How to Write Killer Content for Social Media

Wanted: killer content.  In my last blog I talked about how to fill up your blog “bucket” on your website with content and send that content out to social media.  (Click here to see that post.)  Here are some tips for writing killer social media content.

  1. Start with a compelling title.  If you are writing about dental implants, for example, here’s a sample title:  Dental implants Give Woman, 85, New Lease on Life Says Dallas Dentist Dr. John Smile.  The opening provides a success story in just a few words. There is an 85-year-old woman who is now very happy with dental implants, so the reader is thinking that, yes, older adults can have dental implants.
  2. Put key words in the title. “Dental implants” is a good choice.  Notice also that the phrase “Dallas dentist” is included.  Some people search for that exact term.  The doctor’s name is also included in the headline.  You want to be very visible on the web.  The more times your name is mentioned in a professional context, the better.
  3. Limit the title to no more than 70 characters, including spaces. There are different authorities who will give you a slightly lower or higher number, but 70 characters maximum for a blog title will work out fine.  If the title is longer, it will likely be cut off by the search engine results page (SERP).
  4. Make the blog interesting and informative. Here is an excerpt from the body of the blog:  “When I first met her, the patient was unhappy.  She could not eat the foods of her choice and she thought she was too old to have dental implant treatment.  Now that her dental implant treatment has been completed, she never stops smiling!  She eats all her favorite foods, she has a terrific smile, and she does not have to worry about traditional dentures that slip, click, or cause embarrassment.  She says she feels young again thanks to dental implants, and she certainly acts that way.”  Now that’s killer content!
  5. Include a link to your website at the end of the blog. Some people will click and be taken right to your website.  Your content is not only about your practice; it leads back to your practice.
  6. Use different authors. When I write blogs and social media content for dental practices, I interview not only the doctor, but team members as well.  The result is that there are blogs from the doctor and also some from the unique perspective of the team
  7. Include an image to make the blog post memorable.  An image helps give the blog credibility and may induce someone to spend extra time looking at your blog post and reading it.  A great site for finding free images is pexels.com.

In Part 3, I will discuss how to find a never-ending source of killer content for your blogs and social media accounts right in own practice.

www.davidschwab.com

How Blog and Social Media Content Boost SEO (Part 1)

Social media and blogs significantly help SEO.  A website that looks great but ranks on page two is akin to being exiled to Siberia; anything lower than page two and you might as well advertise your practice on Neptune.  So how to you get to and stay on page one of Google?

To keep up your rankings, you need to post a regular blog and then push that same content out to your social media accounts.

What is a blog?

The term “blog” is an amalgamation of two words: web and log.  Blog is an unfortunate term because it sounds like a Soviet housing project.  Linguistic prejudice aside, I can define a blog as an article written to inform.  Think of a regular newspaper column on sports or politics.  On the Internet, the columnist would be called a “blogger.”   Use your blog to as your personal column in your own publication (your website) to tell people what you do and invite them to come to your office so you can solve their dental problems.

How long is a blog?

Unlike newspaper columns that have rigid length requirements due to space considerations, a blog can be almost any length. However, Google wants blogs to be at least 300 words in length, because Google does not want to reward frequently blogging with higher search engine rankings if a blog is only one sentence long.  Some “long form” blogs are thousands of words in length and they can greatly help SEO, but those types of blogs will be discussed at another time.  For now, think 300 words.

What does the blog live?

The blog should be visible or at least accessible on your website.  It’s a simple matter for your webmaster to install a button that people can click to access your blog.   Blog hosting can be handled in many different ways.  Many blogs are hosted by WordPress, a service that makes posting very easy.  In fact, if you can copy and paste text in Microsoft Word, then you can figure out how to copy your article into WordPress to create a blog.

How does a blog help SEO?

Two ways.  First, by posting regularly (once a week or at least several times per month), you continually add new content to your website and that helps SEO.  Second, you can push the blog out to your social media accounts, such as Facebook and Twitter.  When someone clicks on the headline content on Facebook, for example, the entire blog opens.  If everything has been set up properly, the reader is actually now on your website, which of course means one more click.  Google gives you credit for lots of clicks because Google thinks your website must be important if it is drawing many visitors.

