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CDS Member News and ArticlesProfessional News Articles : : ON PRACTICE MANAGEMENT by Janyce Hamilton : Social networking via Internet sites: I did it, dentists can too Social networking via Internet sites: I did it, dentists can tooJune 26, 2009 “Everyone” seems to be on Facebook.com — 200 million to be precise, half of whom log on daily.1 It usurped the one-time “buzz site,” Myspace.com, which has reportedly been losing steam for over two years.2 A growing number of micro-bloggers (people who want to write a few sentences that their “followers” online can read 24/7) are on Twitter.com.3 LinkedIn.com, a place to post resumes and organizational profiles, has 42 million users.4 What about dentistry? The earliest confirmed online dental community site was started by an individual dentist a decade ago in Phoenix.5 There was only dial-up in 1999. Fast forward.
It’s 2009 and people talk about what they do and see on the Internet as much as on TV and radio. Hearing from members and staff of their online interests, the not-for-profit dentist member organizations have logged onto the social networking niche. Isn’t a Web site enough?After years of hosting standard Web sites (as of June 24, 2009: 110 million Web sites on the Internet6), dental organizations including the American Dental Association (ADA), American Student Dental Association (ASDA) and Chicago Dental Society (CDS) are out there. And by “out there” I do mean both out on the Web’s social networking sites and that the online presence of your dental organizations feels informative, yet, a little more fun and casual than the tony paper magazines and necessarily stuffy research journals they can send by mail. Figure 1.
Bart Lewin, Sales & Marketing Manager for the Chicago-based ASDA, talked with me by phone about his organization’s online presence. I was curious as to whether a greater percentage of ASDA’s membership would e-mail rather than call or write to their organization as compared with, say, the ADA. “Any time things skew younger [ASDA members], they are going to be more comfortable with the Internet,” Mr. Lewin said. One of the more interesting things ASDA witnessed early on in the trend toward social networking was that one of its members started a Facebook.com page — “American Student Dental Association (ASDA)” — without being asked to do so. The organization subsequently started its own official page on Facebook.com: “American Student Dental Association.” But because the student-made page was up first it has 2,745 members. “Our page is the one with 1,925 members,” Mr. Lewin pointed out, adding: “It’s not uncommon to have more than one page of you made by others.” ASDA’s official page has fans who read the organization’s posts on the discussion wall; also, one can see photos and names given by its fans. The student-made unauthorized page allows its members to post messages. As a result, its messages range from “Any feedback on CRACK DAT tests?” to “Unique Wealth Opportunity”—more of a ragged push-pin feel of the old campus bulletin boards. “A presence on Facebook.com or a local/industry specific portal could replace or supplement a Web page (think Yelp.com for a restaurant),” says Korye Logan, of BOSSdev, Inc., Troy, Mich. His title is Digital Marketing Strategist & Business Development Director, and he’s won awards doing projects. His client list includes Coca-Cola, Citigroup, the American Heart Association and the National Association of Dental Plans. For dentists with Web sites, Mr. Logan said: “Quarterly updates are fine for most small businesses. More frequent updates can be easily made using a blog or social network (i.e. Facebook.com updates or Twitter.com feeds).” The important thing is to respond to a patient e-mail sent to the address listed on your Web site. Mr. Logan explained that responses may come from any well informed member of the business. “In fact, a business will appear small if every e-mail comes from the owner. Timely responses are important, but an automated response acknowledging receipt of the e-mail can buy time for a more personal response.” That’s when the office manager finds the dentist at the end of the day to get an answer, but has to leave before a responsive e-mail can be sent. In the morning, the office manager can respond to the inquiry and still be timely. And a bit of advice is no wild party photographs (Please no: “dental hygienists gone wild”) on the Internet or angry rants by any dental practice team member (Please no: “Our patient today was the worst case of halitosis we’ve ever had. There was a baby portabella mushroom growing on her partial.”) Potential employers and patients can view this, form an opinion, and share the link around town. What else can a dentist do to avoid hurting a patient’s feelings online? “It is wise to keep business and personal separate. The business should have an organization page, while the owner might have a personal account. While one may get friend requests from patients at a personal account, one would be wise to not accept these; and instead refer these connections to the business page,” Mr. Logan said. Finally, what should dentists put on their social networking and Web sites? Mr. Logan said the idea is to provide value-based content that is relevant to your audience. “For example, if you are a children’s dentist, your September e-mail newsletter or Facebook.com content could offer tips on dental hygiene at school.” Four final guidelines from Mr. Logan for a business’ social media presence:
