How real optometrists use social media.

1. Beyond The Buzzwords:
How
Optometrists Market Their Practice
with Social Media
Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD, FAAO

2. A bit about me
• I practice in Tampa, FL
• Solo doc – Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
• Specialize in Vision Therapy
• Social media consultant since 2009

3. Questions?
Tweet @NateBW
Text 813-469-2366

4. My Assumptions
1) You want to be successful
2) Social Media is here to stay
3) Social Media is good for Business
4) Social Media is good for Optometry
5) You want to know more

5. First, a show of hands
How many here:

6. First, a show of hands
How many here:
• Have a website?

7. First, a show of hands
How many here:
• Have a Facebook Account?

8. First, a show of hands
How many here:
• Have a Blog?

9. First, a show of hands
How many here:
• Have a Pinterest account?

10. With social media, there is a
W I D E
difference in knowledge & experience.
ASK QUESTIONS!

11. What is Social Media?
• Media designed to be disseminated through online
social interaction, created using highly accessible
and scalable publishing techniques. Social media
includes websites like Facebook, blogs, and
networks like Twitter and Youtube. All of these
allow for instant interaction with unlimited people
in an organized fashion, largely cloud-based and
on smart phones or tablets or desktops from
almost any location at any time around the clock,
blah, blah, blah, engage with real-time back-
channel curation to optimize your crowd-sourced
ROI of viral platforms.

12. What is Social Media?
(Buzzword free)
Ways to share stuff online
(Note: Everything online is shareable.)

13. Evolution of the Web:
• Web 1.0: Webpages, links
• Web 2.0: Social, interactive
• Web 3.0: Mobile, location

14. Online Trivia….
• Globally __ % of adults use social media
___ most popular online activity.
• Social networking is
• Over ___ billion smartphone app uses per year.
• Average of __ minutes a day on smartphones.
• Over ___ million people shop online.
• Of those, __% share purchases online.

15. Online Trivia….
• Globally 62 % of adults use social media
___ most popular online activity.
• Social networking is
• Over ___ billion smartphone app uses per year.
• Average of __ minutes a day on smartphones.
• Over ___ million people shop online.
• Of those, __% share purchases online.

16. Online Trivia….
• Globally 62 % of adults use social media
THE most popular online activity.
• Social networking is
• Over ___ billion smartphone app uses per year.
• Average of __ minutes a day on smartphones.
• Over ___ million people shop online.
• Of those, __% share purchases online.

17. Online Trivia….
• Globally 62 % of adults use social media
THE most popular online activity.
• Social networking is
• Over 400 billion smartphone app uses per year.
• Average of __ minutes a day on smartphones.
• Over ___ million people shop online.
• Of those, __% share purchases online.

18. Online Trivia….
• Globally 62 % of adults use social media
THE most popular online activity.
• Social networking is
• Over 400 billion smartphone app uses per year.
• Average of 77 minutes a day on smartphones.
• Over ___ million people shop online.
• Of those, __% share purchases online.

19. Online Trivia….
• Globally 62 % of adults use social media
THE most popular online activity.
• Social networking is
• Over 400 billion smartphone app uses per year.
• Average of 77 minutes a day on smartphones.
• Over 160 million people shop online.
• Of those, __% share purchases online.

20. Online Trivia….
• Globally 62 % of adults use social media
THE most popular online activity.
• Social networking is
• Over 400 billion smartphone app uses per year.
• Average of 77 minutes a day on smartphones.
• Over 160 million people shop online.
• Of those, 60% share purchases online.

21. Why Social Media for
your Practice?
• SM fans more likely to spend
• Doesn’t cost money (but is not free)
• Ability to update in real-time
• Failure of traditional methods
• SM growing rapidly in all demographics
• All the cool kids are doing it
• 5X more people trust SM reviews to ads

22. Social Media Ground Rules
• Social Media is like Real Life
• Separate public and private
• Billboard Rule
• Breadcrumbs
• Filtering
• Most Things Don’t Go Viral
• People are interested in THEMSELVES!

23. Social Media Ground Rules
• Social Media is like Real Life
• Separate public and private
• Billboard Rule
• Breadcrumbs
• Filtering
• Most Things Don’t Go Viral
• People are interested in THEMSELVES!

24. Social Media Ground Rules
• Social Media is like Real Life
• Separate public and private
• Billboard Rule
• Breadcrumbs
• Filtering
• Most Things Don’t Go Viral
• People are interested in THEMSELVES!

25. Social Media Ground Rules
• Social Media is like Real Life
• Separate public and private
• Billboard Rule
• Breadcrumbs
• Filtering
• Most Things Don’t Go Viral
• People are interested in THEMSELVES!

