IT ’ S TIME WE ALL BECOME AUTHENTIC ON SOCIAL MEDIA
by Kevin Wilhelm
The role that social media can play in your business cannot be overstated . You ’ ve probably attended a lecture , saw a video or read an article like this that explains how important it is for you to invest time into building a strong social media presence . The problem is that these lectures , videos and articles don ’ t explain the how . You now know you need to be on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram but have no idea how to get started , how to upload and more importantly – you ’ re still unsure of the why .
Let ’ s take a second to examine your consumer - your patient . Everyone should have an eye exam , either annually or bi-annually and therefore everyone is your consumer – your potential patient . Let ’ s now look at how everyone spends their time in today ’ s world - how they learn , socialize , entertain themselves and make purchasing decisions . People are online and are spending an increasingly longer amount of time online each day . More devices connect us than ever before , and the platforms for content dissemination is at an all-time high . We are all content publishers and all consumers of such content . Our online interaction has never been more connected .
Having a social presence online is a necessity – you know that already . What you ’ re missing is the fundamental understanding of why you need to maintain a strong presence online . The idea of social media is to be … well , social ! Posting information about your practice , your doctors or your product lines with out any actual strategy for creating engaging content is the equivalent of shouting at your patients from across the street . You ’ re hoping they hear you , you ’ re hoping they care what you have to say and you ’ re hoping your message is convincing enough to have them come in and book an appointment ( or buy product from you ). The majority of small businesses that invest time into social media are doing it all wrong . They are posting information and not engaging content . They are posting what they think their patients / consumers want to see , read , watch – without realizing that they are just creating noise , which is why you ’ re probably struggling to get more than 3-4 “ likes ” on your posts and rarely a “ share ” ( imagine getting 10 shares …!)