How do I find the time to write a blog?

Writing a blog can be time consuming.  Web developers are continually asking doctors for content, and doctors always say that they do not have time.  I have developed a blog and social media creation service.  I write all the content for an entire year based on a phone interview with the doctor and staff.  When this customized content is “in the bank,” so to speak, it is easy to grab a new ready-to-go blog each week and post it.  Problem solved.

If you prefer to write blogs yourself, I will discuss the elements of a good blog and give you tips in my next posting, Part 2.

www.davidschwab.com

 

Don’t Text and Drive (Your Dental Practice)

Dental procedures require focus.  You concentrate on the task at hand and you do not want to be interrupted.  However, when it comes to managing the practice, there is a tendency to multitask.  Many doctors grab a few minutes of desk time and then overload their circuits.  They text, read e-mails, go through their stacks of stuff, talk on the phone, and try to carry on a conversation with an employee and make management decisions.

What’s wrong with this picture?  In their illuminating book entitled The One Thing: The Surprising Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results, Gary Keller and Jay Papason point out the fallacy of multitasking.  It turns out that the brain, like any given computer, has a limited amount of computing capacity. When we multitask, we end up doing several things not nearly as well as we could do one thing.  Research shows that distractions are interruptions that slow us down, detract from the quality of work, and ultimately make tasks longer and harder to complete.  That’s why it’s dangerous to text and drive a vehicle, and why it’s also not good for the health of your practice for you to text or otherwise multitask while managing your business.

When management is just one more ball to juggle, it does not get the attention it deserves.  Decisions are rushed or delayed, employees do not get clear direction or feedback, and problems fester.  By attempting to do too much at one time, not enough time and energy are focused on the complex task of management.  The result is that small management problems are easily glossed over and until they grow into large problems that threaten employee morale and practice production.

There are two solutions.  First, management has to be a priority.  When you are making business decisions, you need the same clarity, focus, and sense of purpose that you bring to the task of establishing an accurate diagnosis for a patient.  Second, you need to have an office manager—even in a small practice—who handles administrative matters and calls your attention to important issues for decision making.

At any given time, the one management task that you are trying to accomplish is important.  Focus.  Give it your all.

www.davidschwab.com

Three Reasons Your Practice Will Grow in 2017

Your practice will grow in 2017 unless you lock the doors and put bars on the windows. Patients are going to demand dental services in the coming year for three very solid reasons.

Consumer Confidence. In late 2016, consumer confidence hit a 15-year high. This confidence index is a psychological snapshot. When people feel more optimistic about their economic well-being, they spend more money. When they spend more money, the economy grows. When the economy grows, people then feel even more confident and the cycle repeats. As Hamlet says, “as if increase of appetite had grown by what if fed on.”

Economic Vibrancy. The U.S. economy grew at 3.5 percent in the third quarter of 2016, its best showing in two years. The country’s unemployment rate fell to 4.9%, the first time this important measure has been below 5% since 2008. Because more people are working and the economy is growing, people have more money to spend on personal care such as dentistry. Your practice will grow in the coming year, because a rising tide raises all ships.

Demographic Destiny. Every day in the U.S., 10,000 people reach the age of 65. Many people in their 60’s are still working, or retiring and deciding to travel, dine out frequently, and spend money on themselves, especially for services that improve the quality of their lives. As these Baby Boomers continue to mightily influence the economy, the Millennials are on the cusp of their peak earning years. Larger than any other group and driving social media and consumer trends, the Millennials are starting families, buying houses, and becoming an increasingly important part of the dental population.

These factors are coming together to create a perfect storm for production growth in your practice in 2017. With the external factors all moving in the right direction, the challenge is to position yourself to take full advantage of these trends.

Throughout the coming year, I will be writing about how to ride the wave by seizing on trends, running the practice efficiently, motivating the team, and finding creative ways to tap into a growing market for your services.

Happy New Year!

 

www.davidschwab.com

New Team Training Video Series Available!

My new Team Training Video Series is now available!  The series consists of videos and written materials to help you implement proven practice management tips and concepts.  Here’s the link to all the info: Click here.

