Social Networking the RCS Way.

Conversations around Social Networking generally go something like this;

Dr - "I heard Social Media is important, I need to get with this"

RCS - It really depends on what you want to achieve.

Dr - "I mean it's the future, isn't it?"

RCS - It's become a major communications channel, and is very useful for increasing brand awareness

Dr - "Times are tough, and need my business to grow"

RCS - That is your real need right there, Social Media is a tool that can help

Dr – “Great, how do I build a network really quickly? Will it take long?”

This is an ace conversation, as part of a coordinated approach to customer communications, and Social Media should play a factor as part of your 2013 marketing plan.

However, the reality is that for the majority of small businesses in the Medical Aesthetics Sector, Social Media Tools are something that "is important and I'll get around to it". We know that they are important, but why? How do use them? What do I do? How long will it take?

Well, it's 2012 and Facebook launched in 2004, 8 years is an aeon ago in technological terms, and a large amount on information on the Web on the myriad of reasons why a business should engage in Social Networking. A quick Google Search will provide you with hours of bedtime reading, and the purpose of this article is to show you The How and help to cut down on the time needed to translate “the Why to the How”

I have done the work and provided 10 simple activities that will get you up and running, or a “0-60 Plan”. There are many, many ways to skin a Cat, and my prescribed activities are by no means the only way, but if you want 2013 to be the "Year I finally get my head around Social Networking", you have to start somewhere.

Well, somewhere is here with a few ideas to get you going. 

Getting Started.

Before you launch headlong into this, take a step back and think. Have you really identified the WHY you need your to use Social Media? 

Like my conversation at the beginning of the article, the real need here was to grow the business, which means using Social Media as a means to ENGAGE and CONNECT with YOUR PATIENTS.

A Social Networking objective would fit into one of the following categories, and ideally move through them in order;

1. Initiate Interaction

2. Develop Relationships

3. Foster Loyalty

4. Develop Advocacy

Conveniently, these also fit very nicely into the Acquire – Retain – Return lifecycle of an Aesthetic Patient. 

You Initiate Interaction in the Acquisition phase through outbound marketing

Once in the clinic develop the relationship and encourage Retention through loyalty and finally encourage them to be a long term Returning patient, advocate and eventual evangelist.

Activity One – Thorough Planning and Goals

• Think through
• Know what your goals are

• Are you trying to acquire patients?
• Are you looking to communicate with existing patients?
• Are you looking to raise your profile within the industry?

Take your time, as your answers to these questions will inform you and make sure that your efforts are consistent. Once you know what your goals are, you will be able to measure the effectiveness of your efforts and ensure you choose the right tools for the job.

The Tools of the trade

OK, so you know what the objective is, now we need to choose the network and medium. I would start with the one of the following;

• Blog - The WeBlog, great if you have a lot to say, but can be time consuming to write original content

• Website - The humble website, being useful since 1995. Don’t overcomplicate matters and add the Blog page to your website. www.blogger.com is a good simple one to use, if you want something a little more advanced www.wordpress.com is your weapon of choice. Both integrated nicely with websites.

• Twitter - Amazing how much you can squeeze into 140 characters, great for quick comments to connections and simplicity itself to set up. Can be quite fun too!!

• Facebook – You’ve heard of it because it is huge Massive. The sheer scale of Facebook is astonishing, this is where your patients live – let’s just look at the numbers for a minute;

• Estimated 1BN users 
• The UK is the 3^rd biggest Facebook audience after the US and Indonesia
• 1 million new UK users sign up to the site each month
• Women between 35-54 fastest growing segment
• 50% of UK users logging in every day

• LinkedIN - Awesome tool for building business credibility and a great online CV.

Activity Two  -  Choose 1 or 2 Networks, and base on this criteria;

• Are you currently using it "socially"? 
• It is much quicker to build a network if you already have one!
• Are you familiar with the technology? 
• It is far less time consuming if you know the shortcuts and etiquette
• Can anyone close help you? 
• If you don't know what #ff means, ask someone you know who is active on the network (or tweet @rcsconsulting)

If you are stuck, go with Twitter, Facebook, Blogger. Simple and effective.

Go to their homepages, set up your accounts. Twitter is a very straightforward process, Facebook is a little more complicated as you need to set up on Facebook pages, not a Facebook Page. Confusing, but the helpful chaps at

Your Window to the world, the Biography and Image

Before we can start inviting people to connect, you need to let them know who you are. 

