LinkedIn for Medical Professionals

LinkedIn is one of the top social networking sites, yet it often is overlooked by medical professionals.

It's an incredibly valuable tool for any professional and I recommend that everybody, even cosmetic dentists, take time to make his or her profile complete and up-to-date. Here are just a few reasons why:

• LinkedIn is a great place to establish yourself as an industry leader and expert. You can contribute to discussion groups (and maybe even take away some useful information as well).

• Prospective patients can see your impressive credentials—many of which would otherwise go unknown.

• Your profile is another place to show referrals and testimonials. An integral part of LinkedIn is the feature that allows people to recommend you or your service. Past patients, other doctors, and friends can write short recommendations that are then posted on to your profile.

• You can post links to your website or blog on your profile, which is great for driving traffic to your website and SEO.

You would be amazed how often patients research their doctors on LinkedIn before making a call to the office - I do it every time. Your profile (or lack thereof) may be their first impression. And nobody wants to use a cosmetic dentist who is out-of-touch or out-of-date.

Dental Website with Video

Dr. Mary Walsh-Cole is a site that just went live. It shows great use of video. Also, it's very easy for the user to navigate through and get the information they need.

Guaranteed SEO - Does it Exist?

Simply put: Yes it does. You can find SEO firms that offer guarantees, but you need to be careful about what it is that they are promising. Any firm can guarantee a first page listing, but is it for natural listings or the sponsored listings? If it’s sponsored listings, you could do it yourself by setting up a Google ad-word account and could be on the first page the next day. To me, that is not true SEO.

True SEO means that your website will appear in the natural listings. If a firm guarantees that they will help your website appear in the natural listings, make sure they have a reasonable time-table to get you there. If anyone says they can get you to page 1 in a month or two, be very wary. To make a website appear on the first page in such a short amount of time means that they are probably using "black hat" tactics to get you there. The worst thing you could do is upset the search engines with these tactics and have them ban your site. If this happens, it could take years for your site to show up again.

At Page 1 Solutions, we offer a very simple guarantee: We don’t charge upfront fees and you don’t start paying fees until you there are documented results on the search engines' natural listing. You can learn more here.

The most important thing is to do your homework when you are trying to choose a firm and if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

Before & After Galleries: Including the Less Obvious

“Before and After” galleries are essential elements to any effective cosmetic dentistry website. They are great tools for keeping visitors on your website, stimulating interest and desire for your dentistry services and converting visitors into new patients.

However, creating this showcase is not as simple as just pasting photos of your best work. You may be tempted to display only the most dramatic of cases, but try to remember that the main reason that prospective patients visit this section of your website is to see pictures of patients that had problems that resemble their own. They want to be able to relate to your past patients and see results that are similar to what they are hoping for. Be sure to showcase not only the full mouth restorations, but also the simpler, more subtle cases as well. For a great example, check out the photo gallery for Monterey cosmetic dentist, Dr. Terry W. Forsberg.

Social Media Marketing and the Economy

Even in the toughest of times, people still care about their smile. While the recession has certainly taken its toll, a new web marketing strategy has emerged for cosmetic dentists.

Numerous reports are stating that the downturn of the economy is directly impacting the growth of social media marketing. More and more often, people are relying upon free websites such as LinkedIn and Facebook to help decide which dental practice is best for them. This, in turn, has led to a trend in utilizing these sites as a marketing tool.

Having profiles on various social sites allows potential patients to become familiar and comfortable with your practice and demonstrates that you have nothing to hide. It provides satisfied patients with the opportunity to express how pleased they are with their pearly whites, which undoubtedly resonates with potential patients considering your practice. Reviews and recommendations are an incredibly effective, and inexpensive, way to generate leads. 

New Website

Here's an example of a new cosmetic dentistry website. It's for a dentist in New Jersey, Aesthetic Dentistry of Bernardsville - www.proudtosmile.com.

Dental Patients ARE Online

Don't think that dental patients go online much? Check out Twitter's search for "dentist". Twitter.com is a website where people post mini-blog entries about what they are doing (i.e. Drinking coffee with my mother). There are people practically every minute "tweeting" about being at or going to the dental office. Ask your patients to blog or Twitter about you to build your reputation online!