One of the frequently asked questions about Facebook and other social networks is: Where is the return on investment? The truth is, there usually isn’t one. This article supports the argument that social networking nurtures existing relationships but does not create new ones.  Most orthodontic practices I queried agree with this.

As my clients know, I have never been a big fan of Facebook as an Internet marketing tool for an orthodontic practice. People use Facebook to socialize and look at pictures. When it comes to marketing your business, I believe Facebook gives you great ability to build relationships with your current patient base, but it rarely has a tangible effect on new business.

For my money, Facebook has not yet earned a prominent place in well-structured Internet marketing strategies. Its role is secondary, more on the public relations side, with customer retention and brand management. New patients online is generated with clicks to your website, not your Facebook page. Spending time and effort with page ranking on Google and the other search engines with SEO is a better return on Investment.

This article cites a report by the research firm Forrester which states that only about a quarter of businesses surveyed experienced any kind of tangible growth because of social media. The flip side of that statistic is that almost 75% of businesses that invested time and money into social media campaigns saw little or no positive results. The article even states that on a list of ten customer acquisition tactics, social networks ranked last.

The article also has some interesting foresight about the growing popularity of iPads. Apple’s newest creation has been available to consumers for less than a year but the iPad and other tablet devices already represent nearly half of mobile retail traffic. What that means is nearly half of all online shopping not done on a laptop or desktop computer was done on a tablet device. That trend is expected to continue in 2011, which means website designers must now consider how a page will appear on a tablet device. Already, websites have had to adapt to increased Internet use on cell phones and smart phones. Tablets devices like the iPad introduce yet another important wrinkle to website design. 

To read the article, click here.

With roughly one third of American cell phone users now toting smartphones in their palms, pockets, and purses, your marketing content is accessible to them everywhere they go, any time of day. It seems like an advantage worth exploiting, but how? How can your message make it through all the filters, all the applications, all the text messages, and reach today’s tech-savvy consumer? One way that is sure to gain momentum and is considered trendy is the QR Code.

Short for “Quick Response Code,” it is a small, two-dimensional barcode that prompts the user’s mobile device to display whatever text or URL has been programmed into it. It began in Japan as a way to track auto parts for vehicle manufacturing; now the use is broadening.

Think of it like a UPC tag that can be placed anywhere in the world. Just like cashiers at the grocery store scan your items for price and inventory tracking, scanned QR Codes immediately display the desired information, and the interaction is documented for tracking purposes.

Any camera phone equipped with a barcode scanning application can utilize QR Codes. Most smartphones are equipped with barcode scanning capability right out of the box. With the technology in place to literally scan the world with a cell phone, the possibilities are plentiful.

Mailing out flyers? Print a QR code on them and direct prospects straight to your website. Paying for advertising at a bus stop? Slap a QR Code on your ad and catapult the consumer straight to your marketing content while they wait for their ride.

Because of their small size and simple nature, QR Codes can be placed almost anywhere: business cards, emails, billboards, posters, menus, etc. Already, QR Codes are being printed on merchandise such as t-shirts, hats, and travel mugs – creating a society of mobile marketers in the truest sense of the term.

As for your business, QR Codes can bridge the gap between consumers’ smartphones and your marketing message. The simplicity of the QR Code is perhaps its most appealing feature: point a mobile device at the code, scan the image and you are immediately brought to the desired content.

When you verify your business listing on Google Places, they supply you with a QR Code that directs users to your online listing.

Another perk is the ease with which QR Codes can be tracked. As soon as someone scans your QR Code and zips to your content, it is logged for your monitoring purposes. Any marketing campaign must be tracked to determine whether it is worth continuing or repeating; the QR Code makes that easy to do.

As smartphones become less of a status symbol and more of a standard, comprehensive marketing strategies will undoubtedly include QR Codes to utilize the advanced technology. Don't get left behind; contact Orthopreneur Internet Marketing Solutions for a free consultation to find out how we can help you stand out from the crowd with your internet marketing efforts.

