New Tools Can Bring Your Site Up to Speed

CLICK is the latest in a series of popular e-newsletters from VisionMonday. Every month, CLICK provides ECPs and optical retailers with the tools they need to build their presence online and grow connections with patients. It's a monthly briefing designed specifically to provide practical insights and ideas about the latest Web site features, tools and Web-based applications.

CLICK will feature a variety of topics including innovative ideas in Web site design, profiles of ECP sites, and examples of cutting-edge initiatives. We hope you use it to discover current Web technologies and learn how online initiatives can help benefit your business. Tried something new on your Web site? Have a suggestion or comment about CLICK? Tell us about it and we'll consider it for an upcoming feature in CLICK.
—The Editors

EyeCarePro.Net Helps
Eyecare Practices Build Sites Quickly

ST. LOUIS— EyeCarePro.net is a resource for optometric practices interested in building functional Web sites with a range of custom solutions.

Daniel Rostenne, managing director of EyeCarePro.net, noted, “Most optometrists do not have the time or technical skills to build a strong practice site and the cost for a custom-built solution can be high. The ECPro Website Builder tools can be used by any practice staff regardless of technical skill. The results are professional and attractive, but more importantly are highly functional, allowing patients to pre-fill forms, book appointments online, allowing the practice to run in a more streamlined fashion.”

The ECPro Website Builder allows optometrists to create a practice Web site in about 30 minutes. Practitioners can choose their design, include more than 100 pages of pre-written content, take advantage of a wide selection of patient communication tools, and link to EyeCarePro.net’s technology partners.

Earlier this month, Eyemaginations announced a partnership for its unique 3D-Eye Online graphics to be made available to EyeCarePro.net’s clients. Eyemaginations’ Tony Ingenito said, “3D-Eye Office presentations add that much more impact to the practice’s Web site. Today, it is more important than ever for an eyecare practice to have a Web site that will not only attract new customers but provides educational material for existing patients to see, hear and learn from.”

A video demo and scores of ECP testimonials are on the main site. Noted Lorie Lippiatt, OD, of the Salem, Ohio-based Salem Eyecare Center, “Our old site was not tailored to eyecare. We couldn't tell how our patients felt about the site, as there was no ability for feedback, nor could we track how often the site was being viewed. We now have an EyeCarePro site. Designing a Web site with EyeCarePro is a seamless process that is simple to manage. The real benefits of on-line appointment scheduling, patient education and patient feedback make it a valuable part of our practice. The addition of CyberEyes Virtual Try On has added an extra layer of functionality and fun to our site.”

Commented Dr. Brad Owens of Vision Optique, Houston, Texas, “We really like the online appointment confirmation feature. It has helped reduce our front-desk staff time and has reduced our phone-call confirmation process time too. It has the added benefit of also letting us know that patients are paying attention to their electronic reminders.”

In addition to the EyeCarePro.net’s Website Builder core product, the company provides customer support to help promote and improve practice sites once they are created with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and also offers other marketing services.

Just added to the American Optometric Association’s (AOA) list of preferred providers, EyeCarePro.net's services will be offered at a special discount for all AOA members. Information and details about signup for a free trial are available at www.eyecarepro.net.

Video Enhances Your Site’s Messages and Your Online Presence

RIDGEWOOD, N.J.—The use of online video by small business is growing fast, but one thing that often hinders its use among ECPs is the concept of knowing how to produce a professional video that sends well-produced and appropriate messages, how to integrate it into a web site and use it online in multiple Internet platforms, from You Tube to “find-a-doctor” directories.

EyeCareVideo.com, a service created by veteran network TV producers and editors, offers customized, creative solutions for eye care practice video messages that can emphasize fashion, medical expertise and technology, and a range of subjects in sleek spots, produced at a range of price packages.

EyeCareVideo’s productions, which can range from short spots to longer versions, can be embedded on an optical boutique’s or practice’s web site, distributed via email, uploaded to YouTube and listed on national and local search engines.

EyeCareVideo, a division of Ridgewood New Media, LLC, has started to create custom videos for ECPs around the country, samples of which are found on the company’s own home page at www.EyeCareVideo.com.

Notes Erik Liljegren, president, Ridgewood New Media, “Eye care practices are businesses which need to reach local audiences and ‘localism’ is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Internet. Video is a creative new way to communicate with patients. We have the production capabilities to turn around something quickly, which can be used and edited in several ways.

“A longer video could explain information about the practice or procedures to patients on-site, in the waiting or exam room, or bits of video can enhance portions of the web site from a discussion of medical and vision issues to highlights of dispensary and fashion products.”

Liljegren explained, “We consult and get an idea of the message a doctor or retailer wants to convey, their preferences on style, music, type of narration. And we can work either with images supplied by the client—for example, shots of their location, people, their exterior—or can send in our video crew to shoot several aspects about the practice for an entire day, interviewing people in the practice and creating even more material to work with later on. We make it easy for the doctor to expand his or her practice’s reach and visibility, so they can continue to focus their time on serving their patients.”