Tag Archives : Facebook

Last month, I touched on the fact that we weren’t really seeing much ROI from Facebook marketing for our clients and brought some stats that showed we aren’t alone. I also mentioned that Facebook had added a call to action/book an appointment button in an apparent attempt to offer some value to rightfully disgruntled business owners. Well, now Facebook has made yet another effort to improve the virtue of their platform for online marketing – a verification badge. What is the value of a verification badge for business Pages? Verification is a process that many online business directories such as Google My Business and Yelp use to help users find the authentic accounts for businesses (sometimes duplicate pages may exist so this helps users identify and communicate with the real or main one) and provide a “stamp of authenticity” by the business owner. More importantly, verified Pages will also show up higher in Facebook search results and see more exposure on Facebook. Here is an image of what this will look like on your dashboard if your Page is eligible for a verification badge…     While not all Pages are eligible for verification at this time, the option...

Is Facebook Really Worth the Effort? Hey Facebook users – I’ve got a question for you. Anybody found a good way to measure the returns of your practice’s Facebook efforts? Like so many businesses out there, we’ve been investing time, money and resources into Facebook marketing for our clients for years. We know how to get likes and engagement, but we think we are missing something. We’re measuring, but we aren’t finding website traffic as a result of this engagement. And we are asking, but we don’t hear from any practices that patients came to them because of Facebook. In other words, in pursuit of all of these likes, shares and comments, we don’t see that it is actually amounting to much in terms of practice revenue. And it seems we are onto something…In a survey conducted last April by Manta which asked small business owners for insights on their social media return on investment (ROI), 59% reported that they did not see ROI from their social media activities. Similarly, in it’s 2015 Social Media Marketing Industry Report, Social Media Examiner found that only 45% of marketers interviewed reported that their Facebook marketing is effective. Further,...

To many marketers out there, successful Facebook marketing is marked by an ever increasing number of “Likes” or fans – a successful campaign brings in Likes, and that number is the metric that really counts. However, when you think about what these fans are doing after they like your Page, this could present a very different perspective. Are “Likes” Useless? Let’s face it. The truth is that many, if not most, of the users who have Liked your Facebook Page have and never will actually engage with the content you post and many will never visit the Page. One study by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute in Australia, which looked at the fan activity of a major brand, showed that less than 1% of their fans actually interacted with their Page. While this may be an extreme case, it does illustrate the idea that quantity does not equal quality when it comes to fans! So is it a wasted effort to spend time and money trying to get more Likes and to use this metric as a measure of success, when you are likely not getting any real interaction from your fans? Does this number in any way translate to revenue in your pocket in the form of new patients and appointments? We have asked two OD...

At the end of April Facebook rolled out yet another algorithm update. In general the changes put less focus on how friends are engaging on Facebook in favor of content that the user has shown an interest in. Some marketing experts feel this could possibly win back some of the organic reach lost after Facebook’s last update – if you do your Facebook marketing right, that is. Here are updates that Facebook has made and how they can change the way users experience Facebook: 1. Now able to see multiple posts from the same source: Facebook has relaxed their rules that previously prevented this from happening, now allowing more content from one page or friend to get through to the News Feed. 2. Posts such as photos, videos, and status updates from friends and pages that you care about (meaning you visit their pages and interact with them regularly) will be pushed up into the News Feed. 3. Posts about friends liking or commenting on a page’s content will be given less importance and pushed down the News Feed. When it comes down to it, these changes mean that users are more likely to see content they care about directly from friends and the pages they have liked and interact...

Here are five good reasons why you must be advertising on Facebook. 1 –1$ A Day Still Gets Results The minimum spend on Facebook advertising is only $1 a day. With this small budget, you can reach thousands of people that meet your specific criteria. With AdWords, you would be lucky to get two clicks a day. You also have multiple bid types available. Cost per Thousand (CPM) Cost per click (CPC) Optimized cost per Thousand (oCPM) oCPM is when Facebook shows your ad to people that FB believe are most likely to take action. Cost per action (CPA) Choose the right option that best fits your needs. 2 – The Targeting Options For Facebook Ads Are Impressive Unlike AdWords, Facebook ads are targeted to the users’ demographic and interests, not what they’re searching for. Because of this, the refinement available to you, when you set up the audience targeting for your ads, is impressive. With so many targeting options and combinations available, you can ensure that your budget is only spent on the most relevant audience. 3 – Facebook Has A Massive Audience, Including Your Customers Facebook claims to have 1.28 billion active users with over 800 million users active daily. You can...

