If your eyecare practice has been putting in the time to effectively market your office, it's likely you have a presence on social media. Maybe you're just on Facebook, or maybe you're present on a handful of platforms in an attempt to reach more of your target market. For some, it might be hard to determine if the addition of another social media page would be beneficial to your overall social strategy.
We've put together a list of questions you should ask yourself before diving in to the latest social trend. When it comes to social media strategy it's definitely not a one shoe fits all type of thing!
Optical Marketing: Should Your Practice Dive into a New Social Media Platform?
Is your target audience present?
Depending on where your practice is located, and who your biggest audience is, certain social platforms might make more sense than others. For example, if your practice is located in a college town, and you have a younger audience that is more active on certain social channels, that could play a big part in swaying your next social move.
Will this platform give you something that your current platforms don't?
If your audience is already active on one or more social channels, will the new platform be able to give you (or your followers) something more that your current pages don't already give you? If you've been putting in the time and effort, but aren't seeing a lot of engagements or interactions on your current pages it might be a good time to try something new and see if you can fill a need that's been missing.
Do you have the time and resources to manage this account?
These days, it's not easy to build an engaged and loyal social following. It takes a lot of time and commitment to stay present and active with your followers. Does your current social media team or manager have the time and budget to manage a new channel? Make sure it's a realistic addition for your team to manage. Remember, if you create a new account but aren't quick to respond or engage, it could end up hurting your web presence more than helping.
What is the goal of the new platform?
Setting goals is a great way to monitor and evaluate the success of your optical marketing strategy. Goals can be measured in a variety of ways including new followers, engagements, practice awareness, increased SEO, or appointments booked from the channel. Knowing your goals will help you pinpoint the content and editorial calendar that makes the most sense for the platform.
What is your plan for engaging and creating content?
As we mentioned before, staying active on social media doesn't come easy. You need to have a plan in place for the actual content you are going to share with your audience. If your team is going to be spending too much time searching and creating content for the channel that would be a big factor in determining if it's the right move for your strategy.