26. Social Media Ground Rules
• Social Media is like Real Life
• Separate public and private
• Privacy
• Billboard Rule
• Breadcrumbs
• Filtering
• Most Things Don’t Go Viral

27. Social Media Ground Rules
• Social Media is like Real Life
• Separate public and private
• Billboard Rule
• Breadcrumbs
• Filtering
• Most Things Don’t Go Viral
• People are interested in THEMSELVES!

29. Social Media Ground Rules
• Social Media is like Real Life
• Separate public and private
• Billboard Rule
• Breadcrumbs
• Filtering
• Most Things Don’t Go Viral
• People are interested in THEMSELVES!

31. Social Media Ground Rules
• Social Media is like Real Life
• Separate public and private
• Billboard Rule
• Breadcrumbs
• Filtering
• Most Things Don’t Go Viral
• People are interested in THEMSELVES!

32. Social Media Ground Rules
• Social Media is like Real Life
• Separate public and private
• Billboard Rule
• Breadcrumbs
• Filtering
• Most Things Don’t Go Viral
• People are interested in THEMSELVES!

33. Social Networks
• Facebook
– Largest network, almost 1B users
– Ave user spends 8 hours per month
• Twitter
– Useful for quick, short communication.
– 84% of marketers use it
• LinkedIn
– Largest network for business
– 71% of marketers use it
• Google+
– Google’s “social spine”

34. Blogs
• Usually maintained by an individual with
regular entries of commentary,
descriptions of events, or other material
such as graphics or video.

36. Content Communities:
• Pinterest
– New, fast-growing, Collections of images
• YouTube
– Largest video collection
• Review Platforms (Yelp, Angie’s List)
– Business reviews
• Location Based (Foursquare)
– “Check-in”, get rewards, recommendations

37. Social Media Strategy Overview
• Outline your goals
• Identify target audience
• Combine SM with existing efforts
• Empower your patients to talk about you
• Test
• Test
• Test

38. Social Media Do’s
• Be Your Truly Awesome Self
• Be interactive
• Post interesting AND useful content
• Make it easy for people
• Encourage people to check in and review
• Get staff involved
• Be consistent

39. Social Media Don’ts
• Don’t make it all about you
• Don’t be a machine
• Set it and forget it
• Spam
• Do it all yourself
• Spend more than 15 minutes a day

40. SM for Students
• Educate Yourself
• Network, Network, Network
• What you post now is what future
colleagues and patients will Google.

41. SM for Employed ODs
• Increase your value to a practice
• Create your own brand
• Contribute to Optometry

42. SM for Opening Cold
or Young Practice
• Start Promoting Yourself &
Practice ASAP
• Book before the doors open
• Highlight specialties and
unique qualities
• Getting patients excited

43. SM for Mature Practice
• Patient Retention
• Increase recall effectiveness
• Increase sales per patient
• Gain patient feedback
• Network with potential partners/buyers
• Add value for sale

44. SM for Everyone
• Educate yourself.
• Don’t forget the backchannel.
• Interact with publishers and organizations.
• Have fun!

45. You are not alone
Social Outsourcing Options
• ECPSocial
• EyeCarePro.Net
• Uptempo Group
• Local companies

46. Take-aways
• Do Facebook. Don’t blog.
• Be creative. Play games. Have fun.
• Spotlight your patients as much as possible.
• Get staff involved.
• Look at reviews – good and bad.
• Be efficient. Don’t get sucked in.
• Hire outside help if you need to.

47. Take-aways
SOCIAL MEDIA
is
WORD OF MOUTH

48. References
Stats:
• http://thesocialskinny.com/99-new-social-media-
stats-for-2012/
Pictures:
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/spine/
• http://BrightEyesTampa.com
• http://www.tenterdentown.co.uk/
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/chriggy/
• http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2012/02/ask-lh-how-
can-i-tell-if-my-diet-and-exercise-routine-is-
working/

49. Books:
• Searchial Marketing by Alan Glazier, OD
• Social Pollination by Monica O’Brien
• Six Pixels of Separation by Mitch Joel
• Groundswell by Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff
• Social Media 101 by Chris Brogan

50. Social Media Blogs:
• Mashable: http://mashable.com
• Social Media Examiner:
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/
• Social Media Today:
http://socialmediatoday.com/

51. Eyecare Communities Online:
• Optcom: http://optcom.com
• ODWire: http://ODWire.com
• ODsOnFacebook:
www.facebook.com/groups/122070001227892/