Posts tagged social media marketing
Case study: Medical practice increases revenue, conversions through content strategy
Aug 28th
About a year ago, I introduced you to Lisa Reath, who is the business/marketing manager for a nearby medical clinic.
Lisa faces an extraordinary marketing challenge — engage customers with a medical practice, which of course is surrounded by patient privacy issues. To make things even more difficult, the practice specializes in cosmetic surgery — not a subject people usually want to discuss in a public sort of way. Add in a recession and some intense competition, and you have yourself one massive marketing mountain to climb.
Unless, of course, you possess the business savvy of Ms. Reath. A few years ago, Lisa took my social media marketing class and just caught fire with new ideas. “I realized that I needed to stop selling so much and just be helpful and available,” she said. “That was a new mindset for me and our business.”
Since I first wrote about Lisa a few years ago, she has continued to make exceptional progress and I wanted to report on her results. But first, let’s review her strategy. The medical practice deploys a variety of content marketing methods:
eBook
“I think our most successful marketing effort is a 33-page Girlfriend’s Guide to Breast Augmentation,” she said. “It is designed to be read online or on an iPad, downloaded free, easily forwarded and linked to.
“Our idea was to offer patients free information about breast augmentation that is helpful but not easily found online. Chapters are informative but also entertaining. We went out of our way to try not to directly sell our practice.”
The eBook recently was named a “Magnum Opus” award winner and will be highlighted at the upcoming Content Marketing World.
What’s cooking
One of the most creative content marketing applications I have seen is Lisa’s publication of a high-quality, hard copy family cookbook that she distributed to friends and clients at Christmas. Again, the medical practice is not even mentioned, but you can’t help but think about it every time you open the book … which is often because the recipes are excellent! Quite a brilliant idea.
Facebook
“Given the privacy expectations with plastic surgery, we have had surprising success with Facebook,” Lisa said. “It’s largely because of a quiz game we play every week with our fans. We came up with the ‘Truth-O-Meter’ to establish ourselves as an authority and sort through all the misconceptions surrounding plastic surgery.”
Every Tuesday morning Dr. Reath posts a question on the Facebook page. A winner is randomly chosen from the correct answers and announced by a short YouTube video every Wednesday. Prizes include gift cards, skin care products, and contributions to charity in honor of breast cancer awareness month.
Blogging/video
Dr. Reath keeps patients current by blogging on hot topics in plastic surgery. He also comments on current events that affect women’s health. The practice has more than 120 videos on their YouTube channel covering common plastic surgery procedural issues and the the “Truth-o-Meter” game.
The results
There are measurable gains from the social media exposure:
- Revenue up 19% YTD vs 2011 in down economy (no open surgery spots in Dr. Reath’s schedule.
- Conversion rate is up from 55% to 70% because “Patients feel they know us and come in ready to schedule.”
- Today 2,082 Facebook fans with 203 regularly engaging.
- 9,027 downloads of Girlfriend’s Guide so far
- 109.5 percent increase in referrals to website from Facebook. #1 site for referrals after search engines
- Provides forum for good reviews which is becoming increasingly important for doctors.
- Top ranking for all key search terms
I’m proud of Lisa and think this is an enegerizing success story in an unlikely place. Agree?
Social proof and your battle for credibility
Mar 8th
While researching my new book Return On Influence
Social proof is a critical concept behind influence in both the offline and the online worlds. In the absence of enough information to make our own decision, we turn to signals from others to help us find a way forward.
Here’s a simple example — Let’s say you are at the site of a terrible car wreck and two people are shouting orders. One is wearing a doctor’s lab coat and one is wearing a pizza delivery uniform. Which directions are you likely to follow?
A social proof “badge” can bestow authority whether it is deserved or not. Somebody who wears a doctor’s lab coat, has an office decorated with diplomas, or drives an exotic car is communicating “power” — even if they are a fake. It’s a type of herd mentality, and it can be both dangerous and useful, depending on the situation.
Social proof is even more important in the online world
A badge like number of Twitter followers or a Klout score may be the ONLY mechanism we have to determine influence in the online world. Offline, we may have the chance to meet people, or ask a mutual friend to help us determine credibility. But this type of validation is often not possible online, so we seek a shortcut, and on the social web, there are plenty of them!
We are all suffering from information overload in this data-dense online world. We simply don’t have the energy to do any more digging and will gladly accept a “badge” as proof of authority.
When establishing online influence, social proof matters … even more than real achievement. I’m sure more people know how many Twitter followers I have than any aspect of my career, education, or charitable work.
