BUSINESS

  SOCIAL MEDIA

INTERACT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA

BEGINNING, MANAGING, MAXIMIZING AND MARKETING ON SOCIAL SITES

JUSTIN BAZAN, O.D.

Q: WHO SHOULD MANAGE SOCIAL MEDIA IN MY PRACTICE?

A: Practices that thrive on social media often involve the whole team! A Facebook page that allows a different staffer to post each day has some real advantages over pages that only have one staffer post because team members bring their own personalities into the posts. Diversity and variety add appeal and create engagement.

Contrary to popular belief, one set of login credentials does not have to be shared among a whole office team. For example, Facebook allows the page administrator to designate a user as an “Editor.” This person has limited page control and can still post. In this way, the page administrator can have full control, while giving functional, daily posting abilities to another or several other staffers. In our office, we have three office departments: eye care, optical and hospitality. In general, each staff member posts content related to his or her department. We also recently revised a Facebook community manager, who actively uses the platform under our company profile to engage other posts, from sharing our patient’s posts to responding to replies and comments on our profile’s posts. This will help raise our page’s visibility on Facebook and our practice’s worth in our real-world community. (More to come on this in a future “Social Media” column!)

Q: HOW CAN ONE START A TWITTER ACCOUNT AND USE IT TO BENEFIT THE OFFICE?

A: In my experience, Facebook is tough to beat for an optometric office. With more than 1 billion daily active users, it is the platform where current and future consumers are most likely to seek and to interact with optometric offices. My advice is to focus on that first, unless you have a valid reason to focus elsewhere.

With that said, it is very easy to build your presence on Twitter using information you are already posting on Facebook. (For information on how to start a Twitter account, visit ow.ly/XhBU9.) Simply link your Facebook page to your Twitter account, and let the content you are creating on Facebook be automatically populated on your Twitter profile. To do so visit Facebook.com/Twitter. This should get you started on the platform, which may contain potential patients who are not on Facebook.

Q: WHAT CONTENT SHOULD I POST TO INCREASE MY TRAFFIC ON SOCIAL MEDIA SITES LIKE FACEBOOK?

A: Increasing traffic requires a multifaceted approach, but an essential component is consistently delivering engaging content. On Facebook, that means content that generates “Likes,” “Comments” and “Shares.” Think to yourself, “Would I like, comment on or share this post?,” before you hit the “enter” key. My personal filter for a post is to allow content that is fun, helpful and/or friendly. OM

Questions are based on reader responses to an Optometric Management online survey, which closed on Dec. 20

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.