Facebook offers a tremendous opportunity to create a page for your medical or dental practice providing a vast level of information and detailed content. With the addition of graphics and logos, it also makes a perfect place for brand recognition. Maintain colors on the cover that are consistent with your website.

Many practices or businesses even rely on their Facebook Page as the main website!

The problem is, only followers will get to see your posts.  So, the typical question is “How do I get more Followers?”

7 Easy Steps to get more followers

1. Focus on Your Profile

Complete your profile with a professional picture that shows eyes looking out to greet the viewer and a welcoming expression.

Forget about that photo taken with the family or pets when it comes to uploading your profile image. Also forget about that funny photo with the Halloween costume taken at last year’s party.  This needs to convey an air of professionalism.

If the practice is a multi-group office, consider having a photograph of the office and building instead, saving your personal profile picture for the ‘About’ section.

Have a description that conveys your services and how you help others. Most importantly, have a link to your website.

When viewers are deciding whether or not to follow you, they look at your profile first.  They want to know that you are someone they want to know, someone who has relevance to them, someone who can help them, educate them or entertain them.

To increase your chances of acquiring fans, fill out your profile as meticulously as possible.

Note – Filling a complete profile on each of the social media sites is one of the most effective means of marketing and it doesn’t cost anything!

2. Complete an About Section

Include:

• Photographs of yourself and your staff (with a description of their function in the office under the photo of each staff member)
• Office Telephone number
• Office address
• Mission statement
• Participating insurance plans
• Covering physicians
• Hospital affiliations

3.  Invite Your Friends and Patients (whose email addresses you have been collecting)

Let everyone you know that you have a new FaceBook Page up and invite those who you think would be most interested in it. After you have received 25 fans, you can obtain a vanity URL for the page (i.e. facebook.com/yourbrandname), which will appear more professional when you then share the URL.

4. Link

Link your profile via email and other social networks. Tweet your new URL and ask members of your Twibe to follow you on your new Facebook Page. Let people in your LinkedIn account or Instagram to check out the new site.

5. Call to Action

As with everything else you do, don’t forget to add the call to action on your Facebook profile and on the various posts.  This can be to refer someone to your website, to make an appointment, enter a contest or to get a premium that you are offering. (E.g. whitepaper, FAQ sheet, etc.)

Consider a call-to-action on some blog posts to check out the Facebook Page.

6. Add Buttons and Boxes

Adding a like button and like box are two great features that you can add to your website and Fan page.  This will garner more fans. Enter your Facebook page URL for the like button. For the like button, insert your Facebook page URL, and edit options for a feed of your posts.

Facebook provides a large selection of widgets and buttons that you can add to your site, catering to your style and website personality.

7. Respond, Respond, and Respond

Like a lot of other people’s posts in your genre.  According to the law of reciprocity, a certain percentage of people that you like will like you in return. Comment on images or videos that are in your niche and where you can have helpful input or where you can provide solutions.  Comments get noticed even more than likes and often viewers will reciprocate.  When you get comments, always comment or respond back – at least put a like for the effort that they put out in commenting. The best comments are on sites where there are few others so that you really stand out.

Remember, the purpose of social media is in building relationships.  Keeping conversations going when people initiate them or answer your questions best does this.

Have at least 7 images or posts prior to promoting your site.  No one wants to follow a blank page!

If you want to add followers even faster, consider a few targeted ads to your specific audience. Investing a bit for the extended reach can really ramp up the fan base.

Now that you have taken the seven steps above, it’s time to go live!

Don’t have the time for this?  No worries.  Contact Barbara@TheMedicalStrategist.com for help or a free consultation. We’ll get you up and running!

By Barbara Hales, M.D.
www.TheMedicalStrategist.com

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