The Digital Practitioner: Marketing
Showing posts with label Marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marketing. Show all posts

Sunday, 15 July 2018

Think Like A Marketer Not A Clinician:

July 15, 2018 0
Think Like A Marketer Not A Clinician:

If you want to really grow your business and continually attract your Ideal clients that will return year after year then you really need to think like a marketer and not like a clinician.



Now for me in the first 5 years of running my optical practice, I was very dismissive of ‘marketing’ and every time a rep from the local newspaper or magazine called to offer ad space in their recent publication I used to get irritated, firstly by their salesy pitch and secondly by the flipping price!

Being naive and in the first few years I almost felt guilted into running the occasional ad and reluctantly paying a stupid amount with no real evidence of return on investment. 

Knowing what I know now, I can honestly say I may have well taken a match and sent the money on fire. In fact, that would have been more useful as at least it would have produced a tangible energy exchange and generated some light and heat!

My lack of acceptance and value on marketing my business was predicated on my experience with the traditional marketing system. 

In addition, I was basing the overall success of my business on the fact that 
1.    I was a qualified optometrist, 
2.    I’ve set up shop, therefore patients will attend.
3.   I’ll be sending out recalls, therefore I will get repeat business.

That’s fine, if you are the only optometrist in your county, or state and may have worked in 1985, but this is now 2018 and I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but the biggest technological advance in the history of the world has just occurred over the last decade. 




But, here’s the thing, the world has moved on, technology has advanced, but it amazes me that so many healthcare practices are still marketing their business like it’s 2007!

In order to get up to speed and ahead of your competition you simply must be aware of the most effective marketing methods for your practice today. 

In effect you need to know how social media and digital strategy can revolutionise your practice in how your customer perceives and associates themselves with your practice and how you can use this to acquire loyal and raving clients who will be with you for the long term. 



First things first: 

Adjust your perception of what marketing really is in 2018.

“Marketing Is Caring!” – Marketing is providing the consumer an insight into what you, your brand or business has to offer and positing yourself with integrity in such a way that they will find it difficult to overlook your business or brand because what you offer ultimately will provide the most relevant positive impact on their lives in solving a problem or enhancing their lifestyle. You are giving the customer what they want!





Apply this thinking to your products and services and then reverse engineer how you would present and position your marketing in front of your Ideal Clients. 

Focus on them, get creative and put your content out there in a consistent manner. 

by: Alan Bryden

Thursday, 24 May 2018

Social Media for Doctors

May 24, 2018 0
Social Media for Doctors

Becoming a doctor is a great thing when your passion is to help people by saving their lives. It is evident from the fact that doctors today, using the most advanced and cutting edge technology are able to save many more lives. 

There are numerous doctors who do not fully understand the concept of social media which can improve the count of patients at their respective clinics. Social media plays a vital role when it comes to marketing your practice and fetching more patients.
Connecting with your patients outside the hospital or clinic can be an uphill task. A lot more doctors use Facebook, Medical Blogs and even Twitter accounts to contact their patients. This is proving to be beneficial as the doctors are pretty well marketed and they can provide in-depth knowledge of their practice area via these social networking sites. Apart from this, doctors can use various cost-effective methods to stay connected with their current patients.

Many patients today are social media friendly. They make good use of the internet to find correct information regarding their disease, symptoms, treatment procedure and a relevant doctor. Making full use of the opportunities presented by these social networking sites, doctors should follow their passion of saving people's lives.
Doctors can succeed in attracting more patients by constantly providing significant information about their practice and regularly updating it. Now the question arises how to update one's data which is already on the website? The answer lies in Search Engine Optimization. Get an SEO done for your website by a reputed company. They will use numerous techniques including exclusive content writing to rate your website sufficiently higher than the others on Google's front page. In layman's language, you'll get a higher PR. Patients searching for your practice area will then contact you and eventually your patient count will rise.
Online marketing and social media together have made the lives of doctors worldwide a lot more flexible. The operating cost of setting up a hospital, multiple offices, teaching and conferences have drastically come down. All the information a patient seeks is now just a few clicks away. Social media has built such a reputation that it connects patients with relevant doctors after the office hours and on weekends.

But that's only one side of the coin. There's a flip side to marketing your medical profession using social media. Doctors all over the world must take care of the fact what to be posted on social network and what not to be. Any misleading information can put someone's life in danger. Though, doctors should emphasize on providing top-notch health services and treatment to their patients.
Want to know how social media can help your practice achieve greater heights. Visit Practice Builders. We have been providing top-notch medical marketing services to physicians across the United States for the past 30 years.

by: Larry Holman 
Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Larry_Holman/1405450


Saturday, 24 March 2018

Smart Ways to Market a Service Business

March 24, 2018 0
Smart Ways to Market a Service Business

For both product and service based business the principles of marketing stand true - what are your customers pain points and how can you solve it. 



