1. Tap into fans passions with photos or video media.  On Facebook, posts including a photo album, a picture or a video generate about 180%, 120%, and 100% more engagement than the average text post, respectively. 
2. Ask questions.  Question posts generate about 90% more engagement than the average text post.  While open ended questions require fans to consider and write out their answers, make it quick and easy by asking closed questions.  Ie. Did you know that sunglasses can protect your eyes from cataracts and macular degeneration?
3. Tell users what you want from them.  Ending a post with an instruction to “Like” or “+1” this post usually results in a higher number of those actions.  Wildfire discovered posts on their own fan page had 4 times as many likes when the phrase “LIKE if you’re as thrilled as we are” was included.
4. Treat your fans like they’re VIPs.  According to the research firm Razorfish, the #1 reason fans “Like” or “Follow” a brand on social networks is to get access to exclusive content, promotions and deals. Offer your patients privileged content (discounts, contests, etc.) that’s offered exclusively to your fans and followers.
5. Invite one-on-one interactions.  Give your comments a personal touch by responding to them personally.  Make your fans feel heard and appreciated addressing them by name whenever possible, and respond to their comments one-on-one.
6. Take your relationship to the next level.  Actively invite personal conversations by soliciting their opinions on relevant topics.  Wildfire found that their most engaging posts are consistently the ones that invite people to post any question about social media – which is always answered.  Without violating privacy issues, would your patients like the ability to get answers from you about general eye issues?
7. Humanize your brand.  For some reason, people get excited about behind-the-scenes access.  Post VIP content, such as a video of you performing a clinical procedure or a pic of the staff dressed up for Halloween.  Give your practice a personality.

Reviewing this list, most of these posts are designed to connect on an emotional level, provide value, and operate as an extension of the outstanding customer service they received in your office.  Have you found similar results with your posts?

About: Steve Vargo, O.D., M.B.A. frequently writes and lectures on using technology and digital media for marketing eye care practices.  He also practices optometry in St. John, In., where he lives with his wife and 2 sons.

New Media OD:  You describe The EDGE™ as a “Performance Management Philosophy”.  Can you elaborate on that?

Jay: Yes. The EDGE™ is not a reporting system providing static reports and excel spreadsheets. It is a well thought out philosophy on what you should be tracking and what the information means. It takes you through a proven management routine with a series of graphs, charts and easy to understand information. But more importantly it provides you and your team the business resources to know what to do about. I call that the “then what”.

New Media OD:  Could you provide a quick overview of how the Edge works?

Jay: We seamlessly sync up with many of the industry practice management systems and upload the information from their system to our web based system The EDGE™. It takes place at night and does not have any negative effect on their program or resources.

New Media OD:  Do you think too many ODs spend time on unproductive, low-value activities, and how does The EDGE™. help re-direct their efforts?

Jay: One of the biggest issues independent business owners have is time. Or lack of it. The EDGE™ gets you the information you need with just a few quick clicks. No more spending hours and days figuring out what is happening. Now you can use your time to do something about it

New Media OD:  Another common complaint from ODs is “I’m working harder, but making the same (or less)”.  How can EDGE™improve efficiencies and lead to greater revenue with less labor input.

Jay: Since EDGE™ is set up with specific types of information that directly inpact both your top and bottom line as well separating that information into you clininc versus your optical you will quickly see the impact of your decisions and understand how to become more proactive vs reactive with your buisness

New Media OD:  Does EDGE™integrate with other practice management systems?

Jay: We do not actually integrate and so have no impact on their practice management systems. We simply data mine the information needed from the doctor’s database and upload each day. We currently work with Revolution EHR, My Vision Express, Officemate & Compulink

New Media OD:  Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions.

About: Steve Vargo, O.D., M.B.A. frequently writes and lectures on using technology and digital media for marketing eye care practices.  He also practices optometry in St. John, In., where he lives with his wife and 2 sons.

