One by-product of dentistry's social media gold rush is the emergence of many self-proclaimed social media gurus, ninjas and experts who want to charge a fee to slap up a Facebook page and set up a Twitter account.
Ah, if only it were that easy. Here are some things to consider before signing up with a social media consultant:
Social media is a marketing function, and is usually best handled by social media savvy public relations professionals. What experience does your potential social media consultant have in marketing and public relations?
Social media is not a silver bullet. It should be part of a comprehensive marketing strategy and complement the other marketing tactics being used. How does your prospective social media consultant propose to integrate social media with the rest of your marketing mix? If he or she recommends eliminating most of your other marketing activities, run for your life.
Social media is not a quick fix. It may take months to engage with your target audience. You don't build relationships with the flick of a switch or the posting of a fan page.
You can't set it and forget it. It can take a couple of hours each day to monitor and participate on social media metworks and update your own corporate accounts. So who is going to do that, you or your consultant?
Where is your consultant learning about social media best practices? From other dental industry social media experts? This can be akin to attending a hillbilly wedding.
One resource I find extremely helpful is the web site http://www.socialnetdaily.com/ which covers the following topics in great detail:
- Social Networking News
- Social Media News
- Social Marketing News
- Facebook News
- Twitter News
- Blogging News
The bottom line is that social media is real and it's here to stay - Make sure your social media consultant is as well.
6 comments:
Your post is excellent and right on. It is applicable across industries for anyone getting involved in Internet marketing, SEO and social media. I encourage all my clients to be educated buyers.
You're right, social media does take time. Just a Facebook page isn't going to do it. But if you spend the time it may payoff.
Thanks for your post.
doug
Spot on. FaceTweeting alone can take up your whole day, and you have to know what you want to get out of it, or it's a waste of time. For us, it's interaction and engagement, so we can't just post and run. It takes time, energy and commitment to really make social media work. It also takes the guts to let go of your brand control and give some of it to your customers/patients/fans/etc. It can be scary, but it pays off in true fans and ambassadors vs. customers.
Very nice Columbus analogy. I just recently learned how to put up a fan page.
I can't agree more with your sentiments. After building a website and letting it live on the internet, i quickly realized you have to maintain your search engine rankings in order to stay on top. A website is high maintenance!
For a dentist using social media, it seems there has to be someone within the dentist's office who is handling the social media. Consultants can certainly be helpful in setting up and guiding the process, but in order to use social media to communicate with current and prospective patients, a knowledgeable member of the dental staff needs to be able to participate in the process. Our office uses several different social media avenues and we have learned that it becomes easier to manage it over time.
Post a Comment