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Managing Editor, EyeCarePro<\/h3>\n
Jan. 20, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n Boost appointments with photo-sharing social networks Pinterest and Instagram. See simple steps to get started.<\/p>\n ASK PATIENTS ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA<\/strong>. Ask every patient, either verbally, or as part of your in-take form, which social media networks they use.<\/p>\n SET UP PINTEREST & INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS<\/strong>. Search for content, or “pins,” from other users to post to your Pinterest account, and start compiling photos of your office and staff that you would like to share on Instagram.<\/p>\n PROMOTE NEW PRODUCTS & EVENTS<\/strong>. Use Pinterest and Instagram to snap photos of events like trunk shows, and of new merchandise on your frame board.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Pinterest and Instagram are two social media platforms that are gaining traction in the optical industry because they offer ODs free, easy and fun opportunities to communicate with prospective and current patients visually. Optometry and eyewear have an inherent connection to that which is visual, so photo-sharing and visual bookmarking sites like these are natural choices for practices to reach out digitally to a broader audience. With a little set up and a smartphone, your practice can engage on these sites with minimal effort andincreaseyour marketing reach.<\/p>\n I know what you are thinking, \u201cAnother social network to add to your already overloaded marketing efforts?!\u201d But for the right practice, and the right audience, getting active on these channels could be worth the minimal effort required to make it happen.<\/p>\n Measure ROI on Your Practice Facebook Page<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Post with Impact: Make a Personal Connection to Patients<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Seven Traits of Effective Practice Videos<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Pinterest<\/strong><\/a> is a visual bookmarking tool with over 100 million active users that allows users to discover, save and organize visual content such as products, ideas, images or videos onto a personal \u201cpinboard.” A user \u201cpins\u201d an image to a board which is organized by category or topic. This image, or \u201cpin,” is actually a bookmarked link to a web site, so when the user clicks on the pin, it brings them to the page of the original web site for more information. Users can search for pins, follow other users and boards and create pins from anywhere on the web.<\/p>\n There are two ways an OD can use Pinterest. The first is to set up a business profile for the practice, create relevant boards and pin away. The goal here is to gain followers and create an active page that others will want to follow and re-pin. When someone follows you, your pins will show up in their feed. You will also want to follow others who pin images that are relevant to your topics, so you will have a continual supply of content in your feed to re-pin.<\/p>\n To set up your Pinterest Business Page, visit Pinterest\u2019s Getting Started for Businesses Page<\/a><\/strong> and follow the instructions to set up a profile for your practice.<\/p>\n Getting Started – Creating Boards<\/strong> Following other Pinners<\/strong> Add Pin Buttons to Your Web Site<\/strong> You can learn how to add Pin buttons to your web site on Pinterest\u2019s Pin it Button Page<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n If you use Pinterest for business, you can set up analytics to see which pins people like and re-pin from your profile and your web site, and which ones are bringing traffic to your site.<\/p>\n Instagram is a mobile photo and video sharing app with over 400 million active users that allows you to take pictures and videos (up to 15 seconds) and share them on a variety of social networks (including Facebook and Twitter). The platform offers photo editing tools, like filters and borders, to enhance the images and uses a hashtag system to help users find and attract others with similar interests. You can follow other users\u2019 feeds and geotag, or place an electronic tag that assigns a geographic location to images and videos, and can connect to other social networking sites.<\/p>\n The best part of Instagram is the ease of use. Once you have downloaded the app and have set up your account (see instagram.com<\/a><\/strong>), all you have to do it take a picture with a smartphone or tablet, choose a filter, add a caption and some hashtags (#) and post and you are done.<\/p>\n If your practice has an optical, your eyewear selection is a natural source of inspiration. You can also use before and after shots of happy customers, photos from events and community engagements, staff and office shots and anything else you find online that is share-worthy. As with Pinterest and all other social media networks, you want to gain followers and follow others to create engagement.<\/p>\n Editor’s Note<\/strong>: A reviewed and signed HIPAA marketing release form<\/strong> <\/a>is required before featuring any patient, or any patient’s HIPAA-protected information, in marketing material, including those on social media like Instagram and Pinterest.