Optometric Management Special Edition

2015

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S P E C I A L E D I T I O N 2 0 1 5 • O P T O M E T R I C M A N A G E M E N T . C O M 53 T HE CONTACT lens indus- try is one in which we see a continuous stream of innovative products and services. Not only do these advancements ben- eft patients, but they also provide a tremendous marketing opportunity both in-ofce and online. Let's explore three ways you can leverage social media to communicate the value of these new and innovative products to your current and future patients. 1 SHARE BRANDED CONTENT Let's face it: the market- ing budget of a major contact lens company is about a mil- lion times bigger than your budget. Tey are masterful at content creation that is engag- ing, which makes it ideal for sharing on social media. Your brand reps are a great resource for consumer-facing information and educational materials. Tey can point you in the direction of online press releases and product pages. Be sure to search both only doctor- and consumer-facing content. Company social media pages, includ- ing Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others, are also a wealth of information and sharable content. It's good practice to "like" or follow these pages so you will always be alerted to new posts. For example, companies post high- quality videos to YouTube you can re- post on your social media channels. In addition, Facebook is another must-look source for sharable content. You are likely to fnd useful content on the company's consumer Facebook page, its eye care professional page and, sometimes, a product-specifc page. Scan the timelines of these pages and look for popular posts pertaining to the brand or product you wish to pro- mote. If a post that has gathered a lot of "likes," shares and comments on the company or product page, it's more likely to engage your followers as well. 2 MIX YOUR MEDIA If you've been active on social me- dia, it's likely that you've created several great social media posts. Perhaps you produced a great video introducing a new product, or have a few well-written testimonials from patients. A great way to repurpose the content is to combine it and create an email blast to send to pa- tients. Most email marketing platforms have easy-to-use templates that allow you to add various types of content, in- cluding videos, images and more. 3 HYPER TARGET ADS Does this new innovation help solve an existing issue in your patient popula- tion? For example, if you know all your patients in brand X can potentially ben- eft from the new product, you can gen- erate a Facebook ad specifcally geared to educate those patients on how the new product could beneft them. To accomplish this, use your EHR to generate a report that contains the email addresses of all brand X wearers. Ten, use the email list in Facebook to create a "custom audience" for your ad. What this means is that Facebook will only show your ad to those on the list you uploaded. Te more targeted your ad, the more efective it will be. And, as with other marketing eforts, it is best policy to include a call to action, such as "Call us today to book an appointment and try out these new lenses!" SPREAD THE WORD Again, the contact lens industry is brimming with a large array of innovative products. By leveraging the power and widespread vis- ibility of social media, you can educate your patients on the latest innovations, helping them see and feel their best — and help your practice gain and retain patients. Use the above three tips as a starting point to cultivate a winning social media campaign. OM JUSTIN BAZAN, O.D., is the founder of Park Slope Eye, in Brooklyn, N.Y. He is a member of the AOA, NYSOA and the AAOMC. In 2014, he received fnancial compensation for services from Allergan, Bausch + Lomb, Vision Service Plan, Luxottica, The Vision Council and Foster Grant. Visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment to comment on this article. MARKETING NEW CONTACT LENSES THREE TIPS FOR PROMOTING INNOVATION ONLINE BUSINESS SOCIAL MEDIA

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