BUSINESS

  SOCIAL MEDIA

KEEP UP WITH THE ZUCKERBERGS

CHOOSE FROM THESE FIVE TIPS TO KEEP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS FRESH

JUSTIN BAZAN, O.D.

SOCIAL MEDIA is near and dear to my heart. Admittedly, I’m an O.D. who is way more involved than the average one. Developments in the field are on my radar daily, and not too many slip by me. At times it can be a bit overwhelming. So how does the average entrepreneurial O.D. keep up with it?

Here are my top five tips for keeping up with the Zuckerbergs.

1 FOLLOW OFFICIAL POSTINGS

Each platform communicates the latest updates through official posts. For example, Facebook is top notch at keeping businesses abreast of all their latest developments. Two of the best official places to catch such updates are Facebook’s official blog, newsroom.fb.com and its official page for businesses, facebook.com/business. I’ve found what works best for me is simply to set a calendar reminder to check those sites every week during one of my administrative mornings.

2 SUBSCRIBE TO SITE UPDATES

Sites, such as Mashable, TechCrunch, SocialTimes and, my favorite, Social Media Examiner, will email you a digest (or RSS feed) of its current content. Do I read every article? Nope. Do I scan the headlines in my email digest and read the ones that catch my eye? Yep.

3 ATTEND A SOCIAL MEDIA CONFERENCE

We acquire CE credits on all things optometry, so why not social media? There are many online and in-person events, conferences and courses. I’ve never regretted an event, such as Social Media Marketing World, or even a local social media meet up. (Meetup.com is a good resource for these.) I always learn something that makes me more successful. Don’t forget that many optometric conferences offer social media courses as well!

4 TRACK AND USE TRENDING TOPICS

The major platforms allow you to see what topics are popular and what posts are going viral. Jump on the bandwagon, and share this popular content. More importantly, learn how to generate and re-package popular content so it is optimized for your fan base. Facebook has trending topics in its sidebar. Twitter has Moments. Other platforms have similar methods for sharing popular topics with its users.

5 FOLLOW SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERTS

Investigate a few top names in the social media industry and follow them on your platform of choice. Often, they will share invaluable pearls that will help elevate your social media skill level. Also, these experts often receive updates first; their breakdowns can easily be understood and implemented in your practice. Many of them offer written guides, podcasts, blogs, etc., to keep their followers up to date.

LET ME KNOW WHAT I MISSED

Get good at these five easy-to-do tips, and you will never fall behind in your social media. At the minimum, check in with the platforms’ official news updates. Social media moves fast. It’s easy to get left behind! OM

Did we miss a top tip? If so, we would love for you to let us know. Drop a comment on Facebook.com/OptometricManagement.

DR. BAZAN is founder of Park Slope Eye, in Brooklyn, N.Y. He is a member of the AOA, NYSOA and the American Academy of Orthokeratology & Myopia Control. In 2014, he received financial compensation for services from Allergan, Bausch + Lomb, Vision Service Plan, Luxottica, The Vision Council and Foster Grant.