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O R E X C E L L E N C E. C O M S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E | J U N E 2 0 1 4
• Do it yourself (with some help). Learning what works and what doesn't
online can be a process of trial and error. It's helpful to seek the assistance of
someone with marketing experience for setting up a blog, tracking the results
and otherwise distinguishing yourself through social media, but don't complete-
ly delegate the writing of your regularly updated informational content to the
marketing professional. That would be really expensive, plus you won't learn
how to do it yourself and it'll sound like a marketing person wrote it. You want
your surgeons and staff to contribute text or video or audio, in order to develop
a relationship with potential patients.
• There's more to social media than just marketing. When I began
blogging, it wasn't so much a marketing effort as a way to have a voice, to
share information on sports medicine injuries and prevention. Its initial advan-
tage was that it wasn't filtered, that I didn't need to be interviewed by a media
outlet to make that information public.
It may have turned into a marketing
opportunity, but I didn't set out to
attract business. People may start
blogs or Tumblr or Twitter accounts
with that goal, but in health care it
doesn't quite work that way. The ideal
use, in my view, is to provide some-
thing of value. After you get started,
you can transform it into something
transactional.
• Online isn't a direct sell, but it
makes a valuable connection.
The thing about websites and social
media is that their marketing effects
K I C K E R
The lack of an online
presence instantly makes
you seem decades old …
and can cause patients to
question your abilities.
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