Just when you think Mark Zuckerburg is going to run out of ideas – BAM! – he blows up the internet with Facebook Live. If you haven’t seen notifications in your Facebook feed or seen the television ads, then wait ‘till you learn what Facebook Live can do and how you can use it to market your dental practice.
What is Facebook Live?
Facebook Live allows users to share a live video feed instead of posting a video of something that already happened. Better yet, it allows viewers to comment in real time. It includes all of the filters, text features, and masks that social network users have come to love, plus allows you to share up to four hours of live feed. Once the live feed is over, it saves as a video and lives on your newsfeed for others to see.
Hesitant to add another thing to your plate? No worries: the live feeds that you share with your Facebook followers don’t have to be long. They don’t even have to be recorded by you. Anyone in your office with a smartphone and access to your practice’s Facebook account can do the video for you.
How Can it Benefit My Practice?
The events and procedures you can go live for are limitless! Just a few ideas include:
- Live feed of a patient testimonial – This could be particularly effective just after a successful treatment such as whitening or veneers.
- Give viewers a live tour of your office, let them meet your staff, and allow them to ask questions about your practice as you show them around.
- Use it to take away the mystique of a procedure. Maybe someone is hesitant to seek treatment for whitening; show them a video of a patient undergoing the procedure (with permission, of course) to let them see for themselves that it’s no big deal.
- Host a dental tip feed that allows patients to interact with you in real time and ask questions as they occur instead of having to wait until they’re in your chair.
- Use it at community events that your practice participates in. Let them see you wearing something other than your white coat, for a change.
These are just a few ideas to get you started. You are limited only by your imagination and the time you have on your hands. People will watch almost anything if it’s on a site they’re already using (Example: Ricky Gervais went live while taking a bath; he is still getting hits on that video). Keep in mind that attention spans are short, so avoid sharing anything that is too long so you don’t lose your audience.
If you are just starting to use social networking to market your practice or if you’re an old pro looking for something new, look no further. Facebook Live is all the rage and, like almost everything Mark Zuckerburg touches, seems to have staying power.
