Marketing management can often come down to the advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing the work to save staff time
Point: In-house marketing, even if you don’t like to be on camera
Even if you don’t like to be on camera, I built a six-figure income from an online store using a simple PowerPoint presentation with a Walmart microphone and a free online app called Screencastify to record my voice and screen. I then uploaded that onto YouTube. I have developed more than 100 online courses that way and have never appeared on camera (even though I am quite dashing to gaze upon).
Next you want to start driving traffic to your educational videos using email lists and Facebook.
Use email to send a “personal invite from the doctor,” and your Facebook account to drive traffic with a zero ad spend.
Start with a few different posts to see which works better in your area and for your audience. Start with one screenshot of your video (start playing your video and pause it at an appropriate time, use a free snipping tool, save the screenshot and upload as a Facebook post). Use some fanciful wordsmithing to create curiosity and direct viewers to click on the image and have it take them to your YouTube educational video.
You can also market the video by finding Facebook groups and in their discussion section, if appropriate, offer to post your educational video for free or provide a link. You can also create a simple e-book for them to download and in the e-book mention your YouTube videos.
Use YouTube and Facebook in tandem for marketing management to combine social media platforms and engage your email contacts, expose them to your brand, and get them into your office. YouTube and Facebook really can work well together.
— Bryan Hawley, DC
Counterpoint: ‘You don’t need to study sign painting if you want your name on your building’
There is no reason computer-savvy doctors can’t maximize their own web presence. And there are definite advantages to it:
- It is cost-effective (if you subtract the opportunity cost of the time spent to do it).
- Getting your hands dirty with marketing management helps you to understand this part of your business.
- When you know what you like and know how to tell your story, you will be better positioned to explain what you want to consultants.
That said, consider whether developing your own web presence is the best use of your time. If you are already a web wizard, it may be a great idea. If you are just wading in to save some money, think twice. You have a practice to run and grow, so separate the things only you can do from those that can be done by others. You don’t need to study sign painting if you want your name on your building.
Practice growth and marketing management
With your practice growth in the balance, this may not be the best time to learn on the job.
There are service providers who will help you increase your business, and there are “those other guys” who may charge a lot and deliver little. Fortunately, just as there are review and rating sites for doctors, there are also review sites for web consultants. Doctors who hand over their web duties to others should put away their rose-colored glasses — it never hurts to start small and build slowly from there.
Ultimately, success in marketing hinges on your ability to tailor your message and type of communication to that of your target demographic. Talk to your ideal patients in the way and in the places they most strongly prefer.
— Rick Lehtinen
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