About: Steve Vargo, O.D., M.B.A. frequently writes and lectures on using technology and digital media for marketing eye care practices.  He also practices optometry in St. John, In., where he lives with his wife and 2 sons.

New Media OD:  Tell us about your company, OD Social Net, and what type of services you provide.

Jim:  We think that physicians of all types need help marketing their practices. Social Net is starting with Optometrists and has plans to reach dentists and other specialties.  I have over 20 years of eye care marketing plus small business coaching and was a partner in a software development and web marketing firm.  So starting with Optometrists is a natural.

We take a holistic approach to solving the marketing riddle for a practice.  It is important to identify your target audience and build a plan around connecting with them.  If the physician lacks providers, then we supply staff training, web marketing, and social networking as needed. We have a great new service for building online reviews that we are very excited about bringing to Optometry.

New Media OD:  From a marketing perspective, what type of posts typically elicits the greatest response from previous or potential patients?

Jim:  My view is that social networking status posts are best handled by the individual Optometrist and his or her staff if they are trained and have time.  It’s that personal touch that makes the connection just like in face to face networking.  That being said, having a core of valuable posts provided by your social networking agency gives you consistent visibility augmenting your personal posts.  An agency is also great at building the followers and providing special effects such as slideshows, infographics, banners, and other extras.

New Media OD:  With so many social network platforms, what sites should an OD definitely be on and why?

Jim:  Choosing strategies and networking platforms depends upon your goals.  Certainly for Optometrists, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest represent logical choices.  Each has a different demographic of followers. Visuals and personal contact are the strengths of Facebook and every Optometrist should have a Facebook business fan page.  Twitter lets you reach people at a much faster pace and reaches a different audience.  Pinterest lets people see what your interests are and is a great place to park eye related information for their reference.

Google+, Foursquare and LinkedIn are second tier platforms but each does have a value.  It really is all about time and money.

New Media OD:  Discuss some ways social media can be integrated into other marketing channels, such as email, website or even direct mail.

Jim:  Good question.

Web marketing and social media are attraction strategies and build your brand so that people will want to contact you.  Websites should clearly communicate your brand and engage the reader. Having your social networking buttons on it is important.  Most Optometrist websites don’t do a very good job of grabbing local searches for eyeglasses which is a fixable problem.

Email is an excellent tool for building your Facebook fans from your current patient base.  Email and direct mail tend to push a message so I like to call them attacking strategies.  Both are valuable in maintaining relationships with older patients who may not be digitally savvy.  They should carry the branding and image developed for the website.

Author: Steve Vargo, O.D., M.B.A. frequently writes and lectures on using technology and digital media for marketing eye care practices.  He also practices optometry in St. John, In., where he lives with his wife and 2 sons.

SMS Text

We love text messaging!  Everywhere we go we see people feverishly tapping away on their mobile devices.  What was once just for personal use is slowly finding a place in our practices, mostly for things like appointment reminders and alerts (ie. “your glasses are ready for pick-up”).  But what about SMS as a marketing tool?  SMS marketing is permission-based, meaning patients must opt-in to receive your messages.  As opposed to mass marketing like e-blasts or direct mail, permission-based marketing creates opportunities to define a niche market and design marketing campaigns specific to that group.  Got a dry eye specialty?  Vision therapy?  Sports vision?  Looking for ways to build awareness and attract new patients?  I’ll discuss a few ways to get people interested in joining your “mobile club”.

QR Codes

QR codes are basically a link that connects to digital content when scanned with a smartphone.   They are a fun and interactive way to direct people to your website, Facebook page or even Youtube videos.  They are also a great way to drive sales by making your optical more educational.  For ex. “scan the image to see how sunglasses protect the eyes from harmful UV radiation”.   I’ll provide a list of free informational vids you can use in your optical.

