It was about this time a year ago that some of my clients started asking me about social networking as a means of marketing their practices. There were some specialty online communities that were popping up trying to focus a discussion specifically on cosmetic procedures. That started the discussion and I gave the same answer a year ago that I give now: “Don’t expect a lot from specialized online communities.”
You want to swim in the big pool, not be part of a small, focused interest group if you want to market cosmetic services. Broad services with millions of users, such as Facebook, Twitter or MySpace offer you a broad reach. And that is what you want.
Let’s talk about Facebook, for example. Millions are interconnected on Facebook. It is a virtual representation of our society, only enhanced by technology. Literally, you can trace paths of who is connected with who. And, information is passed along rather easily, connecting people with comments, links, photos and more. The important principle here is that it is just like the real world. The technology just makes it easier to network.
This is where you have to have two different schools of thought working at once. The first concept is networking. You need to be available, active and consistent. In other words participate actively. The second concept is an advertising principle of broadcasting. On this medium, you can niche market to your friends but you have the ability to broadcast into their circles of influence. If any of this sounds foreign to you, just join up. Go to Facebook.com now and sign up. It’s free. You can start by searching me (Donald Griswold if you are not paying attention) and just start clicking through to my friends, interests, etc. This is how it is with everybody on this social networking site.
If you do this, you will see Amy Norman, DDS PS. This is a leading edge client who has been developing a Facebook strategy for several weeks now. It is an example of your could look like. Offline and online, they are inviting everyone they know to be part of their Circle of Influence online. And, every day or so, they touch that database with something related to the practice. From there, it is visible to the people who visit their friends’ pages.
Now the networking part... think of that like any other database-building project. It is hands on. The broadcasting part.. think of that like buying radio spots. You are broadcasting only you are doing it in a written format that stays around for a while. So, how do you use that post for more than just name recognition and branding?
Well, how about thinking like a broadcast station? A radio station generates lots of buzz for its clients with giveaways. We’ve all heard the old “13th caller gets...” giveaway scenario. It works because a lot of people hear it and receive the promotional buzz but only one comes away with the prize. This principle can easily be used on Facebook. Just post on your wall specials that go to the first person to contact you and ask for it and you will be using a very successful and affordable promotional model. Be regular with it and people will expect it and turn their like-minded friends onto it. And, look at that, you are networking and your patients and friends are helping you market your practice.
These are just a few thoughts. It is free form right now because this media is relatively new. You already know you should be networking, so why not do it? If you have any questions about using social networking for your practice, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Video Display Ads
A few weeks ago, I wrote about using the Display Ad program at Reach Local as a rebranding program. For those of you who missed that, the idea starts with Pay Per Click with Reach Local. When a visitor clicks through on a paid ad from Reach Local, their cookie is remembered. Later, when that visitor comes back on the Internet and visit sites that offer display banner ads in Reach Local’s program (popular sites like Yahoo or Facebook), your ad comes up on their visits. In other words, your banner ads follow these past visitors to your web site, like a smart ad placement... a very smart one.
The idea is basic advertising, multiple repetitions. And, how do you make that more powerful? Video of course. These ads were cut down from Dr. Pat McMenamin’s web site video and created for his coming banner display ad campaign. So, now, past visitors come to his web site, who have seen him talk about cosmetic surgery on the site, will be reminded of that visit not only graphically, but with video.
Here is a sample of what this can look like:
welcome ad
breast augmentation ad
lipo ad
If there was ever a time to add video to your web site it is now, since it is a simple extension of that project to create re-branding display banner ads for programs like this. If you want to add this sort of enhancement to your site and your rebranding, contact me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
The idea is basic advertising, multiple repetitions. And, how do you make that more powerful? Video of course. These ads were cut down from Dr. Pat McMenamin’s web site video and created for his coming banner display ad campaign. So, now, past visitors come to his web site, who have seen him talk about cosmetic surgery on the site, will be reminded of that visit not only graphically, but with video.
Here is a sample of what this can look like:
welcome ad
breast augmentation ad
lipo ad
If there was ever a time to add video to your web site it is now, since it is a simple extension of that project to create re-branding display banner ads for programs like this. If you want to add this sort of enhancement to your site and your rebranding, contact me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
What should your web site be like?
It is pretty clear that your web site is critical to getting new business. If you are tracking your marketing properly, you are probably in the vast majority that know your web site is one of the main deciding factors for prospects checking you out. So, in broad terms, this is what your web site should be like:
Template sites say you don’t care.
If your site looks like everyone else’s web site, then you are not making a very good first impression. This is likely to be costing you leads and business right now. It is important to have a look, feel and content that is unique to your practice.
Calls to action that are traceable.
Your site should allow people to reach you in which every way they feel comfortable. For some, that means that filling out a form, for some that means email you and for some that means calling. Our in-house data shows that our clients get about 7.5-8 calls for every email contact that comes in from the web site. They know this by using tracking phone numbers on their web sites. When you trace how people react, you can make sure your site is more intuitive for how the majority wants to reach out to you. This is how you use tracking information to sharpen the sword. The same way you can track site visits and inbound emails, you should be tracking calls to understand exactly what is going on.
