Optical Prism January 2015 | Page 31

1 START WITH FACEBOOK If you’re unsure how much time you can commit to social media, Goodhew says Facebook is a good place to start. He says Facebook is the “largest and most robust” of the social networks and that Abbey Eye Care sees more engagement on Facebook than its posts on other platforms. For optometrists dipping their feet in the social waters, Goodhew recommends starting a Facebook page, then applying what they’ve learned to other social networks once they’re comfortable on Facebook and are seeing results. As an advertising platform, Goodhew says Facebook is also a relatively cheap and easy way to reach potential customers – the site lets you geo-target advertisements to just the area your practices services. 2 GOOGLE+ WILL HELP YOUR SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION When potential clients Google “Abbey Eye Care,” one of the first things they see are Goodhew’s posts on Google’s social network, Google+. While Canadians aren’t as active on Google+ as they are on sites like Facebook and Twitter, Goodhew says he sees great value in practices maintaining a Google+ profile because it helps with search engine optimization. Given the importance of getting in front of customers searching for an optometrist, Goodhew says he sees the prominence of his Google+ posts in search results almost as free advertisements. 3 UTILIZE THE MILLENNIALS ON YOUR STAFF HERE ARE 5 “Every office has millenials on the team,” Goodhew says, explaining practices should take advantage of young staff members who are well-versed in social media. While he recommends optometrists sign off on posts before they go live, Goodhew says the “digital natives” in an office can be a great asset when deciding what to post and creating that content. OF HIS TIPS 4 SOCIAL IS VISUAL Good news for optometrists: social media is a visual medium, and what business is more visual than eye care? Goodhew says that posts ݥѠ