There are twelve videos, each about 15 minutes in length, where I cover topics such as:

  • Converting Internet Inquires into Patients
  • Using Social Media to Reach Millennials and More
  • Great Verbal Skills for the Dental Team
  • Secrets of Magnetic Practices that Attract New Patients

Watch each video and fill in the blanks in the accompanying handout.  Then have a great team meeting using the resource materials provided.

The videos are accessed through the Internet.  Team members can watch on their own smart phones, tablets, or the office computers.  Sign up, get the link, and you are all set.  Watch the videos whenever you want, in an order you want, and as many times as you want.

This series effectively gives you an entire year of team training meetings.  I set the stage in the videos and then you use the written materials to implement specific action steps.  It’s a practical, cookbook approach that also allows for team discussion.

These videos are also great to help bring a new team member up to speed or to get everyone on the team on the same page.  There just is no substitute for team training, and this series bridges the gap between my content-filled practice management seminars and putting tips into practice in your dental office.

Here’s the bottom line:  I really enjoy doing in-office consulting, but if you want me to virtual appear in your office once a month for an entire year, then this Team Training Video is an outstanding value, especially at the low, introductory price.

Best wishes to all for a great holiday season and a terrific 2017.  Click the link for all the info, an explanatory video,  and ordering information.  Click here now.

 

 

Three Things Never to Say to a Patient

Verbal skills in a dental office are very important. Here are three things never to say to a patient in your dental office:

1. We will be happy to make an appointment for your initial visit. The term “initial visit” sounds somewhere between bland and boring; it certainly does not communicate value. A better phrase is “comprehensive diagnostic evaluation.” Example: We can see you on Thursday morning at 10:00 a.m. for your comprehensive diagnostic evaluation. The doctor will conduct a thorough examination, including x-rays, and answer all your questions. Patients sometimes complain about the high cost to walk in the door. Let them know that their first visit is not just to get acquainted but that the doctor will use his or her skills to make a professional assessment of the patient’s oral health.

2. I know it’s expensive but we have a financing plan. The word “expensive” to some people carries a connotation of “over-priced.” A much better alternative: The proposed treatment will never be more conservative, more cost-effective, or less invasive than it is today. We work with an independent financing company that allows patients to spread out payments over time with a low interest rate. Banish the word “expensive” from your vocabulary because it makes communicating value for the dollar more difficult.

3. I’m new. Everyone has to start somewhere, but when you say that you are new, you are telling the patient not to listen to you because you are trainee and you have no idea what you are talking about—at least not yet. It’s better to say, let me check for you and then proceed with the conversation. If you have been in dentistry for many years but you are new to the practice, then you can say,I recently started working here and it’s a great practice, and I have a number of years of prior experience. If you have no prior experience, impress the patient with your great work ethic and commitment to customer service and do not be afraid to ask your colleagues for help, but do not emphasize your lack of experience to patients if you can avoid it.

By having verbal skills at the ready, you will avoid pitfalls.

www.davidschwab.com

Magnetic Dental Marketing to Attract New Patients

Magnetic dental marketing is all about attracting new patients.  You have walking billboards that frequently attract interest—your team.  Individuals who work in dental offices can turn inquiries into dental patients very easily by following some simple steps.

  1. When team members leave the office wearing clothing with the practice name and logo, they frequently attract attention.  “Where do you work?”  “Oh, is that a dental office?”  “I’ve heard of that dentist.”  These are questions people ask when they see a doctor’s name emblazoned on a shirt.
  2. If the person wants to end the conversation at that point, then that is their choice; but if the discussion goes further, then talk up the practice by giving your 15-second practice summary. Click here for my podcast on that topic.
  3. Offer the person who asked the question a business card and answer the questions that are posed.
  4. Ask them open questions to determine if they need a dentist. Many people will ask for advice about a dental problem and are eager to hear what you have to say.  If they need more information or you think could benefit from seeing the doctor, proceed to the next step.
  5. Ask for their business card. If they have one, that’s great; if not, give them another one of your cards and use this script:  “Please write your name and contact information on the back of this card.  If you like, I will have our office manager contact you to answer questions and help you make an appointment.”
  6. Tell the prospective patient that, if they prefer, they should call the office to make an appointment. Here’s the script:  “Call the office and mention my name.  Say that I said to get give you priority and get you in as soon as possible.”   Now the new patient has clout.  The patient can call the office and use your name to get special consideration.   You are using magnetic dental marketing to encourage someone to call the office.
  7. Make sure that everyone who answers the phone in the office knows that a team member has made a contact. The script is as follows:  “Yesterday I met a woman named Jane while I was out shopping.  If she calls, say that you have been expecting her call and that you will give her priority scheduling because she knows me.”