<\/em><\/p>\n Saugeen Shores Family Eye Care<\/a><\/strong> has begun to incorporate both Pinterest and Instagram into their online marketing, outreach and patient communication. As you can see, they promote and link all of their social media profiles on their web site homepage with a social media icon bar along the top right of the page, right under the “request an appointment online” button.<\/p>\n Here is a screenshot of the Saugeen Shores Family Eye Care Pinterest page<\/a><\/strong> which currently has 28 boards and 42 followers. As you can see, the profile page includes their practice logo, address, web site link and a brief description, along with their statistics and boards.<\/p>\n The Saugeen Shores Family Eye Care Instagram page<\/a><\/strong>is keptactive; currently it has 92 followers.<\/p>\n The Eye Center at Jackson<\/a><\/strong>also is getting started with Pinterest <\/a><\/strong>and Instagram<\/strong><\/a>. <\/p>\n These platforms are visual, so they give your practice a chance to show off its personality. Not only do they offer an additional channel to integrate your existing marketing campaigns (you can post graphics from any campaign here, too), but they can capture and share the essence of your brand, your staff and the experience your patients have in your office.<\/p>\n Before embarking on a marketing strategy with either of these platforms, you want to know if your patients and your target audience use them. If your practice is located in a hip and trendy neighborhood which draws a younger generation of clientele, the likelihood of success is better than it would be for a practice located in a quiet retirement community. As of September 2015, 67 percent of Pinterest users were under 40, and 85 percent were female. In fact, 42 percent of online adult women in the U.S. use Pinterest. As of June, 90 percent of Instagram users were 35 or under, yet the percentages for men and women are more balanced. For more recent statistics, see 250 Amazing Pinterest Statistics<\/strong><\/a> or 150 Interesting Instagram Statistics<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n The best way to know whether you can reach your patient base on these networks is to ask your patients which social networks they use, and keep an eye on what is happening in your waiting room. You may find many of your patients are killing time while waiting to see you searching for Pinterest pins or posting their latest vacation photo to Instagram.<\/p>\n Nancy Rausman<\/strong> is the managing editor at EyeCarePro<\/a><\/strong>. Nancy is responsible for providing ECPs with educational content that helps them advance their practices through technology, management strategies and digital marketing. EyeCarePro is one of the leading providers of online marketing and practice improvement services in the industry. EyeCarePro serves both industry and practices and is the only company of its kind solely focused on the optometric space. To contact: nancy@eyecarepro.net<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Nancy Rausman<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Jan. 20, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n Boost appointments with photo-sharing social networks Pinterest and Instagram. See simple steps to get started.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[128,1],"tags":[91,92],"yoast_head":"\n\n\nSYNOPSIS<\/h5>\n
ACTION POINTS<\/h5>\n
\n\nRelated ROB Articles<\/h5>\n
What’s Pinterest?<\/h1>\n
How ODs Can Use Pinterest to Promote Their Practice<\/h5>\n
How to Set Up a Practice Pinterest Account<\/h5>\n
Once you have your profile set up, it\u2019s time to select some boards to start with. The ability to keep your pins organized by category is the essence of Pinterest. Get creative with the titles of your boards to attract users to follow them (users can either follow your entire profile or select individual boards to follow). Some ideas of board topics you can start with are: \u201cEyewear We Love,” \u201cFun in the Sun,” \u201cOptical Humor,\u201d \u201cEye Didn\u2019t Know That Trivia\u201d or \u201cCelebrity Eye Glasses.” Don\u2019t limit yourself to optometry-related topics. You can (and should) create boards on any topics your patients, and prospective patients, might be interested in such as health and beauty, fitness, parenting, inspiration or fashion. Get your staff involved and let each of them choose a board that reflects their personality, as well.<\/p>\n
Pinterest is a social media site, so to create engagement you want to follow and be followed. As a general rule, anytime someone follows you (you will get a notification of new followers), follow them back. Keep an eye on the interests of your followers as a way to learn about these people, including what most interests them.<\/p>\n
The second way to use Pinterest is the add-a-pin button to add \u201cpin-able\u201d content to your web site. This would have the best results with shareable content such as images of eyewear or informative articles that others would want to remember and share. The best part about this option is that any time a user clicks on those pins, they will be brought to your web site. So, when your followers re-pin these pins, their followers or others with similar interests can find those images, click on them and end up on your web site. According to Pinterest, the average pin gets 11 re-pins.<\/p>\nPinterest Analytics<\/h5>\n
What’s Instagram?<\/h1>\n
How to Use Instagram<\/h5>\n
Examples of How Practices Are Using Pinterest & Instagram<\/h5>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nKnow Your Patients & Show Your Personality<\/h5>\n
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