Mobile websites

Things like staff bios, frames & lenses, and eye health information are great features on a traditional website, but is that what people want to see when they visit your site on a mobile device?  Research by Google reveals it isn’t.  People on their mobile site are often on-the-go and want quick access to basic information (phone number, directions, office hrs, etc.).  If fact, Google found that most people will abandon your site within a very short time if they can’t find this info quickly.  Mobile websites do not replace your traditional site, they merely compliment it by directing mobile users to a more streamlined version of your desktop site.  Tune in to find out how to create a mobile-friendly site, and how it can elevate you in search listings.

Social Media

Social and mobile go hand-in-hand these days.  More and more people are checking-in and updating their social status right from their mobile phones.  Wanna see some fun and easy ways to get people to Like your FB page, check-in at your practice, or post a pic wearing their awesome new glasses?  And more importantly – share with their friends!

Hope top see you at the conference!

About Steve:  Steve Vargo, O.D., M.B.A. is in private practice in St. John, Indiana where he lives with his wife and 2 sons.  He also founded iMobile Communications, and frequently writes and lectures about using technology for marketing and communication.

Any smartphone equipped with a camera and a QR reader can scan a QR code, which serves as a link connecting you with digital or web content.  This technology allows you to interact with your patients and customers on a higher level.  Patients can scan these codes to learn about your products or services in a more interactive way.  Consider placing these in your optical or dispensary inviting patients to scan the code to see a video on the benefits of polarized lenses, progressives, etc.  Although we train our opticians to discuss these benefits, people tend to have a stronger emotional reaction to visual imagery.  If patients can “see” the value, they may be pre-sold before even sitting down with the optician.

Avoid Showrooming

Showrooming is when a customer enters a brick and morter store to touch and feel the product and then goes online or to a big-box competitor to purchase at a lower price.  While this is most common with electronics and retail clothing, I think its nonetheless worthy of our attention as online frame vendors become increasingly prevelant.  Research has shown that the longer you can keep customers in your business and engaged in the products you sell, the greater the chance you will keep the sale in-house.  Click HERE to see a quick video on QR codes and the showrooming effect.

Make it Easy!

A few suggestions on QR codes:  If room permits, provide brief instructions for your tech-averse patients (ie. visit scan.mobi on your smartphone and download the QR reader).  Also, let them know what will happen when they scan the code.  Don’t simply assume they will scan it just because you placed it there.  Lastly, consider that people who scan QR codes are on their mobile phone.  Don’t send them to your desktop website.  People on-the-go have short attention spans and want quick info, a full website does not render well on a 3 inch screen.  Now if you have a “mobile website” – that’s a different story!

Turn Scans into Revenue

It should also be noted that a third of people who scan a QR code have a household income over $100K, so these might serve to attract consumers of a higher income level with greater spending power.

If you’re looking for ways to make your optical more interactive, click HERE to access a list of QR codes that link to educational videos.  Take as many as you like – they’re free!  (author’s note: I do have permission from the various companies to use / distribute these videos for patient education purposes)

About Steve:  Steve Vargo, O.D., M.B.A. is in private practice in St. John, Indiana where he lives with his wife and 2 sons.  He also founded iMobile Communications, and frequently writes and lectures about using technology for marketing and communication.

There is a need among optometrists  to be highly organized and technology affords you the ability to do this.  Due to the demands of practice efficiency this is a must in being successful.  Interestingly enough, I have met many ODs that are not organized and I wonder how they do it.  They attempt to utilize sticky notes or scrap paper.  Or they have a “technology” of using a word document to put their thoughts into.  I’ve also heard ODs that bookmark everything in their browser but then are unable to locate what they bookmarked because it is difficult to search bookmarks for content.  They attempt to juggle all the balls in their mind and then frustrate others by forgetting the little things.  They can’t find that piece of paper or bookmark that had information on it.  Unfortunately, the information is needed for the meeting that started 15 minutes ago.  For some it works, others, utter chaos!