But no matter what, he said, a good rule of thumb is to maintain a balanced presence: “Don’t promote all the time. In fact, I suggest self promotion be no more than 10-20 percent of your postings on social networks.” The Assignment: Me as social network guinea pig
Maybe you are a dentist who has dreaded getting onto a social networking web site? If so, you are not alone. You can create accounts under the name of your dental practice or under your own personal name—that way, one location can be patient-education centered and the other, for your very own professional and social networking. The following journal entries record both my personal and professional entry onto three social networking Web sites. First, a little background on how this column came about. This column came out of a discussion with CDS Review editorial staff members about the Web and social media and what it all means to someone like me, who wasn’t on social networking sites and was resistant to being there. All I had was my AOL e-mail account from my dial-up days (news flash: high-speed connection installed in 2007) Every fiber of my being resists this assignment. Reasons? The usual. Well, actually, there are three. Can someone else do the set up for me? I loathe reading instructions. I don’t scan stuff or plug-in the digital camera to “upload” or whatever. An accountant does my taxes, and it’s the short form used by those at the Federal Poverty Level. What will I seem like to others? (not that I care) (Of course I care). If I put my “experience” businesswise on the Web, do I appear to be trolling for patronage (read: “unemployed loser”)? And, what if I write something that I read somewhere else but thought I dreamt it (“plagiarism”) or the dates of my college stint at the photo booth in the parking lot are a guess (“fabrication”)? And why would I put a photo of myself on a Web site? That’s just off.
If I let the world have access to me online, will there be no retreat to privacy left? Yet if I restrict being “friends” online with only people I know and like, won’t the casual acquaintances or neighbors think I’m rude? The “must-have-gone-into-spam,” “I’m-so-busy,” “I-never-check-it” and “My-email-and/or-computer-is-down” excuses go just so far.
May 30, 2009 Who knew? I have no other friends on FB except Wendy. I go to sleep feeling unpopular in the online social scene. Thank goodness for Wendy.
11 a.m. June 2, 2009
Today, Wendy evaporated a post on her FB site from me. She had mentioned she did that when some guy asked her out to dinner on her page once. In my post I had only told her I was referring a new client to her. As a kid, I sometimes gave away candy bars to make friends. As a grownup, it takes something more just to coax people to pretend I’m their friend on FB. Wonder what.
3:55 p.m. June 2, 2009 I’m sorry I mis-posted today!!! If I were a dog, my tail would be between my legs, head hung low. Now, I’m going into the doghouse, barely glancing back. Pausing, paw lifted weakly to “shake hand.” I will post on your FB page no sooner than one week from today. That way you’ll know I’m not a stalker. OK?
Wendy? These sites are so automated. Reminds me of the “virtual robot” who corrects my spelling via Microsoft Word. I write to robot: “My name is Janyce with a ‘y,’ robot.” “OK, Janice,” robot responds.
June 13, 2009 (Crickets-crickets.) The difference between comedian Kathy Griffin and me is people are laughing during her silent pauses.
June 16, 2009 My self-esteem is improving. Wendy doesn’t even know I have a Twitter.com account. And you know what? I’m ok with that. Around the house, I start talking to my family is short, 140-character statements. “Can’t cook or do laundry now, so can you help? Lots of paperwork online.” And I was bad at checking e-mail before. Now there's more stuff to check. Now it’s clicking away and feeling like a snoop when I read the posts of neighbors and other parents I know. A lot of people I know are checking out each other’s postings as if “conversing” in person on social networks. It’s weird. Now when your neighbor pulls down the driveway in her minivan July 4, you can see she posted her plans: she’s driving to watch the parade and then the fireworks on the sledding hill on the river walk. So what? Dentists in town can post a July 5 post-patriot’s day tooth bleaching sale of half off for those who can answer a trivia question about the July 4 town parade. Dentists know their patients saw the giant ice cream cone wedged in the tunnel. If they weren’t there, they probably saw the photo on the cover of the newspaper in the morning.
June 23, 2009
This social networking is one of the best things that has happened to me. Thank you Joanna Brown for this assignment! And seriously, Wendy I appreciate your help in creating my very first social networking page. © 2009, Chicago Dental Society References
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