I love the fact that Social Networking etiquette allows us to blur the boundaries between work and life, we are human, so allow yourself to have some fun. Be professional and consider what you want your patients to see about you; even Alan Sugar is funny on Twitter. Remember that people buy from people, just ask Mr Branson.

Activity Three – Look at some of your colleagues bios and get some decent images of yourself (RCSConsulting practice what you preach)

Begin building your network.

Things should have been pretty simple so far, and you’ll have spent 5-6 hrs depending on your skill level. You now know what you want to achieve, you have your accounts, nice photo of you looking professional and imperious, and now are ready to start building your network. 

Start safely and invite family and friends onto Facebook, and ask for honest feedback people who you trust and implement it. Personally I prefer Twitter; I find it much more fun than Facebook as it is a constant stream of noise and wonderful conversation, so I have linked Twitter to my Facebook page (more on that later).

Activity Four – Invite people you know and trust first, then open up to the wolves.

Work Smarter - Link them together

A big benefit of using a number of tools or channels is that you can often do it without having to duplicate your efforts. You don’t need to post on Twitter, and then Facebook and then LinkedIN for example. By putting #IN on a Twitter post will automatically update it on your LinkedIN status. But you knew that didn’t you, as you are becoming a serious Networking Ninja.

That being said, let me save you hours of strife – recent changes made to Facebook now mean that you can’t add your blog feed into Facebook pages. 

This is clearly not helpful as you will need to copy and paste into Facebook, and I have voiced my displeasure to Mr Zuckerberg. However Twitter links with Facebook very easily and vice versa, just look for Twitter in Facebook Apps.

Activity Five – Link Facebook to Twitter and LinkedIN

Start Being Social!

Yep, no hiding anymore – you now actually have to start writing original comedy, or insightful business musings that will have the world rubbing its chin in a collective “hmmm”. Maybe, or just think about your identified goals and objectives, as what you write is linked directly to your audience. Be yourself and comment on your interests, if you hate Motor Racing, don’t try to be an authority on it.

Activity Six - Be honest in your choice of topics

Invite the thought leaders

The other stupendous thing with Social Networking is the amount expert opinion there is to be found, and you are your patients expert. Align yourself with the industry leaders and people you admire and you never know you might get airtime with them.

Also now choose and invite your top 20% patients with a personal invite and message.

These are crucial in establishing your credibility with your patients, and moving them towards loyalty and evangelism

Start developing relationships 

If you haven’t gathered by now I am a fan of Twitter – it makes Connecting and engaging with your new network very easy indeed!. Like all things in life, you get what you give, so be generous with your time and network. 

Here are some tactics I have used to grow and connect with my network;

• Thank people for following you
• ReTweet interesting updates
• Engage in activity and discussions
• Use #ff every Friday to recommend your favourite “Tweep” to your followers. 

Activity Seven –Engage fully!

Measurement Tools to use

Tracking you efforts is quite straightforward and again, links to your goals and objectives. Don’t get too carried away with followers and friend numbers, what you should track are the ones you influence and can work with to grow the business and spread the word.

Good tool to use is www.klout.com, which uses complicated algorithms to tell you how important you are and Will tell you if you are on the right track.

Activity Eight – Measure your success with patients.

Be consistent with your efforts and don’t overdo the “me” 

It is very easy to unwittingly alienate people on Twitter. 

Just think of yourself hiring a nice consultant, me perhaps. We link up on Twitter and I bombard you with tweets of me enjoying a debonair lifestyle and not working. Suddenly, you will become keenly focused on the fee and not the quality of my work. Your patients would react in the same way. A nice way of thinking about it is the concept of a Cocktail Party; if you meet Mr or Mrs BIG I AM, how do you react?

If you feel uncomfortable talking about it in an intimate gathering, don’t tweet it.

Social Media is the MEDIUM, Facebook and Twitter are the TOOLS, the mechanism for you to use to ENGAGE with your patients. It is still a patient at the end of the day, and you still need to have an objective and a plan to acquire them.

However, before you start think about how much time you have to dedicate to this. You need to be disciplined and commit at least 2-5 hours per week to be consistent with your efforts and not be a flash in the pan.

Also, and quite boringly if you are employed or are a contractor check that organisations policy on the use of Social Networking. Some are quite restrictive, and it would be a shame to have to shut down after a few days

Activity Nine – Have fun, enjoy exploring the Twitterverse and Facebook pages 

Activity Ten  - Feedback is a gift, let me know what you think of this blog! @rcsconsulting!! (providing expert tweetments).

Sign up for the Practice Transformations Course at;

http://www.wigmoremedical.com/events/practice-transforming-aesthetic-business/

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