Many business owners are apprehensive to say the least about letting staff members represent their business on social media. And based on a number of “staff gone wild” horror stories out there, this fear could be justified…unless you take the proper steps to train your staff to post responsibly. Those that refrain from allowing their staff to take an active role in social media outlets, such as Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Pinterest, etc., are actually minimizing the impact social media can have on getting their practice name out, engaging patients and creating buzz in their local community. Alternatively, involving your staff in social media marketing can exponentially increase the effectiveness of your outreach. Before we go into some steps on how to engage your employees in social media, here are some reasons you want your staff to contribute to social media in the first place: 1) Your employees can be some of your greatest brand ambassadors. Hopefully more for better than for worse, your staff represents your brand and each one has a lot of expertise and ideas to share. With the right guidance, you can engage your staff to promote a vibrant and valuable image of your Practice...

It’s a new year and now is the time to plan out your integrated marketing calendar for the upcoming year. Planning ahead will get you organized and allow for the proper time and organization to create higher caliber and more effective marketing campaigns. Here is a 5 step plan and some helpful campaign download links to get your marketing off the ground and patients in the door… Step 1 Brainstorm Campaign Ideas: Brainstorm ideas for thematic or time-related/seasonal campaigns: Make a list of all the holidays (national and local) and eye care observance days (Glaucoma month etc.) and their dates. Consider running a FSA campaign late in the year. Here is one idea: Use It or Lose It campaign. Now list seasonal themes (ski season, spring allergies, beach season, back to school, college vacations etc.) you might want to use for a campaign. Download a free allergy video and campaign here. Add any specialties or relevant eye care or product topics that you might want to highlight (children’s vision, dry eyes, UV, transitions lenses, etc.). Try this campaign with a pediatric focus. Think about local events such as country fairs, sports, educational or cultural events, that you might...

After months of gradually reducing organic reach for “overly promotional posts,” come the New Year, Facebook will finally be ending organic social marketing for good. According to a Facebook study, there is now far more content being made than there is time to absorb it. On average, there are 1,500 stories that could appear in a person’s News Feed each time he logs onto Facebook. For people with lots of friends and Page likes, as many as 15,000 potential stories could appear any time they log on. As a result, competition for any story to gain exposure in people’s News Feeds (the place on Facebook where people view content from their family, friends and business Pages) is growing. Facebook has determined users don’t want to see promotional content and as a result, less of it will be appearing within the News Feed. Facebook defines any of the following as being promotional: Posts that solely push people to buy a product or install an app Posts that push people to enter promotions and sweepstakes with no real context Posts that reuse the exact same content from ads Facebook recommends that page owners continue using the most effective strategy to reach their targeted audience...

The holiday season is a time for big spending, and with a little strategy, your Practice can get more than its fair share of it. Here are 6 quick marketing ideas that can boost your Holiday Season revenue even more. • FaceBook Ads Now is the time to consider spending $100 on Facebook ads. The Holiday Season is indeed a social one and ‘sharing is caring’. Consider a FB ad that attracts your community to your FB page and encourages them to engage and share your content. Practice awareness leads to more appointments, which in turn leads to more sales. • College Students Holiday time is about family time and that means students come home for college breaks to reunite with friends and family. Most universities have at least a few weeks off around the New Year, allowing students time to schedule a yearly eye exam and update their wardrobe with a new pair of specs or a refill on contact lenses. If college students are part of your clientele, run a student promotion through January such as a discount on frames or lenses or a relevant giveaway with a purchase. • Gift Givers While it may be hard to pick out a pair of prescription glasses for a loved one, sunglasses and frame...

Bob Main, a 35 year optical industry veteran, announces the formation of a new internet education company, whose main purpose is to provide free education to ECPs on how to use the internet and social media to grow their practice. The primary source of educational material will be presented on a new website, www.ECPWebCoach.com. The company also has a Facebook Page, YouTube Channel and Google+ page, where ECPs can connect to get valuable and timely information on how to improve their social media engagement. The website is designed to be a single source of information, by covering a wide variety of topics including: ECP websites Facebook page design and management Google+ LinkedIn e-Newsletters Online marketing SEO and much more The educational material is presented in a variety of formats including: Webinars (live and recorded) Articles Videos E-Books Open forum chat room where ECPs can get answers to internet and social media related questions. Free Weekly e-Newsletter and Webinars– The Company is also sending out a weekly e-newsletter dubbed, “Weekly Web-Tips for ECPs”. The e-newsletter has quick-tip videos, article summaries, webinar announcements and links back to...

