GDA Action April May 2020

April/May 2020 • 19 Another method of attractiveness you can leverage is positivity. There is enough negativity on social media, so why not set your practice apart by spreading smiles and good vibes. The future is bright, and the numbers support it—we see higher levels of engagement, shares, likes and comments with positive, uplifting messaging. 4 INSTAGRAM: Hashtags and Geotags I hope your practice is on Instagram. If not, you should set up an account ASAP. Instagram has been the fastest-growing social media network in the past year. According to Pew Research Center, 35% of adults who are online used Instagram in 2018. That statistic is sure to rise when updated statistics are released, considering the skyrocketing increase in Instagram’s popularity. Once you are set up on Instagram, be sure to take advantage of the opportunity to be discovered by using relevant location hashtags. You can use up to 30 hashtags in Instagram posts. Although you’d never want to load that many hashtags on a Facebook post, they are expected on Instagram. Instagram users will often check out their local hashtags, and that gives you a perfect opportunity to be discovered. If someone is looking at which posts show up for #Denver, your Denver practice will be included in any #Denver results if you include the hashtag in your post. Don’t forget to do your homework and add any other relevant local hashtags. In the case of Denver, for example, you might also use: • #MileHighCity • #DowntownDenver • #LODO You can also include a geotag for your practice. Tagging your practice essentially creates a link on a map to your exact practice location. Research by SproutSocial.com showed that posts tagged with a location see 79% higher engagement than posts not tagged with a location. You can also include location tags with stickers in Instagram Stories. 5 PLAN, PLAN, PLAN With all the new social media options, users can become overwhelmed. Save time and make your social media marketing more effective by implementing systems and processes, such as planning next month’s content on a calendar. Some practices may do this on Facebook or using a scheduling tool like Hootsuite. Planning a monthly strategy is a proven method that will save you time and get you better results. When planning your monthly content, we recommend an 80/20 content mix— 80% social-related content and 20% dental-related content. Be sure to focus your dental-related content on the type of dentistry you want to grow in your practice. If you want to attract dental implant, sleep dentistry, or clear aligner patients, for instance, you should post about these topics. Planning a strategy in advance will help you achieve your social media goals. Ms. Zamora and her team provide customized social media marketing services for general dentists and specialists. Since 2008, they’ve worked with hundreds of dental professionals worldwide to train them in authentic and valuable online interactions. Learn more about her services and her book, Get Found, Get Liked, Get Patients: Making the Most of Social Media, at RitaZamora.com. Zamora R. Five timely social media updates for your practice. Posted online at https://success.ada.org/ en/practice-management/dental-practice-success/ dps-fall-2019/five-timely-social-media-updates-for- your-practice. Copyright @ 2019 American Dental Association. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.