Driving the wrong behaviors
So it probably doesn’t make sense to you when I tell you that I have eliminated many typical elements of social proof from my blog. Look around at other social media blogs and they are decorated with more badges than a five-star general. It makes good business sense to do this. And while {grow} has been on its fair share of “Top 10″ lists (I was recently named on of the “Top 50 Power Influencers” by Forbes), I have decided to take down the badges.
The reason is simple. Like any good business person, I’m competitive. And these often meaningless numbers were driving the wrong behaviors for me and my business.
Here’s an example of how social proof can be important and meaningless at the same time.
The AdAge blog ranking has been rendered virtually useless after the changes they made last summer but it remains the most popular “badge” you see on social media blogs. But the ranking has nothing to do with the quality of your content or the vibrancy of your community. You can climb the list by buying backlinks and gaming StumbleUpon. 20 percent of the ranking is an arbitrary rating given by a guy named Todd. One blog in the top 100 has not even been updated since 2009.
So this numerical ranking is just plain dumb. Social proof like this is fool’s gold — sparkly but meaningless. It can’t buy you a cup of coffee. And yet, due to my competitive nature, every time I dropped a few spots, I started to scheme about getting more “Stumble votes” or whatever. This is absolutely the wrong thing for me to be focusing on! This is gaming a number to establish social proof, not engaging in an activity that is directly serving my customers and driving income.
I need to focus on three priorities in my business: Clients, Content, and College Classes. Anything beyond that is a distraction. I don’t have the resources to game social proof badges like the silly AdAge system every week.
A personal decision
Social proof is important, but it was driving the wrong behaviors in me personally. So I have simply decided to ignore the numbers … for the most part. I literally have no idea how many Facebook, LinkedIn, or YouTube followers/friends I have. I have a rough idea of the Twitter followers because it is so prominent on my profile. I only check the number of blog readers I have once a month or so. I have not looked at my AdAge ranking in three months. And the blog? All the “buzz badges” are gone. The one number I do pay attention to is the social shares for each blog post because I think that is a good sign of feedback — those are your “votes” on what content is working for the community.
So I’m not following my own advice around social proof — but it is the best advice for me at this point in time of my life. I’m hoping that if I put that “social proof energy” toward delivering consistently great content that the results will follow.
At least that is the theory. Maybe someday I will eventually re-join the crowd and focus all my attention on “likes,” followers and popularity contests! After all, isn’t that what really matters these days?
Six ways to turn Yelp into your most effective marketing channel
Feb 2nd
Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.
-Jeff Bezos, Founder/CEO Amazon
Guest post by {grow} community member Kathi Kruse
How important is it for your to look your best to a potential customer? Today many companies are still ignoring what’s said about them online, both positive and negative. Some want to put their heads in the sand and wait until the Internet “just blows over.” Folks, your customer is online most of their day and night. They’re talking about you. Pretending they aren’t is a risky proposition.
Your customer loves the consumer review site Yelp. Why? It’s local and it’s easy to use. They look forward to sharing their experiences because it allows them to invest in the community … and in turn get value from the experiences of others.
For many consumer businesses, online reviews are becoming a critical component of decision-making. Car shoppers, for example, are increasingly relying on Yelp and other ratings sites. 84% of people say that online reviews influence their buying decision (Nielsen). Reviewers can also gain influence. Many of these reviews and consumer experiences also reverberate through Twitter and Facebook.
Make no mistake, Yelp can make or break many businesses. For many B2C and service businesses, Yelp may be the most important marketing channel!
What’s the best way to make sure you’re getting some customer love on Yelp?
The key is to have a rock-solid internal process for capturing and maintaining a steady stream customers who are willing to write reviews. Understandably, many of your frontline sales personnel may feel awkward about asking for a review, but you can put it in a way that makes the customer comfortable: “Our business is based on referrals. Would you take a moment to visit Yelp and refer us to your friends and family?” This is a great start to your internal process but it’s only the beginning.
I’ve developed a proactive system of capturing reviews and maintaining a consistent stream of “referrals” from your customers. Here are six ways to get your Yelp groove on:
1. Designate an Online Reputation go-to person who’ll take ownership of your implementation plan. They will be responsible for getting grassroots participation from your staff, as well as monitor and respond to the community.
2. Signage. Create awareness with your customers and your staff. Display “Love Us on Yelp!” signs throughout the store. Entryways, sales offices, customer waiting area, customer service and the cashier area. Give customers a card to take with them that reminds them you’re on Yelp. Put memos on paychecks, repair orders and invoices to create awareness too!
