CDA Essentials 2017 • Volume 3 • Issue 4

32 | Volume 3 Issue 4 I ssues and P eople Another big issue is emphasizing your call to action too aggressively. I’m talking about statements such as “call our office”, “schedule an appointment”, or “visit our website”. It’s very clear that it’s nothing more than an advertisement. Think about why you go on social media— you don’t go there to be targeted by all the big brands and advertisements. You go there to communicate with your friends, family members and businesses that you chose to interact with. You’re not going there to be sold to. Social media should be more about marketing and authentic communications rather than a means to distribute frequent advertising. Do you have any advice for dentists on how to be successful with social media marketing? On a personal level, I think it’s very important for you and your staff to be present and authentic . Don’t try to be anything you’re not. A lot of the things that you can post on social media already happen in your office on a day-to- day basis. It’s about capturing that and sharing it with your followers. At the office level, I would advise you to build a social media culture. It’s not very hard to do, but it will keep things fun. And as long as you can share what already goes on in your practice on social media, you’ll be effective. I would really encourage everyone in your practice to be involved because you and your staff are the most unique aspect of your practice. So you have to feature yourselves often and do it effectively. What sets your book apart from the other resources available? A lot of the resources that I come across are just short articles about social media, especially when it comes to dentistry. And all of them kind of say the same thing, focusing on how social media is important. Yet what dentists really want to know is “ what am I supposed to post on social media ” and “how can I do this consistently?” That’s what I try to address in my book. One chapter in the book discusses 50 social media post ideas for dentists. That’s what I really try to emphasize. I want to take the fluff out of the conversation and give you actionable advice and ideas from practices all around the United States—what they’re doing and what they’re successful with. A lot of those ideas can be used on a regular basis. They all focus on the foundation of social media and what is likely to be successful. a Dr. Syrbu's book is available on Amazon.ca and in the iTunes Store.