Refractive Surgery PR and Social Media

“ Growing Your Practice with PR and Social Media” ASOA Symposium & Congress April 12, 2010 Erik Deutsch, ExcelPR Group

15+ years in PR
Large/boutique agency experience
Worked as trade media journalist
Launched ExcelPR Group in 2004
Specialize in healthcare PR
Instructor – UCLA Extension PR Program
PRSA-LA Vice President (2010)
BA in Economics – UCLA
MA in Communications Mgmt. - USC
Erik Deutsch WHO IS THIS GUY?

If you’re tweeting this session…
I’m @ErikDeutsch
Hashtag: #ASCRS2010
Other Appropriate Hashtags:
#ophthalmology
#brilliant
#knowshisstuff
Inappropriate Hashtags:
#boring
#fail
#worstpresentationever

Today We’ll Focus on: Traditional PR Publicity in print, broadcast and online media Word of Mouth (WOM) via online social media

What is “Traditional” PR? It’s not advertising (“paid media”) It’s “earned media” Public Relations (abbr. PR) n : 1. Communication with the purpose of creating a favorable relationship with the public. 2. Communications often in the form of news distributed to media for which the sponsoring organization does not pay a fee.

There’s an old expression… Advertising is something you PAY for. PR is something you PRAY for .

If a young man meets a young woman and tells her what a great guy he is, that’s advertising. But if the girl propositions the young man because she heard from her friends that he’s a great guy, that’s public relations.

Dramatic Changes
Decline of “Traditional Media”
Disappearing “News Hole”

Rise of Social Media, Peer-to-Peer Networking and Citizen Journalism

PR Need Not be Complicated PR ≠ Requires time, planning and ongoing commitment

Traditional Publicity What is newsworthy ? “ Hard” News (new procedure, remarkable case/patient) “ Soft” News (human interest features, “news you can use,” profile, seasonal)

Which is newsworthy? 1) Our surgeon is a great guy and really knows his stuff. 2) We finally got our hands on an Intralase so we can offer “All-Laser LASIK.” 3) Our practice is the first in our area to offer a new treatment option for patients who until now were not good candidates for refractive surgery. 4) We just opened a second surgery center in another part of town. A short quiz:

Another Short Quiz Which is newsworthy?
Our doctor just performed LASIK on the guy who came in third on Survivor last season.
3) Our surgeon will perform free surgery on a soldier returning from Iraq or Afghanistan if someone in the media will first commit to doing a story? 2) Our doctor is treating the guy who came in third on Survivor with a new and exciting treatment option likely to be approved soon by the FDA. 4) Our surgeon has been providing free vision correction for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan for some time. One such patient who has an interesting personal story is scheduled for treatment.

“ Traditional” PR/Publicity Process: 1) Identify (or create) a viable story idea 2) Assemble media contact list 3) Formulate the “pitch” 4) Send news release or pitch letter 5) Follow-up 6) Understand journalists’ needs/speak their language 7) Pray

Publicity Example #1

Welcome to Social Media… User Generated, Two-Way Content No traditional media gatekeeper Individuals and Brands as Publishers Viral Distribution Unprecedented opportunity to build AND destroy your brand

Social Media Platforms
Forums
Blogs
Microblogging (Twitter, Posterous)
Wide-Appeal Social Networks (Facebook)
Niche Social Networks (LinkedIn, etc.)
Podcasts
Sharing & Bookmarking

The social media universe

It’s a Brave New World

First Steps
Protect your identity/reserve your name on major sites
Make it easy to find your practice
Go where the audience is
LISTEN, monitor and gather info
Dive in, engage and join the conversation
Market by offering value
Empower consumers to spread your message
Link to one another and the “mother ship”

Where are your prospective patients? general interest social networking micro blogging video sharing local business reviews

Largest, most used online social network
More than 400 million active users
50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day
Average user spends more than 55 minutes per day on Facebook

Profiles (individuals)
Groups (causes/organizations)
Fan Pages (personal and corporate)
Three Types of “Pages” on Facebook

Content is King
Photos
Videos
Testimonials
Promotions

A word about Vanity URLs
Custom URL:
http://www.facebook.com/XYZVisionCenter
Standard URL:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/XYZvisioncenter/179170228445?ref=ts

Facebook Advertising
“ Hypertargeting”
Age
Gender
Location
Education
Occupation
Hobbies
Relationship Status

Facebook Example Loden Vision Center

A tool for "micro-blogging" or posting very
short (140 character) updates, comments or
thoughts
A cross between instant messaging (IM) and
chat room
Follow and engage with consumers in an
ongoing dialogue

Who do people follow on Twitter?

Dr. Cary Silverman (aka TheLASIKDoc) http://twitter.com/TheLASIKDoc

Twitter Tactics
Make yourself easy to find
Communicate as a person, not a faceless brand
Follow others AND ENGAGE in order to get followed
Provide useful information and insights

Video sharing site where users can upload,
view and share clips
Create your own “channel”
Post news stories, patient testimonials, surgeon
Q & A, etc.
Search-optimized title and description

Yelp enables consumers to post and share
reviews of all sorts of businesses - from restaurants
to medical practices
Businesses can setup a free account or paid
“ premium account”
About 20 million searches each month

Additional Tips for Social Media Success:
Let your personality show
(don’t be a faceless
brand)
Bring value to the conversation
Remember it’s all
“ on the record”
Cross-link and promote on all marketing materials

Questions? Erik Deutsch ExcelPR Group www.excelpr.com [email_address] @ErikDeutsch

Refractive Surgery PR and Social Media

by ExcelPR Group on Apr 14, 2010

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Refractive Surgery PR and Social Media — Presentation Transcript