Dental Sleep Medicine Insider July 2017 | Page 18

BRETT BROCKI In the beginning, you should de- vote at least one hour per day to keeping the conversation moving across your social media profiles. breathing disorders. Social media is a natural medium for this kind of conversation. You can demonstrate your expertise in sleep, and the benefits of dental sleep medicine through thought- ful posting of content over time. As your audience reacts to your posts, you can answer their ques- tions, provide follow up infor- mation, even schedule appoint- ments. Connect with Patients The key to breaking through is to show how common symp- toms of sleep-related breathing disorders affect everyday life. Since nearly 1 in 5 Americans suffer from OSA - symptoms like daytime sleepiness, forgetful- ness, morning headaches, and of course snoring, are alarming- ly common. People with these symptoms need to be screened - they could be living with a dan- gerous condition! The good news is that because these symptoms are so com- mon, many people easily relate to messaging that targets these symptoms. As marketers, we can reach them in disruptive, unex- pected ways - through humor, informative science reporting and personal stories. To make a difference, we must educate peo- ple about what is at risk. Connect with humor and shared experi- ences, but close with the sober- ing truth about the dangers of untreated OSA. While it may be common to wake up tired - it is NOT normal and it may be a sign of something dangerous! As your audience develops and engages with your message, you’ll need to devote more time to answering questions, making suggestions and yes, scheduling appointments. Like gardening, all of this hard work will pay off in the end. The climate is right, the patients are there, but without hard work, the seeds won’t grow to their full potential. If you pro- vide engaging content, and tru- ly connect with your audience, they will experience the benefits of dental sleep medicine, pass on that knowledge, and carry your message to new audiences, ex- tend your reach and lead to new referrals. Do It Right To be effective, you need to de- vote enough time and energy to truly join the global and local conversation about sleep. That means assigning a member of your team to curating a steady se- ries of the latest studies, articles and events about sleep for your audience. Once you’ve mastered this, you can begin creating orig- inal content like articles, images, case studies and even surveys to further engage your audience. BRETT BROCKI Brett Brocki is Founder and CEO of N3Sleep, a na- tional sleep consulting and training firm. If you need help getting your whole team on board screen- ing for OSA, contact N3S- leep for in-office train- ing for your entire staff.