Eyewear industry leader ClearVision Optical begins its annual FaceBoo photo contest on its Facebook page, facebook.com/clearvisionoptical. Since 2010, ClearVision has hosted the annual FaceBoo Halloween contest to engage its customers on social media in a fun, spirited way. This social media contest, held exclusively on ClearVision’s Facebook page, offers customers an interactive activity to engage in friendly competition, as well as the opportunity to win prizes. FaceBoo officially begins on Friday, October 24 and runs through Thursday, November 6, 2014. Customers are encouraged to post photos of their staff dressed in Halloween costumes, or of their decorated offices, on ClearVision’s Facebook page, facebook.com/clearvisionoptical. Submissions are also accepted via email to facebook@cvoptical.com. The top 10 photos that receive the most “likes” by will be entered into a random drawing for gift cards in the following amounts: $200 for 1st place; $150 for 2nd place; $100 for 3rd place. Customers can share more than one photo. ClearVision’s FaceBoo contest is one of its many social media initiatives designed to encourage the optical community to engage and share. To learn more...

It seems like everyone today is starting a healthcare blog. Sounds easy and is easy on the surface, but blogging is a lot of work and needs a well thought out plan before getting started. Blogs can be a great addition to your website. They are an excellent means of delivering health information quickly to a broad audience in a more colloquial and comprehensible way. Once your blog is up and running, it is easy to add new content and cross-market your blog with social media such as Facebook and Twitter posts. Your blog can be well integrated into your website and with some forethought refer the reader back to your website for even greater information on the subjects you are writing about in your blog. This will keep your website content fresh and make a positive impact on your search engine results. It’s important to determine what you want to accomplish and what type of content you want to create to build engagement with your community. Before launching your eye care blog, review these five important considerations: Determine how much time you will need to invest to produce a quality blog. In addition to writing, you’ll want a separate pair of eyes to edit. Many optometrists choose...

Essilor of America, the nation’s leading manufacturer of optical lenses, and Essilor Vision Foundation will join Essilor Group subsidiaries and partners from around the world in a digital campaign—#bettersightbetterlife— to raise awareness of the importance of vision care for World Sight Day on Oct. 9. The #bettersightbetterlife campaign is being launched by Essilor and Essilor Vision Foundation to build awareness of the significant socioeconomic costs resulting from poor vision, compared with the relative ease of correcting and preventing vision problems. World Sight Day, organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), is an annual day that draws global attention to blindness, visual impairment and rehabilitation of the visually impaired. The event serves as a significant opportunity to raise public awareness about the importance of good vision through regular eye exams and effective vision equipment. Through #bettersightbetterlife, Essilor and Essilor Vision Foundation are urging social media users around the world to sponsor World Sight Day by pledging support through their Twitter and Facebook profiles. The #bettersightbetterlife video is available here. To pledge support...

At this stage, it’s fair to say that a web presence is critical to the success of your business. As you know, for the last 10 years or so we’ve seen a surge in both the number and popularity of social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, making it much simpler to publish content online. Whether you are running a small business or corporation, the numbers make it clear: Your customers are online. They are interacting in social channels with their friends, colleagues, and other brands in search of information, recommendations, and entertainment. If your business is not around to answer, a competitor will be. The first action you should take is to look at what are you’re trying to promote. What are your assets? Who are your target customers? Guide to Using Social Media for Marketing Using social media for marketing can enable a small business to further their reach to more customers. Your customers are interacting with brands through social media; therefore, having a strong social media presence on the web is the key to tap into their interest. If implemented correctly, marketing with social media can bring remarkable success to your business. What...

If you are feeling Facebook phobic, you aren’t alone. Social media can be overwhelming when you don’t have a well-thought-out plan of action, especially if you aren’t a frequent user. However, with a little bit of know-how and strategy, your Facebook page can be manageable and an effective part of your overall web marketing. First, you need to define realistic goals. While it is not very realistic to think that you will generate an influx of new patients and exam appointments from a Facebook post, you can set a goal of getting more fans, increasing your exposure or establishing expertise and loyalty from patients. Facebook is an effective retention tool which allows you to maintain a relationship with your patients, keeping your practice top of mind when they do decide it’s time for a visit. Next, plan a campaign. Choose your goal, stay focused and plan ahead. In addition to weekly posts on a variety of topics, a targeted campaign will enhance engagement and potentially bring more people to your page. Here are three different types of Facebook campaigns and how they can impact your social media success. 1) The “Like” Campaign: To increase fan base, reach...