3. Reach out to your Raving Fans. Every salesperson has them, especially those that’ve been with you a long time. These customers go out of their way to do business with you. Ask them to share an honest review – don’t push for positive – just their honest opinion.
4. Hold a monthly contest with the staff. Nothing motivates like a cash prize! Example: if the store gets 20 reviews by the end of the month, you’ll draw a name and that person wins the cash. Have the drawing open to all employees so you’ve got everyone motivated to achieve the same goal.
5. Recognize staff members who get 5-star reviews. A gift or a nice mention during the weekly sales or service meeting goes a long way. When the other employees see it, they’ll be eager to be next.
6. Email marketing. Do a “Love Drip” campaign with a catchy subject line and a nice call to action. Provide a link to your Yelp profile so it’s as effortless for your customer as possible.
Stellar online reputations do not happen without grassroots participation from your staff. Leverage the power of your employees and institute an internal process to be proactive about your online reputation. Get your groove on and let your customers feel it, baby!
How is Yelp affecting your business? Any more ideas you can share?
Kathi Kruse specializes in automotive social media and online reputation coaching for the automotive industry. Connect with her at her Kruse Control Blog and on Twitter: @kathikruse
The Six Stages of Emotional Branding
Feb 1st
By Contributing {grow} Columnist “Social Steve” Goldner
Creating an emotional connection between customers and a brand is probably the Holy Grail of marketing. Most often, brands strive for this by being the pinnacle of something and then reinforcing that position at every touchpoint.
Maybe the easiest brand to think of in this sense is Apple. Apple is cool, the hipster of technology. And they have achieved a level of fanatiscm with their customers by being the pinnacle of innovation and design and then continually reinforcing this message.
Emotional branding goes beyond loyalty and almost creates this “I-am-with-<brand-name>-no-matter-what” mentality. Recently I was reminded of the awesome power and massive strength of emotional branding. And this story has nothing to do with a brand you might find in a store. It involves well-educated, smart people acting in what I consider to be an irrational manner … all for the their love of a brand. The people I am talking about are my friends (hopefully still my friends after this article) and family.
The brand I am referring to is Joe Paterno, the beloved, long-time head coach of Penn State University’s football team – up until the time he was fired under a cloud of child sexual abuse scandals. No, Paterno was not charged with sex abuse. But after a long career of being an icon of integrity, he was ultimately vilified because he had not alerted law enforcement officers about the horrific events when he knew of them.
Joe Paterno was the Penn State University brand. The passion and emotion of alumni toward Paterno is unbelievable. Many of these alumni are people from my own network – tons of friends and family that are so emotionally tied to PSU and Paterno, that they refuse to let the scandal tarnish the brand. This is the acme of emotional branding — a bond so strong that even the most heinous blunder cannot deter the support, love, and admiration for the brand. I am not emotionally tied to the Paterno or PSU brand and I cannot fathom how bright, intelligent people refuse to move from this irrational, emotional connection. But there it is.
And while the example I highlighted above consists of repulsive allegations, it does represent a situation brands would legitimately want to aspire to – establishing such a bond with your audience that they will stand by you, and defend you, no matter what.
So are there any positive lessons about emotional marketing that we can learn from the Paterno case? Create brands where winning is a shared experience and then reinforce it. How does your ideal customer win with your brand? Incorporate this ideal into every aspect of your product or service. When building emotion into your brand, think about leading your customer through a continuum:
Emotional Stage 1 – How you get someone interested?
Emotional Stage 2 – How do you get someone to consider a purchase?
Emotional Stage 3 – How do you continually reinforce that their purchase decision was absolutely the right decision, the “winning” decision?
Emotional Stage 4 – How do you create a loyal customer such that they want to continue to buy your product and/or are most receptive to cross selling and value add purchases?
Emotional Stage 5 – How do you create a brand ritual (www.brandrituals.net) so that your brand becomes part of your customer’s life?
Emotional Stage 6 – How do you get your audience to be your cheerleader?
You could literally create a blog post on every single one of these steps and it would certainly be a fascinating concept to explore. But on the social web, where consumer emotions can turn on a dime, doesn’t it make sense to start building loyalty in a truly emotional way?
Steve Goldner is the Senior Director at MediaWhiz where he leads the social media practice. Steve has been a marketing executive for the past 20+ years and engaged in social media for the last 4 years. You can follow him on Twitter @SocialSteve and visit his own blog at http://socialsteve.wordpress.com .
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