Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

part of the oprogroup CONTACT US NOW! OPRO Ltd, A1(M) Business Centre, 151 Dixons Hill Road, Welham Green, Hatfield, Herts. AL9 7JE www.smileguard.co.uk email info@smileguard.co.uk or call 01707 251252 * SmileGuard - the first to provide independent certification relating to EC Directive 89/686/EEC and CE marking for mouthguards. Something to Smile about!... SmileGuard is part of the OPRO Group, internationally renowned for revolutionising the world of custom-fitting mouthguards. Our task is to support the dental professional with the very latest and best oral protection and thermoformed products available today. In 2007, OPRO was granted the UK's most prestigious business award, the Queen's Award in recognition of outstanding innovation. Custom-fitting Mouthguards* – the best protection for teeth against sporting oro-facial injuries and concussion. OPROshield – a self-fit guard enabling patients to play sport whilst awaiting their custom–fit guard. NightGuards – the most comfortable and effective way to protect teeth from bruxism. Bleaching Trays – the simplest and best method for whitening teeth. Snoreguards – snugly fitting appliances to reduce or eradicate snoring. OPROrefresh – mouthguard and tray cleaning tablets. 7320_09_3 September 12-18, 201118 Social Media United Kingdom Edition A re you looking for cost effective ways to expand your online presence? You are not alone: Every day, greater portions of marketing budgets are being dedicated to online efforts be- cause that is where patients are spending more and more of their time. However, the greatest challenge with on- line marketing is how fiercely dynamic it is. Some common concerns I often hear are: 1How will we know if some- one is saying something nega- tive about us online? 2How can we increase on- line positive reviews, testimo- nials, word of mouth and refer- rals? 3 What online market- ing can we do that won’t cost a fortune? 4 How do we track what’s working? Finding the negative and positive Let’s begin by addressing nega- tive reviews... To help monitor if someone has said something negative about you online, you can use the free tool Google Alerts. Many dental practices encourage patients to post tes- timonials or comments on pub- lic review sites. Meanwhile, one of the most common con- cerns doctors share is; “How will I know if a patient says something bad about me on- line?” Let’s face it. Even the best practice is susceptible to an occasional rant. Google Alerts is a terrific solution (visit www.google. com/alerts). Enter a vari- ety of search terms, includ- ing your name, and simply provide your email address to receive updates. These alerts are a cyberspace monitor who is watching out for your best interests. This solution won’t cost anything, yet it can prove invaluable. In addition, make a note in your calendar to have a staff member do thorough searches for you each quarter on the ma- jor search engines. Searches of the doctor’s name, and practice name, should be performed regularly on Google, Bing, and Yahoo for example. Often prac- tices will run across something during a manual search that they would have otherwise been unaware of. It makes a difficult situation even stickier when you attempt to respond to a complaint that is months or years old. You must keep up with your online reputation. If you don’t do regular online searches for your name, you will never know what com- plaints (or compliments) may exist about you. Boost reviews and testimonials Would you like to increase your positive reviews on sites like Google Reviews or Yelp? Many practices today are clamoring to build up their positive on- line PR—or in some cases they need to bury a negative review or two. Some of you may be think- ing that you provide good serv- ice and that should be enough to motivate reviews. Yet as, Gary Vaynerchuk, author of The Thank You Economy said: “Marketing is about to get really !@#$%&! hard.” Service needs to be exceptional if you want to motivate positive word of mouth today. There are several proven tactics you can utilise to help increase your positive reviews, including asking patients via word of mouth, tangible re- minders, or digital tools (like surveys or emails that push to review sites). However, the number one best way to sky- rocket your positive reviews and testimonials has remained the same year after year — surprise and delight your pa- tients. Asking for testimonials is one thing, however ignit- ing raving reviews organical- ly is entirely another. Rather than setting your focus on how you can get people to post reviews, how about set- ting your primary intentions on how you can delight pa- tients? For some of you this may seem obvious. However, I think many practices — even the most successful ones—can almost always find at least one new thing to enhance. What are a few examples of surprising patients? Have love- ly umbrellas you could offer patients when they leave their Cost effective tools to boost your online marketing efforts Rita Zamora discusses strategies for online marketing ‘I think many practices — even the most successful ones—can almost always find at least one new thing to enhance’ Online marketing doesn’t have to cost a fortune