Get your message and expertise out there!

Wednesday, 27 December 2017

A Happily Ever After for Chatbots & Messaging Apps?

December 27, 2017 0
A Happily Ever After for Chatbots & Messaging Apps?

On the aftermath of their debut on messaging apps, chatbots have been at the epicenter of an ongoing conversation about personalisation. Why did this collaboration happen? And how far will this go? It's time to take a deep dive.
In the '60s, renowned media analyst Marshall McLuhan argued that the 'Medium is the message'. He was certain that it had a role in shaping and controlling "the scale and form of human association and action" up to an extent. According to this theory, the medium embeds itself onto anything it transmits, and it directly influences the way the actual message is perceived. It tries to be an extension of our senses, expanding our ability to perceive and interact with the world.

Today, about half a century later, the medium becomes an acceptable form of human interaction - say hello to your messaging apps. As of last year, there were 1 billion users (14% of the world's population) on WhatsApp. And combined with the users on Messenger, there are 60 billion messages - text, video, recordings that are sent and received each day. Where else would businesses find a better level of engagement?
In a recent survey conducted by Facebook, participants who could chat with retailers on these messaging platforms, be it on transactions, inquiries, or post sales services, felt more positive about the business. Commerce became a personal affair. McLuhan was right, and is still right - The impact of messaging does lie on the medium.

It's been almost 20 years, and why haven't businesses been largely successful harnessing these platforms yet? Because until chatbots came along in 2016, businesses marketing themselves via messaging apps were oblivious to one philosophy/brand of personalisation - 'If not human, be humane.'
Ever since they entered the market, chatbots on messaging platforms have been hit. They are having a positive impact on businesses, as more industries are jumping aboard the 'personalisation' bandwagon. Now, what is the next step? What does the future behold for this eclectic union? Here are 3 possibilities -
  • With chatbots, messaging apps will become the new browsers. They are about to do for businesses what websites were doing for them about a decade back. Forrester Research expects investments in AI and Machine Learning to triple in 2017, to better harness user behavior, to enhance the conversational interface brought about by bots.
  • Messaging apps will become more relevant to IoT installations. For e.g. more customers will begin to receive coupons, notifications on sales etc. via messages when they happen to just pass by the store. Or alternatively, employees in a factory can stay better connected with their machinery, and make better use of the data collected.
  • The 'App culture' is sinking, as users are getting more tight-fisted about device memory and data usage. But messaging apps/platforms are still titled 'essential' because messaging is now a way of life. Since chatbot platforms can directly deploy bots onto these apps, the need for a proprietary app is canceled. And the scope of services that businesses offer on these apps can keep expanding.
With the advancement in AI and Machine Learning towards its capabilities, chatbots are about to go a long way in understanding the nitty-gritty human behavior through messaging apps. But if McLuhan's theory still holds good a decade from now, chatbots might even become a critical part of human perception overall.




by: 
Ankeet Sarngin Kanungo
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9732180

Sunday, 10 December 2017

Thursday, 30 November 2017

A Brilliantly Simple Way to Boost Website Traffic - How to Get Internati...

November 30, 2017 0
A Brilliantly Simple Way to Boost Website Traffic - How to Get Internati...

Monday, 13 November 2017

How Twitter's 280 Character Increase Can Work for Your Business

November 13, 2017 0
How Twitter's 280 Character Increase Can Work for Your Business

It's official. Our Twitter timelines have doubled in size. All tweets will now fit 280 characters, up from 140. The new limit rolled out to Twitter users in almost all 40 languages. This is a big move for Twitter and can be an even bigger move for your business. 


The increase in characters shifts the focus directly on content. With the new increase you can create lengthier tweets that spark more conversation and keeps your audience more engage. Of course this could have been achieved with the 140 character limit and likely already has for many, depending on your demographic. 
But, with 280 characters, you are now able make more concise tweets that offer more insight about your brand without the worry of limits or having to overstate the matter over a spread of two or more tweets.
People love to talk about what's trending. People love to share. What better way to get your business thriving than by sharing more content with your target audience. Think of it this way, now you are able to discuss a lot more in greater detail about your products, services and current promotions. The better the quality of content shared in your tweet, the bigger boost you'll see in the long-term as people learn to come to you for information.