Feature the doctor.
You are your best selling tool. I always ask clients that if all things were equal, would a prospective patient choose you simply on merit. Of course they would... but things are not equal. Your competitors are trying to put their best foot forward on the web and you should, too. That means featuring the doctor as much as possible. This is best done with a video drop of the doctor speaking. It conveys credibility, establishes a feel for the doctor and begins laying the groundwork for trust.
Quit hiding.
There are so many reasons why small businesses fail at climbing search engine rankings. The top two reason are 1) Ego and 2) Impatience. Believe it or not, small businesses can succeed at SEO but you have to be practical about it. First of all, choose effective keywords. It is easy to get sucked into attractive keywords that result in no chance of getting placed. This is where ego comes in. You start thinking that because of what you do and who you are and how long you have done it that you SHOULD be listed highly on the best terms. These factors have no bearing on the situation. We recommend choosing terms that will be best for getting you traffic. They may not be the sexy terms everyone wants but they are effective in driving traffic and will have fewer competitors. These terms are found through research, not guesswork. This doesn’t mean that you can’t be optimized on the bigger and more prominent words, it just means you are putting your efforts into terms with which you can succeed more quickly.
And, wanting to succeed more quickly leads to impatience. Climbing in search rankings can be a lengthy process. So, if your goal is to have traffic now, then Pay Per Click should be part of your program. We recommend a balance of Pay Per Click and optimization of efficient keywords. Everything else (and there is a lot of techno-mumbo-jumbo to confuse you on this) is not measurable and can seem unfocused. If SEO is the cost of doing business on the Internet (and it is) then we think it is best focused in areas where you can see progress. If not, people tend to throw up their hands in frustration and walk away from SEO or, worse, spend way to much re-inventing their problems.
So, in basic terms, this is what your web site should be like. If you do not see your site in this image of a successful site, then this is where you should be making changes right now. If you need help in any of these areas, Dog Star Media is ready to help. Just contact me at donald@dogstarmedia.com or 214-545-5992 for help.
Template sites say you don’t care.
If your site looks like everyone else’s web site, then you are not making a very good first impression. This is likely to be costing you leads and business right now. It is important to have a look, feel and content that is unique to your practice.
Calls to action that are traceable.
Your site should allow people to reach you in which every way they feel comfortable. For some, that means that filling out a form, for some that means email you and for some that means calling. Our in-house data shows that our clients get about 7.5-8 calls for every email contact that comes in from the web site. They know this by using tracking phone numbers on their web sites. When you trace how people react, you can make sure your site is more intuitive for how the majority wants to reach out to you. This is how you use tracking information to sharpen the sword. The same way you can track site visits and inbound emails, you should be tracking calls to understand exactly what is going on.
Feature the doctor.
You are your best selling tool. I always ask clients that if all things were equal, would a prospective patient choose you simply on merit. Of course they would... but things are not equal. Your competitors are trying to put their best foot forward on the web and you should, too. That means featuring the doctor as much as possible. This is best done with a video drop of the doctor speaking. It conveys credibility, establishes a feel for the doctor and begins laying the groundwork for trust.
Quit hiding.
There are so many reasons why small businesses fail at climbing search engine rankings. The top two reason are 1) Ego and 2) Impatience. Believe it or not, small businesses can succeed at SEO but you have to be practical about it. First of all, choose effective keywords. It is easy to get sucked into attractive keywords that result in no chance of getting placed. This is where ego comes in. You start thinking that because of what you do and who you are and how long you have done it that you SHOULD be listed highly on the best terms. These factors have no bearing on the situation. We recommend choosing terms that will be best for getting you traffic. They may not be the sexy terms everyone wants but they are effective in driving traffic and will have fewer competitors. These terms are found through research, not guesswork. This doesn’t mean that you can’t be optimized on the bigger and more prominent words, it just means you are putting your efforts into terms with which you can succeed more quickly.
And, wanting to succeed more quickly leads to impatience. Climbing in search rankings can be a lengthy process. So, if your goal is to have traffic now, then Pay Per Click should be part of your program. We recommend a balance of Pay Per Click and optimization of efficient keywords. Everything else (and there is a lot of techno-mumbo-jumbo to confuse you on this) is not measurable and can seem unfocused. If SEO is the cost of doing business on the Internet (and it is) then we think it is best focused in areas where you can see progress. If not, people tend to throw up their hands in frustration and walk away from SEO or, worse, spend way to much re-inventing their problems.
So, in basic terms, this is what your web site should be like. If you do not see your site in this image of a successful site, then this is where you should be making changes right now. If you need help in any of these areas, Dog Star Media is ready to help. Just contact me at donald@dogstarmedia.com or 214-545-5992 for help.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
New Web Site and Call Stats
Congratulations to William Brennan, MD on the creation of his new neurosurgery web site. You can see it here at lafayetteneuro.com.
