the team has too many other things on their plate or perhaps they just don’t know exactly what to say or how to introduce conversations about check-ins, etc… It can be very helpful for some team members to get some hand-holding or coaching through the process.