Social Media for Dentists: What the Online Research Says ...

Social Media for Dentists: What the Online Research Says ? Image courtesy of adamr / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

One in five Americans use social media websites as a source for healthcare information, according to a February 2012 survey from National Research Corp. For many healthcare practitioners, social media is a huge part of their dental practice because it allows them to:

• Generate web traffic
• ?Put a face? on their practice to increase referrals
• Build rapport between colleagues
• Build more links to increase their website ranking
• Follow up with patients and share news about their latest specials and dental practice events

However, you may be wondering if now is the right time for you to get online. If you need more convincing, here are some statistics:

• Looking for health information is the third most popular online activity (PEW Internet)
• 81% find what they need when shopping on the Internet (Nielsen/NetRatings)
• 73% of shoppers use internet search engines when looking for a local business (Nielsen/NetRatings)
• 67% of shoppers prefer to use an Internet yellow pages Web site over the telephone directory (Nielsen/NetRatings)

If you?re still not convinced that social media ? Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more ? is the right road for your dental practice, perhaps some specific Facebook statistics will convince you.

According to the latest figures directly from Facebook, they have over 800 million users. A survey conducted by Edison Research in 2011 suggests that approximately 51% of the American population has a Facebook account. Some have suggested that?s more than the number of Americans with passports.

A 2012 PEW Internet & American Life Project suggests the typical Facebook user has an average of 229 friends and is more:

• Trusting than others. They are 43% more likely than other internet users to feel that most people can be trusted.
• Social. They average 9% more close ties in their overall social network compared with other internet users.
• Politically engaged. They are two and half times more likely to attend a political rally or meeting, in addition they are more likely to vote and encourage others to vote.

And this is information on just one of the major social media websites.

What does all this mean to you and your dental practice? It means people (including your current and future patients) are connecting online; not just through Facebook, but also through a variety of social media websites. And in order to engage them, you need to participate.

The specific steps you take to do this will depend on your desired outcome, available time, and comfort with social media. To learn more, check out our blog. Or if you prefer, we can provide the assistance you need to market your dental practice online. Just contact us.

Tags: branding, dentainment, dental marketing, dental office marketing, internet marketing, marketing for dental offices, social media, social media for dentists

Source: http://dentainment.com/social-media-for-dentists-what-the-online-research-says/

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