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PUT YOUR BEST FACE FORWARD

HOW TO FIX A FAILING FACEBOOK PAGE, PART 1

MANY PRACTICES create a Facebook page and dutifully manage it for a few months only to abandon it shortly thereafter. Imagine if that were how you managed your practice?

So, if your practice has succumbed to Facebook fatigue, don’t worry; you’re not alone. Here, in the first of a three-part series, I provide solutions to rework your page so it starts working for you.

1 STEP UP YOUR PROMOTION

This isn’t Field of Dreams where “if you build it, they will come.” In reality, no one will know about your page unless you make its presence known.

Therefore, brainstorm ways to increase awareness. Here are some examples: Place it on your practice website and business cards, and include it as part of your email signatures, voicemail, promotional items, social plug-ins and patient educational materials. If you want to take it a step further, consider ditching your website all together and directing all web traffic to your Facebook page.

2 ENGAGE WITH OTHER BUSINESSES

When you use Facebook as your business page vs. your personal page, the timeline changes from content from your friends to content from Facebook pages your practice page “likes.” This means your business has a persona that engages with other business pages, just like friends interact with other friends.

To build your network of business “friends,” search for your favorite local businesses and “like” their pages. Then, start to engage their content by “liking,” commenting or sharing their posts. You will not only build relationships with other businesses, but with their fan bases, too!

3 UTILIZE FACEBOOK ANALYTICS

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, creating engaging content is arguably the No. 1 component for Facebook success.

To find out which posts were most popular, in terms of likes, shares and comments, utilize Facebook’s “Insights” section, located at the top of your Facebook page. In the Overview section, look over “Reach” and “Engagement” to get an idea of what type of content resonates well with your fans. Is it humor? Community events? Educational posts? Whatever is doing the best, do more of it!

If you are struggling to generate content, a proven tip is to share popular, if not viral, content from other pages. This is not “stealing” or violating a copyright law; it’s simply Facebooking! Following popular optometric pages is a great way to get ideas for content, so don’t be shy about liking those pages so their posts show up in your business page’s feed.

GET TO WORK

Creating an exceptional online experience is now expected. If your social media presence is lacking in quality (or non-existent), your real world business is probably not reaching its full potential with a large segment of current and prospective patients. Use these three tips to strengthen your Facebook presence, and check back next month for more ideas for Facebook success. OM

JUSTIN BAZAN, O.D., is the founder of Park Slope Eye, in Brooklyn, N.Y. He is a member of the AOA, NYSOA and the AAOMC. In 2014, he received financial compensation for services from Allergan, Bausch + Lomb, Vision Service Plan, Luxottica, The Vision Council and Foster Grant. Visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment to comment on this article.