The boost also places more emphasis on the use of hashtags which is very important when promoting your business on he Twitter platform. Hashtags increase visibility in search engine rankings and is very effective when used to promote an event for business purposes. This not only allows small business owners and bloggers to expand their new customer base but it also generates more leads without you having to pay for them. How's that for an Aha! moment?
Twitter has about 330 million monthly active users around the world. The more you post, the more likely others are to engage with you. The primary focus is to drive interaction between you and your followers by re-tweets, replies, mentions and favorites. The 280 character increase will help you to further your brand's message by getting the word out and giving your followers what they want more of.
A Few Useful Marketing Tips To Help Utilize the 280 Character Increase
  • Start adding more detail about your brand in your posted tweets. Discuss what's going on with your business.
  • Use the right hashtags and increase them. The more hashtags, the more visible your brand.
  • Provide more commentary with your shared images. This encourages conversation with your base.
  • Interact with people by responding to their tweets and the tweets of others. Ask questions. Be descriptive. Give clarity.

Social media marketing helps a business to build its brand. Nothing expresses your brand on Twitter more than added content. Marketing your brand on Twitter is essential for spreading your business information and taking your business to the next level. Being able to share more content without the character limitations Twitter once had on its user platform is an added benefit to utilizing your marketing strategy and cementing the growth of your business.

Faye Bishop is a full-time Entrepreneur, Mommy, Writer, Foodie & Philosopher of Self-Determination. To read more articles like this one about small business interests and online marketing visit http://www.fayebishop.com




by: Faye Bishop

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9827235

Thursday, 9 November 2017

Choosing The Most Effective Email Marketing Tool

November 09, 2017 0
Choosing The Most Effective Email Marketing Tool

Email marketing is one of the most cost and time effective ways of introducing your products and services.
When executed the right way, your email campaign strategies will reap the best results for your online business.
If you're a new to this method, it pays to have the right tool to get you off to a good start.
There are many to choose from, but you want an easy and affordable tool that will bring outstanding results. Off the top of my head, I'd say that would be MailChimp.
Remember I said there are many options out there, but I didn't say they offer a free package; most if not all of them are even very dear.


Now if you're dipping your toes into email marketing, you will want to start small and at a lower cost, if there is any at all.
Another thing to consider, apart from the price, is the ease of setting up and integrating your email marketing tool with your eCommerce store.
Mailchimp comes with a free tier which allows you to have 2,000 email subscribers and send up to 12,000 emails a month. How's that for generosity?
That's precisely the reason it currently has 15 million users, and one billion emails are sent every day via this platform.
If you're wondering why this tool is a favourite among email marketers, new and seasoned alike, the answer is simple.
It is packed with powerful features that makes email marketing easy, inexpensive, and quick route to strong customer relationships.
Putting it into action
Your email marketing tool must have the ability to automate emails as this saves you a lot of time and allows you to do things that are worth your time.
It must also follow up on a customer's order or recommend a new product to them.


With MailChimp, you can stop wishing and leave it to handle all those mentioned tasks.
And that's not all, as A/B Testing is another of its built-in features that will help improve the performance of your email campaigns.
The said feature allows you to send out three variations of the same email to see which one gets a higher open rate and higher engagement rate.
You can also integrate Google Analytics with Mailchimp to find out which of your email campaign strategies are working and which ones are not.
Now, if you think that the Chimp is only good with email marketing, wait until you see it drive more sales to your online store.
Integrating its eCommerce tools with your online store, regardless of the platform that you're using, will increase your sales in no time.


I am so amazed with this tool that I had to share this course so that you can learn how to set it up and use it in the creation of your first ever campaign.
However, if you are already doing email marketing and swear by a tool which has never let you down before, then proceed to our main course on email marketing.
As for the newbies among you, prepare to get 2,000 email subscribers to engage actively with your email campaigns using Mailchimp.
See you at the lesson.
Multichannel marketing is the quickest route to reach your customers, so don't be left behind. Find tutorials on Magento, M2E Pro, Magmi and other eCommerce tools that will help you sell and earn more on Amazon, eBay and your own website at UnderstandingE.
See you there!




by: 
Dave Furness 
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9812304

Wednesday, 1 November 2017

Seth Godin on marketing, storytelling, attention, and the future of work

November 01, 2017 0
Seth Godin on marketing, storytelling, attention, and the future of work


Get Good At Storytelling and You Could See Massive Results From Your Marketing Campaigns.


As always Seth provides some excellent insight.





All good stories start from an Emotional Core.


Have you Identified This In Your Business?

