What is your practice doing to meet the changing online shopping habits of consumers (a.k.a. your patients)? If your practice is like most, the answer is, "not much." Many ECPs are still trying to "figure it out." Nobody taught you how to grow a practice using the internet and social media in school, so where do you start?

Rather than get overwhelmed with the fact that your practice has a long way to go to get a solid foundation, think of it as a four step approach:

  1. A professionally designed website
  2. An engaging Facebook business page
  3. An online review management program
  4. A patient engagement program

Sure, there are many other online/social media sites you can use to help grow your practice. If you are already involved with one and being successful with it, then don't abandon what is working. But if you are still struggling to "get in the online game," this four step approach will give you the most bang-for-the-buck.

In this edition of CLICK, we'll explain the first two. Look for more detail on steps 3 and 4 in two weeks in the Feb. 6th edition of CLICK.

First - A professionally designed practice website. What efforts/resources have gone into your current website (if you have one)? A website should be the "hub" of any online strategy. Yet, many ECPs think they can shortcut the web-building process by doing it themselves using free online software or having an unskilled friend do it for them. A well designed website should be built with the internet savvy consumer in mind, and typically an ECP does not have the training or skills to build a website that will engage, inform and educate visitors. A properly designed website will have good navigation, high resolution edited graphics/photos, video and content that will not only please visitors but will convince search engines to rank the site high in search results. This is the place to get "adult supervision"! Look for companies that are optical website development experts. Fortunately, in our industry we have several companies that build ECP websites for a price to meet any budget. Check out this short video on what makes a good ECP website.

Second – An engaging Facebook business page. This is a tough one for many ECPs. Most look at Facebook as an online social media toy. They fail to understand how a website where most people are sharing photos of their kids or posting a blow-by-blow accounting of their family vacation could be a vehicle to grow a practice. Unfortunately, learning how to grow your practice using Facebook is not a short explanation. But, recognize that in a recent survey of small-to-medium sized business owners, 87% said that Facebook had helped grow their business. So it is proven and is worth the effort. Facebook is a powerful practice builder and can be used to:

  • Stay engaged and connected with patients (and potential patients) between eye exams and/or eyeglass purchases
  • Educate patients about new lens technologies, frame style trends and important information about your practice (it is proven this shortens the "buying cycle");and
  • Introduce your practice to your patient's network of friends (on average about 130 people). Imagine being introduced (through your patient's posts) to their network, with their recommendation, to a group of people you never met. And the cost of this priceless marketing is ZERO! That is the power of Facebook.

Unless you have a "Facebook Guru" on your staff, you might want to get a little professional help to get the Facebook adventure started. Facebook, when properly designed, can become a mini-website with lots of valuable (search engine visible) information. This is a wonderful place to engage, inform and educate your followers. If you want to develop your Facebook page in-house, our blog has a free e-booklet on "How to Build a Facebook Page for Your ECP Practice."

Watch next month for ideas on how to manage online reviews and practical ideas for developing a consistent patient engagement program. Bottom line—your patients (and potential patients) are online looking for eye health and eyewear information. If you are not providing it on your well designed website or Facebook page—it will result in lost patients. If you are not monitoring/managing online review sites—it will result in lost patients. If you are not staying engaged with your patients between eye exam and/or eyeglass purchases—it will result in lost patients. Implement a new plan and begin today to grow your practice by using the power of the internet and social media.

 

Bob Main is an optical industry veteran, with over 35 years of retail optical experience and the last seven years specifically focused on the internet and social media. As an Internet Business Coach/Consultant, Bob's blog offers ECPs and optical retailers the information they need to learn how to grow a practice/business using the power of the internet. Bob can be reached at bob@bobmain.net