Update from Project Watchdog:
Speaking of web sites, how many calls are you getting from your web site? On April 1, we pulled the first group of reports from our new tracking number vendor. Ten clients had numbers active (either fully or partially) in March (many with multiple numbers in multiple mediums). That group of 12 clients fielded 534 calls that were tracked and attributed to media sources and marketing campaigns. Since then nearly all of our active clients have signed up for tracking numbers and each month I will post the gross amount of traffic we are able to identify for sure for our clients.
So how many calls are you getting from your web site? How about from your other major media expenses? Frankly, if you cannot answer this question, you are not being very thorough. Here is the logic for tracking numbers at this point in economic time: If things are slow, you have to make sure you know where results are coming from and cut waste; if things are not so bad, you have the chance to use that knowledge to secure better position overall. The time to make a move on the future is while others are struggling. Either way, there is no reason not to be using this tool, especially at the low price.
It is this kind of accountability that tells us if a given strategy is working. For instance, when a web site tracking number is 10X more productive than a print ad tracking number in the same market, we know where to redirect your efforts and expenses.
Tracking numbers are simply the most affordable marketing measurement tool you can use. The numbers we provide are flat rate, meaning there are no toll or fees for the use of minutes. The annual cost is $480/number/year (coming out to $40/month). If you are spending thousands of dollars on ads you need to perform for you, it is most logical to spend $40/month to know EXACTLY the response to those ads.
Call tracking is part of the Pay Per Click program we endorse at Reach Local. After looking at our clients’ Reach Local data and our own data, we have determined that prospects are responding at a rate of about 8-to-1, calls to email/forms. In other words 8X as many prospects will reply by phone rather than emailing in. This underscores the importance of seeing call results, especially from tracking numbers on their web sites. Matter of fact, I had more than one coaching client tell me they were surprised by the call volume from the web site because they had not seen so many email contacts.
Monitoring/Playback on Calls
This brings up another point about tracking numbers. Clients using our numbers will be able to log online to hear these calls recorded very shortly with the release of a new monitoring interface that is in development. This allows clients to monitor calls for performance, teaching and refining of how calls are handled. This adds another level of value to the tracking number as it allows you to fine-tune your operations. Over the years, I have seen many clients make important adjustments based on the information gleaned from tracking numbers.
At the very least, you should begin by adding a tracking number to your web site. It is almost certain that this will be your largest source of calls and will provide critical marketing data and recorded calls. Once you see the value, it will be easier to add tracking numbers in all the mediums you use. And, once you see the big picture on responses, you will be on the road to a leaner, meaner marketing program, based entirely on results you can see.
If you want to order a tracking telephone number for your web site or for your other media, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
Update from Project Watchdog:
Speaking of web sites, how many calls are you getting from your web site? On April 1, we pulled the first group of reports from our new tracking number vendor. Ten clients had numbers active (either fully or partially) in March (many with multiple numbers in multiple mediums). That group of 12 clients fielded 534 calls that were tracked and attributed to media sources and marketing campaigns. Since then nearly all of our active clients have signed up for tracking numbers and each month I will post the gross amount of traffic we are able to identify for sure for our clients.
So how many calls are you getting from your web site? How about from your other major media expenses? Frankly, if you cannot answer this question, you are not being very thorough. Here is the logic for tracking numbers at this point in economic time: If things are slow, you have to make sure you know where results are coming from and cut waste; if things are not so bad, you have the chance to use that knowledge to secure better position overall. The time to make a move on the future is while others are struggling. Either way, there is no reason not to be using this tool, especially at the low price.
It is this kind of accountability that tells us if a given strategy is working. For instance, when a web site tracking number is 10X more productive than a print ad tracking number in the same market, we know where to redirect your efforts and expenses.
Tracking numbers are simply the most affordable marketing measurement tool you can use. The numbers we provide are flat rate, meaning there are no toll or fees for the use of minutes. The annual cost is $480/number/year (coming out to $40/month). If you are spending thousands of dollars on ads you need to perform for you, it is most logical to spend $40/month to know EXACTLY the response to those ads.
Call tracking is part of the Pay Per Click program we endorse at Reach Local. After looking at our clients’ Reach Local data and our own data, we have determined that prospects are responding at a rate of about 8-to-1, calls to email/forms. In other words 8X as many prospects will reply by phone rather than emailing in. This underscores the importance of seeing call results, especially from tracking numbers on their web sites. Matter of fact, I had more than one coaching client tell me they were surprised by the call volume from the web site because they had not seen so many email contacts.
Monitoring/Playback on Calls
This brings up another point about tracking numbers. Clients using our numbers will be able to log online to hear these calls recorded very shortly with the release of a new monitoring interface that is in development. This allows clients to monitor calls for performance, teaching and refining of how calls are handled. This adds another level of value to the tracking number as it allows you to fine-tune your operations. Over the years, I have seen many clients make important adjustments based on the information gleaned from tracking numbers.
At the very least, you should begin by adding a tracking number to your web site. It is almost certain that this will be your largest source of calls and will provide critical marketing data and recorded calls. Once you see the value, it will be easier to add tracking numbers in all the mediums you use. And, once you see the big picture on responses, you will be on the road to a leaner, meaner marketing program, based entirely on results you can see.
If you want to order a tracking telephone number for your web site or for your other media, please email me at donald@dogstarmedia.com.
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