Wednesday, 25 October 2017

Differences Between B2B SEO and B2C SEO Campaigns

October 25, 2017 0
Differences Between B2B SEO and B2C SEO Campaigns

The primary goal of both Business2Business (B2B) and Business2Consumer (B2C) marketing is to generate traffic, increase sales and enhance revenues.
Read on to discover the main SEO strategies which will you help in your goal:
1. Marketing campaign goals - Generally, most search engine optimization clients have been B2C companies operating in an e-commerce environment. However, as business-to-business marketers recognize the potential of search engine rankings, many organizations are seeking ways to implement an effective B2B search engine optimization strategy. However, you should understand the critical differences between B2C and B2B SEO and their implications.


B2B companies generally sell intangible technology, software and services, engineering and industrial products, intermediates and bulk products to be sold to wholesalers, exporters etc. The online marketing campaign goals should focus on increased targeted traffic, increase sales, increase online visibility, establishing your company in local search, establish your business in social media, increase online reputation through online management reputation and improve SEO.
B2C companies sell more tangible products and services. The goal of your marketing campaign is to get more leads, increase sales, build brand awareness, grow market share, launch new products or services, target new customers, enter new markets, improve stakeholder relations, enhance customer relationships, improve internal communication and to increase profits.
The ultimate campaign objectives should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. Some examples of B2C are restaurants and retail stores.
2. Keyword strategies - The starting point of every SEO strategy is keyword research as keyword research helps you decide which keywords to target.


B2B campaigns usually have industry-specific keywords (to understand the questions your potential customers are asking themselves, and breaking them down to search queries)which require intelligence to mine. A B2B SEO campaign takes much longer keyword analysis and intelligence to set up. B2B audience looks for expertise. B2B purchase-driven searches are very specific like specs, features, performance, value, benefit, ROI, cost of product and running costs such as maintenance, support, troubleshooting. In B2B search engine optimization, it is important to thoroughly understand the search terms your prospect may be using in the different phases of the buying cycle.
In B2C business, people already have a firm idea of what they want to buy. They want to find the best source for it. In the first phase of B2C search, people usually use generic terms. There is often less variance in the terms they use. So, B2C campaigns focus on keywords that are used or considered as every day i.e. generic and not so complex. In the evaluation stage of the buying cycle, the purchaser's focus turns from researching potential suppliers to researching specific issues related to the product or service like performance, efficiency, maintenance etc. Just prior to the purchase decision, one last round of searching will likely ensure to confirm the purchaser's intended direction and again different search terms may be used.
3. Content Strategy - Content strategy means to communicate new information about your company, a new product or feature. In simple words, content that is meant to present you in a favorable position to generate leads and drive sales.

For B2B, content strategy is to target an audience of industry experts and professionals who are familiar with your company or product, highlighting your advantages over your competitors. B2B content strategy should consist of company blog, industry publications, whitepaper, LinkedIn groups, landing pages and forums and communities. So, it is meant to educate a person.
The main strategy for the B2C content marketing is to drive backlinks and increase rankings. So, it is generally meant for outreach.
4. Link building - It is the process of facilitating the creation of links in third-party websites that point back to your own site and thereby boost your web presence.
Consistency in B2B messaging and customer-interactions fundamentally means patience. B2B campaigns still focus on conversions, they do not come easily. B2B SEO campaigns usually tend to drive low volumes of leads as a key performance indicator.The purpose of link building is to drive real, organic, quality traffic to your website and to improve your site's ranking with Google and other search engines.
B2C campaigns are usually focused on conversions and quick wins. So, link building in B2C focus more on sales and revenue per month with sales happening in shorter sessions, generally from single or multi session visits within days and weeks.
5. Conversion metrics - It is the sales life cycle: long, considered sale vs. short and impulse purchase.
Driving site visitors through a set conversion channel is not applicable in B2B. So, your focus should be on getting visitors to research deeper to other relevant, confidence-building content. Usually, the primary motivator in B2B purchase decisions is risk or fear of making the wrong decision. Therefore, one of the key objectives of B2B searchers after they click through to your site is to evaluate both your company and its offerings. An average B2B transaction can take anywhere from three to 24 months depending on the product or service being sold and the number of decisions to be made within the buying process.


Conversion ratios in the B2C environment are usually measured as the percentage of organic click-throughs that resulted in a sale. Detailed analysis goes into conversion ratios. Because the sales funnel in B2C SEO is very narrow and short. It can help in measuring the impact of optimization is quite easy and immediate. An average B2C transaction can occur anywhere from minutes to weeks, with the number of decision makers generally being less than 2 individuals and the buying process being much more straightforward.
SEO strategy is crucial for the success of every business. So, a trusted SEO company can help you to understand the differences between B2B SEO and B2C SEO campaigns.
Mahendra Raulo is the author of this article on SEO Company. Find more information, about SEO Services here.




by: 
Mahendra Raulo
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9803928