Week Eight: Get The Picture?

So, as we discussed back in Week One, there are a number of platforms you could use to jump into the world of Social Media. While it's great to be connected, there is such a thing as being TOO connected - or should that be over connected? Think of how you use social media in your personal life. If you are someone who isn't too into pictures and thinks content and writing are what's important, is Instagram your favorite go-to site? My guess is probably not. How a business determines what's right for their style is done much in the same fashion. Take a look at the four most visual platforms and let's see how LoBue (the company I am using) fits into these profiles:

YouTube

YouTube is a great platform, there is no denying that. But how could LoBue use it in a business context? Internally, it might be difficult to do because laws like HIPAA and various privacy acts prohibit a lot of what a medical practice can disclose. However, there are MANY topics that can be discussed by Dr. LoBue himself that a patient might find interesting. As a bespectacled individual for over a quarter century, I can tell you that I STILL get the "so if you take your glasses off, can you see me if I do *this* (usually holding up three fingers...or maybe just a middle, if they are really funny)" questions. Or the "let me try your glasses on.....WHOA! ARE YOU BLIND?!" is another favorite. While a video highlighting POV and allowing people to see what it's like to have -4.00 vision (which is not that bad, btw!), a more telling story would be seeing through the eyes of someone who has been dealing with vision loss and how correction surgery has helped. Or, for some of you people who like this kind of stuff - the actual surgery process done using stock video not captured by Dr. LoBue, but with him narrating what is happening.

Instagram

Again, because of HIPAA and other fun things, you really cannot discuss patient privacy information on social media. But you can discuss things like lenses, frames, and colored contact lenses. Americans spend nearly $30 Billion dollars per year on eye products and services. If you are an eye doctor, you DEFINITELY want a piece of that pie coming into your office.

What if you could feature new lines of frames coming in? Or use pictures to SHOW vs. TELL your customers why that anti glare lens coating that most people think is along the lines of rental car insurance is actually a beneficial add on to have. Instagram would be a great place to do so.

Tumblr

I digress for a moment, but I feel really old when I have to look up social media sites. Like the first time I looked up what Snapchat was...

Anyways, with Tumblr - I believe a blog is always a good thing and would give more exposure, but I don't know that I would read a blog from my doctor's office unless my doctor was Dr. Oz or one of the doctors on The Doctors. That's just my $0.02, but I think the efforts necessary to produce a read worthy blog might be better spent somewhere else in the office.

Pinterest

Much for the same reasons as Instagram, a virtual pinboard showing how you can accessorize with different frames would be great. But much for the same reasons as Tumblr, exposure is great but not helpful when you are showing your product to someone in Anchorage. By the same token, you don't want your locals thinking they can do EVERYTHING eye related online. So if you have the manpower to operate this well, great! But I would not make Pinterest my first focus for Dr. LoBue's offices.