Tag: seo for dentists

Are Dentists’ Facebook Fans Local?

Some interesting information hit my email box this morning, thanks to Dr. Emmott’s blog. An article at www.pcmag.com tells us “Most Facebook Fans of Small Businesses Aren’t Local, Study Finds.” I know that’s the case with the MDPM Facebook page. We have fans from all over the globe — but we also have a client in Australia, so it’s to be expected. For a dentist, however, even if he has a patient from Australia or Timbuktu, you’d expect most of his Facebook fans to be local.

The study was conducted by Roost Local Scorecard, and it covered 800 small businesses on Facebook. Get this: For those surveyed, just 15% of fans were local.

We rarely see data for these types of trends in dentistry, it’s too granular to attract much attention, so there’s no indicator that the research holds true for dentists.

Just this morning, I was asked by a client what we do to SEO Facebook. That question makes me realize, more than ever, dentists generally do not know what Facebook can do for them. I recently worked with a high-end cosmetic practice that held a contest that attracted 500 visitors to their Facebook page in about a week. The client was disappointed when the second week brought fewer lookers — and then traffic dropped to normal levels.

I want to share some truths with you — these are what I’ve witnessed. You can be an exception, but it will take work, and I’m not sure the ROI is there… Read More

Focus on ROI: Internet Marketing that Works… and Doesn’t

Just like you keep up with dental technology, research, and techniques by reading industry journals, I make a point to read the latest information about Internet marketing, dental marketing, and marketing trends. For a long time now, I’ve blogged about social networking having poor return on investment (ROI). Sure, subscriptions and participation are free, but time is money, and to build a successful social networking presence, you must invest time. By successful, I mean a presence that has a following – not financial ROI.

In Entrepreneur Magazine online, an article titled “Finding Customers” tells us that social media is not bringing retailers many customers. A report by Forrester Research, “The State of Retailing Online 2011: Marketing, Social & Mobile” shows that retailers are not happy with the results of investing in social marketing, like Facebook and Twitter. Now I know dentists aren’t online retailers, but there is something to learn here. The benefits to social marketing are wrapped around improving brand awareness.

Just this week, I advised a wonderful client of mine that a custom Facebook page will look great, but it will not improve ROI. It may not bring any new patients to the practice. This does not mean that a custom Facebook page is a poor investment. You have to consider your goals. For a high-end cosmetic dental spa, brand awareness and perceived value of services is essential to maintaining high profits. In this case, a custom Facebook page may be well worth the monetary investment.

But if you’re looking for hard, cold cash as a return on your marketing investment, according to the aforementioned report, “A whopping 90 percent of online retailers said search-engine marketing was the most effective source used to acquire customers last year…” Well, that’s great news for dentists! Read More