Technology has changed this old way of project and task management.  The best organizational program available, in my opinion, is called Evernote.  This piece of software allows you to be organized from any computer or phone and it all syncs together simultaneously.  I currently use 3 main technology devices (iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Air) and Evernote allows me to access data from any of them.  One key feature that I enjoy with Evernote is the ability to easily clip any web page and send it directly to Evernote for reference later.  Evernote will also efficiently search all notes and content within the notes.  I would not be capable of going completely paperless in optometry and in life if not for Evernote.  There are many other great features of this software.  The greatest thing is that it is free.

So where does this fit into transitioning an optometry practice.  It fits into the demand for you to be highly organized and efficient.  Having all your notes, quotes, recommendations, numbers, etc., all at your fingertips gives you a competitive advantage among your peers and give you the information you need when you need it to make good practice management decisions.  It also helps de-clutter that mind of yours.

About Chad: Chad Fleming, OD, FAAO  is an owner of a 4 doctor practice in Wichita, KS where he lives with his wife and 2 boys.  Dr. Fleming is also the Business & Career Consultant for AOA Excel.  He coaches doctors in becoming associates, transitioning to partners and selling optometry practices.  He is also founder/ceo of OptomteryCEO, LLC.

For decades, contact lens professionals have used journals to obtain contact lens information.  While this was an adequate tool in the past, this search method is quickly turning obsolete.  Traditional print sources are just unable to assist practitioners with the thousands of contact lenses currently on the market.  It is becoming increasingly difficult to sift through all the excess to find the right product for one’s patient.

Times are changing and analysis shows that more and more people are turning to computers and mobile devices to find the information they need.  Has the contact lens market kept up with these changes?  Simply answered… No.  In order for doctors to learn about the various contact lens designs, and better understand their differences, there needs to be an easily accessible centralized location where one can review these lens specifications.  This location should be updated in real-time, offer new ways of analyzing contact lens products, host an online community and provide an overall next level resource for practitioners.  This is where TheRightContact.com comes in – a website designed to do just that, and much more.

TheRightContact.com is primarily a search engine that allows for detailed searches that yield results on over 2,000 contact lens products from more than 150 different contact lens manufacturers.  With just a few clicks, users can now easily search and compare lenses (as well as lens care products) on dozens of preferred and relevant parameters.  By bringing together a mass collection of contact lens information to one location, it enables users to filter and identify that information like never before.

The site also provides other services encompassing all of the major areas of need for the eye care professional, regardless of the level or stage of their career.  Aside from parameter and fitting guides, theRightcontact.com is also a valuable information portal with a social element that unites users through the sharing of news, articles, patient care assistance and other pertinent industry-related data.

About the author:  Jason E. Compton OD currently serves as the President of The Right Contact, Inc.  Aside from Dr. Compton’s work with TheRightContact.com, he also actively works in a full-scope private practice with a concentration on specialty contact lenses.”

How it works:

The Eye Health News Feed is designed to help keep Facebook pages up-to-date and informative for eye care practitioners. Doctors sign up for the feed here, and have the choice of a feed that posts once a week, or one that posts 2-3 times a week. There is also an international news feed for practices outside the U.S.  They recommend that practices have a member of their staff add the feed for them, but doctors do have the option of adding it themselves. Once it is added to a Facebook page, the Eye Health News Feed will update automatically with weekly posts.

Type of content:

The feed only posts eye health and vision news. It does not include any product news, so there’s never a conflict between the products a doctor uses in his or her office. You can see a feed-enabled Facebook page here for a reference of their recent posts.  It is a great way to educate patients and build Facebook traffic.

Added benefits:

The feed is completely free and can be paused at any time. The automatic updates of relevant news allow eye care professionals to focus on their own practice-related posts and promotions.

Steve Vargo, OD, MBA is president of iMobile Communications, a digital media marketing service.  He also writes and lectures on ways to improve practice efficiency and profitibility through technology and social media.