Social Media: Utilizing More than Just Facebook

Countless articles and blogs give attention to the topic of Facebook as a useful social media tool for businesses, primarily due to its massive number of users and ease of utility. Twitter, too, receives more consideration as the number of users continues to grow. Yet there are other platforms that receive less attention despite their potentially being more suitable for business contexts. A prime example is Google+.

Firstly, Google+ is hardly limited in content type: your business page can post pictures, text, links, and videos just like your Facebook page. Yet there are advantages to Google+ of which Facebook falls short. Having a Google+ account is crucial if your business is conscious of achieving search engine optimization. Most Internet users use Google as their preferred search engine, and the results of Google searches give additional weight or relevance to Google sites. So if you’re concerned with the likelihood of your business being found by potential customers, a Google+ account is a necessary advantage. Just like Facebook, Google+ offers a tool through which you can monitor the attention your account/page receives in order to better help you plan and manage your posts.

Google+ also has an extensive network of users that will enable your business to interact with current and potential customers and other businesses. The latter is particularly important, as business-to-business interaction is fairly limited across Facebook- not because it’s not possible, but because the platform is designed in a manner that doesn’t make this type of interaction inherently obvious or useful.

Google+ is not the only example of a digital platform that goes under-discussed or underutilized. Companies readily make pages on social networking sites, but somehow lag behind on sites that offer a formal review process like Yelp, Citysearch, or Local.com. Some companies expect to establish a presence on these sites once a customer takes it upon his/herself to generate a review, therefore generating a page for that company. Instead, companies should be proactive in creating business pages on these sites. Not only will this increase the likelihood of acquiring reviews, it will also better the chances of the company appearing in search results.

The number of digital platforms available to be used by individuals and businesses alike continues to increase, as do the number of account holders for these sites. Companies need to actively establish a presence on every site available, especially considering that this effort comes at no cost to the company.

In the New Age, Doctors Belong on the Internet

The scope of the healthcare industry has moved beyond the confines of face to face interaction and print: it has become more crucial than ever for doctors and other health practitioners to have an online presence. The Pew Research Institute Project offers some useful statistics that support this assertion:

47% of internet users look online for information about doctors or other health professionals

37% of adults seeking information about doctors consulted rankings or review online of doctors and other providers

If potential patients are using the Internet as a medium to find and learn about health practitioners in their area, then the best source of information stands as local health practitioners themselves. Practice websites offer a platform of practical information such as location, hours of operation, contact information, and basic info about the credentials of the health practitioner. Social media platforms take an online presence one step further by enabling a practitioner to communicate with current and prospective patients.

Take Facebook, for example. Facebook is the number one social networking platform and is used by 57% of all American adults. Not only is it an ideal platform to use to spread information, it also enables practitioners to interact with other users in order to foster a positive reputation and heighten branding awareness. One of the greatest advantages in acquiring attention through Facebook is that users interacting with a given practice will be within reasonable proximity, as will most of their own connections. Their connections, in turn, will see interaction with said practice and thus will be more likely to find, take interest in, and interact with it. The nature of social networking fosters growth and expansion for businesses in regard to awareness and client base.

An active online presence not only contributes to the potential for growth, but also empowers a practitioner in the realm of reputation management. What is said and shared by others on the Internet, whether it is positive or negative, cannot be controlled or removed. Commanding one’s own presence and responding to what is said about one’s practice is the most effective way of mediating reputation.

The best way to secure the attention and business of prospective patients is to cater to the manner in which these individuals find and utilize information. Since the Internet has become a primary medium of practitioner searching, practitioners who do not break into the digital world will be left behind.

Prescription PR Quoted in Long Island Business News