Doctors Utilize Social Media to Attract New Patients
Posted By: Carlee Vellinga
Medical Groups are learning that social media is a helpful marketing tool. Many doctors and Health Care providers are beginning to utilize deals and promotions on sites such as Groupon and Foursquare. Doctors are offering discounted medical services for those who check the sites. This article from The Los Angeles Times illustrates the way the medical field is changing as doctors find innovative ways to attract new patients.
HealthKey: Doctors Experimenting with Social Media
Monica Dillon wasn’t happy with her eye care provider, so when she saw an online deal for an exam and glasses for $50, she clicked on it.
The accountant, who lives in Columbia and works in Washington, doesn’t ordinarily get medical care without a recommendation. But the offer was too good to resist — and, as she notes, there would be no surgery or undressing.
“The timing was right so I jumped on it,” she said about her purchase via Groupon, a deal-of-the-day e-mail sent to tens of thousands of people in the Baltimore region and millions nationwide. “I’d be more cautious about laser surgery or hair removal. That would take more research. But this worked out; they found a problem with my prescription.”
Katzen Eye Group, the company behind the deal, is among the growing number of health care providers testing the latest in social media. They’re intrigued by the opportunity to attract new patients who might have no or little insurance for specialty services, and to provide information and services to current patients.
Web pages, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts have become a staple of businesses. The newest trend are dealmakers such as Foursquare (a mobile application allowing participants to “check in” at locations and win small rewards), Scoutmob (e-mails that promise discounts at hot spots in cities such as Washington, though not yet Baltimore) and LivingSocial (a Groupon-like deal site).
Report on Online Marketing: How Effective are Facebook and Twitter?
Posted By: Carlee Vellinga
Twitter and Facebook are effective marketing methods which are growing in popularity. Austin Carr’s report on online marketing techniques provides graphs and statistics that show that among social media sites, Twitter is the most effective tool for click-throughs.
Twitter Crushing Facebook’s Click-Through Rate: Report
What is the most effective way for marketers to spread their message online? Facebook? Twitter? Company blogs? Email?
According to a new report by marketing firm SocialTwist, Internet sharing trends have shifted heavily shifted toward social networking, but other platforms still have a strong presence for word-of-mouth advertising. SocialTwist analyzed more than a million referral messages send using the company’s Tell-a-Friend tool, a widget that lets users share sites through social media.
In the last year, social networking sites saw a 10% increase in usage, and a 16% bump in click-throughs. Overall though, email still accounts for 55% of referrals.
However, when it comes to click-throughs, social networking sites are far more effective, accounting for more than 60% of the market share.
Thank you B2CMarketingInsider.com for Featuring Jennings Social Media Marketing
Posted By: Carlee Vellinga
Thank you to Brian Rice for publishing Valerie Jennings’ article regarding why businesses need organic SEO on B2CMarketingInsider.com.
Why Businesses Fail Without SEO
The evolution of social media continues to effect search engine optimization (SEO), and this is an on-going problem for many business owners, CMOs and brand strategists. While Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Metacafe, LinkedIn, blogging, SEO press releases and flickr give companies an advantage to monitor, drive website traffic and increase awareness, the bottom-line is that most companies will wait to understand SEO.
Social media will enhance SEO, and by reviewing reports such as Google’s Keywords Tool, businesses can evaluate results immediately for free. Now business owners, CMOs and brand strategists can work with online resources to evaluate what keywords will drive their search engine results.
Valerie Jennings 
Cassie Stubs
Katie Stumpf
