Social Media Marketing for Your Audiology Practice

1. Presentation To 2011 Florida Academy of Audiology Convention Presented by: Cindy M. Rosen, Vice President Operations The Association Source, LLC

3. The Social Media Marketing Cycle The objective of a social media marketing initiative is harnessing the fundamentals that make your audiology practice great, and enabling your patients, employees, and area medical and educational contacts to spread the word about your exceptional services.

8. LinkedIn Groups

10. Identify Your Advocates / Fans Your greatest resource is your knowledgeable and caring staff and superior service standards. Your social media strategy will identify these individuals and turn them into all-out fans that are willing to evangelize your audiology services and the great experience the practice and its people represent.

11. Engage Patients with Interesting Content Identifying your passionate fan base is the first step. Next, you need to extend their experiences outside the four walls of the practice. Email marketing provides an effective method for reaching out to the people you have already utilized your services and have indicated (by giving you their email) their willingness to receive your information. The benefits of e-mail marketing go beyond simply keeping your patients informed. The basic act of asking for an e-mail address strengthens the bond between your business and your patients because they are entrusting you with a piece of their personal information. Moreover, while an e-mail address may seem like a tiny detail, when someone gives it to a business, it proves the business is a trusted contact that the person would like to engage with on a deeper level. In addition, e-mail newsletters are easily (and often) forwarded to and shared with friends, so this offers a simple first step toward leveraging your patients ’ contacts, if they choose to forward along your messages.

12. Forwarding an e-mail newsletter is still a great way for your patients to spread the word about your practice, but social media marketing provides additional ways, too. Establish an archive on the audiology practice Web site so your e-mail newsletter content is accessible online. This will allow you to post the newsletter as links on various social networking sites around the Web. Also, leverage your e-mail content through your social media marketing efforts. Every month, send out a short e-mail newsletter that features an article about management, and includes links to your recent “ featured articles ” as well as other resources that might interest your subscribers. Before sending out the newsletter, run a teaser post on Twitter prompting more people to sign up for your newsletters. After the newsletter is sent, engage subscribers on Facebook, talking about ideas feedback or ideas you have received from the newsletter. Stay in Touch…Get Out Front

14. “ The Influencer ” It is essential to identify and target your patient marketing efforts toward the person that is the “ influencer ” in the life of the prospective patient. This influencer may a friend, school counselor, or relative who has a concern for the patient and will be encouraging and even arranging the visit to the audiologist ’ s office.

16. Timing is Everything The holiday season or festive family occasion is often the time when “ influencers ” notice diminished hearing and participation in the conversational experience. Targeting your marketing efforts during this time of year often encourages family, friends, and other influencers to pursue the matter further.

22. Facebook Create Content Worth Sharing Empower people to share and spread the word among their Facebook friends by giving them content to interact with and share. Photos, Video and other content can go viral quickly as they attract more “ like ” and “ comment ” interactions, which then spread to friends and family, and influencers in the community.

27. Connect Facebook to Your Audiology Practice ’ s Web Site Facebook allows you to access/offer links outside of its walls. Take advantage of this by keeping your your practice Web site maintained with robust content. Add articles, video interviews, photo gallery to your Web site so there are links you can provide in Facebook to “ bridge ” over to your audiology practice ’ s Web site. Give people reasons to come back to the Web site more than once. They need to feel that it is constantly changing and providing them with new information and/or services. Stay relevant.

28. Facebook – “ The Wall ”

29. Facebook – “ Info ”

30. Facebook – “ Photos ”

31. Facebook “ Connect to Your Web Site ”

32. Facebook “ 5 Steps to Generate Awareness ”

33. Facebook “ 5 Steps to Drive Preference & Differentiation ”

34. Facebook “ 5 Steps to Build Loyalty and Deepen Relationships ”

35. Facebook “ 5 Steps to Amplify Recommendation & Word of Mouth ”

36. Facebook “ 5 Steps to Gain Insights ”

37. Facebook “ 5 Steps to Foster Product Development & Innovation ”

38. Get the latest updates on Facebook Pages product news http://www.facebook.com/facebookpages Explore how other sites integrate Facebook via social plugins http://developers.facebook.com/showcase Learn how to create affordable ads on Facebook and reach your exact audience http://www.facebook.com/advertising Connect with Facebook ’ s official Page for the latest company updates http://www.facebook.com/facebook Use the Facebook Help Center to get answers on specific products and features http://www.facebook.com/help Facebook Resources

39. Forums are discussion areas on websites, where people can post messages or comment on existing messages asynchronously – that is, independently of time or place. Chat is the synchronous equivalent. Before blogs developed, email lists and forums were the main means of conversing online. Forum discussions happen in one place, and so can be managed and facilitated in ways that blog conversations cannot because these are happening in many different places controlled by their authors. Social Media Tools Forums

40. Social Media Tools Blog Blog is a word that was created from two words: “ web log. ” Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

41. Blog

42. Twitter

43. ListServ: Participation in LISTSERV discussion groups, as well as management of these discussion groups, has made its way to the World Wide Web. As an enhancement (not a replacement) to the traditional e-mail communication with LISTSERV, you can now join or leave a list, request a new list, and manage lists. The discussions conducted through a listserv are only available to those subscribing to the listserv. Social Media Tools ListServs

44. Social Media Marketing What Tools are Right for You?