5 reasons you don't use social media

By Kristie NationToo many practices have no social media campaign at all. They depend on outdated ways of communicating with existing patients and attracting new ones. According to MySocialPractice, “Facebook is clearly one of the best platforms for community driven, Inherent Marketing^™.” Whatever social medium you choose to employ, the first step is getting past the excuses.1. You don’t think the majority of your patients use social media.Wrong. The over-50 crowd is the fastest growing demographic using social networks such as Facebook and Twitter today.2. You think, “I can’t allow Facebook in the workplace — no one will get anything done!”Wrong again. If you can’t trust your staff to spend their hours at your practice appropriately, you have hired the wrong people.
3. You tried making a Facebook page to advertise your practice, but no one ever “liked” it or commented on it.Wrong tactic. Facebook isn’t about advertising — it’s about communicating.4. You’re too busy.Wrong, wrong, wrong. Social media is about communication. Are you really too busy to communicate with your patients?5. You don’t feel competent.Wrong one last time. Either learn or hire someone to do a great job for you. Inaction is not an option.Facebook is a remarkably simple form of social media when you stop looking at it as an advertising gambit and start treating it as a basic communication tool. Then it’s as easy as talking about all the things you talk about daily in your practice anyway!For more great ideas, visit MySocialPractice.com.Author bioKristie Nation is the founder and CEO of myDentalCMO, a marketing consulting firm that provides strategic marketing "treatment plans" exclusively for dental practices. The firm was founded with a mission to prevent dentists from wasting countless dollars marketing their practices ineffectively. She can be reached at [email protected] or at (888) 557-6443.