Eyeworld

OPHTHALMOLOGY BUSINESS 72 February 2019 by Vanessa Caceres EyeWorld Contributing Writer of medical care." This allows you to tout something unique about your practice and state the benefit. At the same time, don't over- state what your practice can offer. Focus on what you do best versus wanting to be everything for every- one, suggested Ming Wang, MD, PhD, Wang Vision 3D Cataract & LASIK Center, Nashville, Tennessee. 3. Educate. Again, focus on what patients want or need. Dr. Wang said that most of his practice's traditional advertising has focused on education, be it on eye condi- tions, eye health, or new technol- ogies and treatments. He considers this his practice branding. "Using education as a branding tool, we seek to establish that we not only provide the best technology and latest treatments but also the best service and education," Dr. Wang said. 4. Think long term. If you feel rushed, you'll want to do some deep breathing to boost your patience— especially when you do traditional advertising. "It takes months, if not years, to see the effect of long-term branding, so stay on it," Dr. Wang said. Samantha Parrish, market- ing manager, ReVision LASIK and Cataract Surgery, Columbus, Ohio, echoed that sentiment. "Think of it as a marathon, not a sprint," she said. "Running a 1- or 2-month campaign on radio or television alone will not likely yield immediate results unless you are promoting a sizable discount to products or services." With proper expectation setting and strategic planning, tradi- tional venues like radio, TV, bill- boards, and direct mail can still be worthwhile investments, she said. Use your advertising to share what makes your practice unique and how that meets a patient need. However, make sure to also ex- plicitly say how that is a benefit, recommended healthcare publicist Karen Dennis, KSD Public & Media Relations, Hollywood, Florida. An example she gave is if you have extra weekend hours, your ad may say, "Tired of spending Saturday in the ER? We are open weekends." Another example she gave is if the ophthalmologists in the practice have special training, state why that's important. Here's another example from Ms. Dennis: "Staffed by Bascom Palmer Eye Institute/Uni- versity of Miami-trained ophthal- mologists to ensure the highest level Mr. Erickson said. However, there's always room for improvement. Here are 10 ways to maximize your traditional and digital ad dollars in the new year. 1. Focus your traditional ads on patient benefits. "While doctors have gone to years of school and are experts in their field, they make a huge mistake when they make their message all about themselves. Unfortunately, I see this a lot," Mr. Erickson said. Instead, craft your advertising to focus on patients' goals and needs. Once you focus on patients, they will feel confident enough to listen to the rest of your message, he explained. 2. Share what makes you unique, but also add the benefit. R eady to get the best bang for your buck with your practice advertising in 2019? Then plan, be patient, and invest some time and money into the right message. The good news, for starters, is that eye practices traditionally are open to cutting-edge advertising and marketing ideas. "Ophthal- mologists have historically been one of the most progressive groups regarding marketing," said Chad Erickson, vice president of mar- keting and business development, Advice Media, Park City, Utah. This includes cutting-edge websites, YouTube channels with educational videos, and engaging social media, 10 tips for effective advertising continued on page 74 Randall Wong. The latter may give him results about a singer with the same name. 4. Claim your business online. This means that you verify that the listing information online for you through various sources is accu- rate. By claiming your business on the various large sites that serve as business directories, you boost your online presence, Dr. Wong said. This should include sites like Angie's List, Healthgrades, Yelp, and Google. "If you can do that this year, you'll hit a home run," he said. On the afore- mentioned sites, look for an option on the page that says, "Claim your business online." However, the trick is to consis- tently list your practice name, ad- dress, phone number, and website. For example, if your practice address is 300 Main Street, make a choice to spell out "Street" or not, and be consistent about it among the vari- ous online platforms, Dr. Wong said. Consistency will go a long way in boosting your search engine optimi- zation, or SEO. In fact, rankings for information on Google searches are affected by the consistency of name/ address/phone number, great SEO on a website, and the number of Google reviews, he said. All of these factors increase the chance that your business will be featured on Goo- gle maps—the function that shows business names and locations with a little red pin on a screen-based map, Dr. Wong said. If it's available as an option, add a picture of yourself (or another surgeon at the practice), Dr. Wong recommended. This boosts visual recognition. EW Editors' note: Dr. Wong has financial interests with Medical Marketing Enter- prises and Sunrise Hosting Services. Contact information Wong: randall.v.wong@gmail.com Increasing continued from page 70

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