Note how each step makes the person feel important and enhances the likelihood that the person will call the office.  This is magnetic dental marketing.  Attracting new patients is all about seizing opportunities, making people feel special, and seeing the process through to the happy conclusion–a new patient on the books.

www.davidschwab.com

 

Taking Problems to Your Boss’s Boss Fraught with Peril

Dealing directly with your boss’s boss can be hazardous to your workplace health, something I know from experience.  I used to work for a very large organization. The CEO was a whip-smart and affable guy. In my first few weeks on the job, I would banter with him on the elevator, but I did not have much direct contact with him. There were many layers of management between me and the CEO.

One day just before closing time, the CEO unexpectedly appeared in my Dilbert cubicle and sat down in front of me. Heads turned. Why was the CEO on this floor? Why was he talking to one of the new hires? Was he going to fire the new guy (me)?

It turned out that he wanted my advice on an issue. We had a five-minute discussion and he seemed pleased with my input. He gave me an assignment that would take me about two hours to complete. I told him I would have it done by the next morning. Always pleasant, the CEO stood up, thanked me, and walked away.

About thirty seconds after that impromptu meeting ended, my boss called me into her office. She was not amused. She gave me a dagger-like stare and demanded to know how I could have had the audacity to “go over her head.” I explained that the CEO had come to me; I had not initiated the meeting.

However, my boss did not believe me, instead implying that there was some conspiracy afoot. She suspected that I had been secretly speaking directly to the CEO for some time in an attempt to subvert her authority. I explained that there was no plot to overthrow her. I was just sitting at my desk when the CEO dropped by. While this explanation did not sound plausible, it happened to be true.

She must have subsequently talked to the CEO because her paranoia later subsided. However, I learned a valuable lesson: appearances count and one must always be keenly aware of the chain of command.

When there is an office manager in a dental practice, employees are often unaware this business etiquette. If they do not like the answer they get from their boss, the office manager, employees quite cavalierly go over that person’s head and ask the doctor the same question, hoping for a different response. The doctor is not an appellate judge who is standing by to overrule someone else’s decision. If the doctor reverses the office manager’s decision, then the office manager no longer has any authority.

To make the system work, employees need to know that going to one’s boss’s boss is not acceptable. The doctor has to back up the office manager almost all the time. When the office manager’s word means nothing, then the doctor has the worst of both worlds: paying an office manager who is not allowed to manage. If the office manager makes mistakes or handles situations inappropriately, the doctor has to coach the office manager to help that person grow, or, in some cases, replace that individual.

The good news is that many dental practices are substantial businesses. With good managers in place who keep the practice running and allow the doctor to take care of patients, the business can survive and thrive.

www.davidschwab.com

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Hey Dental Team, Who’s The Boss in the Dental Office?

I frequently ask dental team members a disarming question: “Who’s your boss?” Almost all the time I get this unfortunate answer: “the doctor.” It is probably the correct answer but still not a good answer, because in so many dental practices, the doctor wears too many hats: clinician, manager, and CEO. The manager hat has to go.

This problem is seldom seen in medical practices. When a surgeon is in the operating room, he or she is not likely to be interrupted by someone saying that another employee wants Tuesday off and that is not going to work; team members complaining that the workload is not fair; or pleas for help dealing with a patient who insists on coming in tomorrow even though there is just no room in the schedule.

In dental practices the multi-tasking doctor is always under siege. Team members stalk him or her in the hall, the private office, and sometimes the treatment room. Decisions need to be made and only the doctor has the authority.

