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 to have, and as part of a coordinated approach to customer
communications, and Social Media should play a factor as part of your
2012 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 2012 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 by Jan 2012
The
UK is the 3rd 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"?
o
It
is much quicker to build a network if you already have one!
·
Are
you familiar with the technology?
o
It
is far less time consuming if you know the shortcuts and etiquette
·
Can
anyone close help you?
o
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.
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 article @rcsconsulting!!
(providing expert tweetments).
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