It is revealing that the organizational chart of most dental practices consists of the doctor at the top, with a flat line listing of all employees below. Everyone other that the doctor is on the same level on the chart. In business parlance, this means that the doctor has many “direct reports”—a small army of employees who need to get the attention of the boss/doctor throughout the day.

The solution is for the doctor to designate a true office manager, someone with the authority—not just the responsibility—to manage the practice and make day-to-day decisions. The office manager reports directly to the doctor, who of course oversees decisions, but the rest of the team all report to the office manager. In this way, the doctor can focus on treating patients while the office manager handles administrative matters.

No practice is too large or too small for a manager. Whether the practice has four, forty, or four-hundred employees, there needs to be a designated office manager to rescue the doctor from most managerial tasks and ensure that the doctor is kept busy cranking out dentistry, which is the way the business generates revenue.

Too many management tasks sap production time and wear down the practice’s greatest asset—the doctor. Years ago, when the pace of life was slower, offices were not bulging with technology, and patients were not in such a hurry to get back to their over-scheduled lives, the doctor could run the business and treat the patients. Now, however, the practice of dentistry is becoming more complex by the day and the overhead monster is threatening to eat the profits. To ensure continued practice success, the doctor needs to concentrate on dentistry, while the office manager does the rest.

For many practices, particularly small ones, having an office manager is a change of culture, and I help often practices with this transition. When the organizational chart is redone and team members are trained in new roles and responsibilities , everyone benefits from a more logical distribution of duties.

Next week: The political clash that occurs when team members want to go around their boss (the office manager) to talk to the “real boss” (the doctor).

www.davidschwab.com

Seven Ways Practice Administrators Can Motivate the Dental Team

To motivate the dental team, use these seven suggestions:

1. Praise Good Behavior Regularly to Motivate Productive Team Members. It is easy to spot bad behavior, but most people in a dental office at any given time are doing a good job. When you are looking for problems, it is possible to overlook the people who are working in the trenches and keeping the place humming. Notice good behavior and comment on it. Recognition is a great motivator. Keep a log of how many times you praise individual performance. Chances are it is not enough to motivate the dental team.
2. Get the Doctor On board the Praise Train. Team meetings should not devolve into gripe sessions or a post mortem of yesterday’s challenges. Find ways to praise people in meetings and make sure the doctor takes an active part. When the doctor notices, everyone notices.
3. Shut Down Gossip. What would you do if a team member started smoking in your office? You would no doubt shut down that behavior right quick, as they say. You need to establish and enforce a no gossip zone. It is just as important as a no smoking zone because gossip is nasty habit that can destroy a practice.
4. Confront the Malcontents and Slackers. You can be diplomatic or direct, but you cannot let complaining and unproductive workers slide by without calling them out. They will either get the message and improve, leave the office, or be asked to leave. The morale of everyone else cannot be dragged down by one or two people. Like it or not, as a practice administrator, you are a cop. You need to lay down the law.
5. Put the Whiners to Work on Solutions. A great way to quell a whiner is to ask for a written list of suggestions. Ask them to include ideas for implementation, a timeline, and a budget if their suggestions will cost money. Discuss their proposal at a team meeting. If they have good ideas, then try to implement them. If not, then the whiner will get a fair hearing and it will be time to move on.
6. Reward the Team. People play slot machines for hours because they never know when the machine will pay off. “Random interval reinforcement” is a powerful motivator. Do the unexpected: everyone gets off an hour early one day; lunch is catered in one in a while courtesy of the practice; you have a party to celebrate a productive quarter, etc. You break up the routine and give everyone a reason to thank you and congratulate each other on a job well done.
7. Use the “Broken Window” Approach. There is a philosophy in law enforcement, too complex to explain fully in this space, that says that the police should respond to minor crimes (such as someone throwing rocks and breaking windows in an abandoned building) to prevent major crimes from happening later. In every dental office, there are customer service standards. When one small standard is not observed, the bar drops just a little lower. Over time, the practice is no longer distinguished by first-class service. If, for example, every new patient is supposed to receive a hand-written thank you note after the first appointment, then stay on top of that protocol, lest you go down the slippery slope and find more egregious problems later.

Practice administrators do a great job. These suggestions are another handy checklist to motivate the dental team.

www.davidschwab.com