Do you have a creative idea on how to use QR Code? Leave a comment below.

A friend email me this video over the holidays.  How our world has changed in such a short period of time over the past few years.  This video is a testament to our changing digital world. It seems so impersonal, but in reality, very accurate for many, especially the under 30 crowd. Can't imagine where we will go from here.

This format is a fun idea to consider when creating your own practice video to grab attention.    

Any takers??  Send me your videos and I will post on my site.  Time for something different rather than the same old practice overviews. Post a comment below and let me know if you agree.

Have you heard about the "Firesheep" hack?

Even though I have protected wireless in my office and at home, when traveling in hotels,  airports, and coffee shops, laptops are not protected as well as they should be.

Read here about what the author of the hack has to say about it and why it was created.

Quick Solution to the Problem

Here's a quick video just released on YouTube about the need for laptop wireless security and how easy it is for someone to break into your practice social media accounts if you aren't protected accordingly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ahhTnLsIRo

In less than 5 minutes, the problem is explained and several fixes are offered.

If you don't watch it, you'll miss how easy it is to hack someone else's Facebook, Google or Twitter account.

You'll also miss how easy it is to fix. Don't worry, one solution won't cost you a dime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ahhTnLsIRo

I will keep you up to date with the latest and greatest.  Make sure you open my emails when delivered to your email accounts.

Don't let Firesheep get you.

Mary Kay Miller

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/article_3b344f2a-a65d-11df-b7a9-001cc4c03286.html

Advertising of this creative nature costs less than many printed newspaper ads and considerably less than a postcard mailing campaign sent to homes.  Few consumers bother reading junk mail anymore and are tired or all the unwanted advertising that arrives in their mailbox.  Who can help reading an ad on the side of a bus while they are driving  down the street or next driving adjacent to it.  How many moms are waiting to put their kids on the bus or off the bus when they get home.  This type of out of the box advertising brands your practice in your local area day after day, while helping the community during tough times.  Phoenix school districts are in big trouble.

Traditional marketing no longer works with today's consumers.  Think outside the box when marketing your orthodontic practice to residents in your area.  Will be interesting to follow up on the results of this marketing campaign a year from now.  I think I will give this practice a call to find out and report back to you at the end of the school year.

Dr Joe Pearson

Not only did the orthodontic marketing promotion contain all the ingredients of a successful internal marketing program for orthodontic patients and external marketing program in the local community, it was then promoted exponentially under the umbrella of the Internet to increase exposure and page ranking for their orthodontic website and blog in Phoenix, Ahwatukee and surrounding areas.

Lisa Ebeln, the marketing coordinator at Pearson Orthodontics, suggested an idea to the team to help underprivileged school kids in the Phoenix area.  Dr Joe Pearson felt is was a great "pay it forward" community project.  What started out as a traditional way of helping others, eventually snowballed into a strategic marketing program that promoted Pearson Orthodontics in local newspapers, television, and on the Internet throughout Phoenix and around the world.

I recommended the architecture of the marketing promotion and the staff ran with it, nurtured it, and let it blossom from there. Their enthusiasm, team work, and follow up every step of way made it work. Kudos to the Pearson Team.

Rather than go into detail, I will let the Internet show what was accomplished.  Lets start with YouTube Channel 5 Local News Video.

The Channel Five Local news posted an article on their website.  Local News Article was printed in papers and posted online.   Joe Pearson was interviewed in promoted in local newspaper and online.  The program was posted on Phoenix Local Facebook Page and on their own Pearson Facebook.  An Internet Press Release was distributed and was picked up World Wide to increase back links to their website.

What started out as an internal marketing community project took on a new life of its own and spiraled into an integrated marketing program that is worth its weight in gold in good will, word of mouth buzz, and free advertising of the highest caliber exponentially.  You can't buy this type of exposure.

Families in Ahwatukee AZ will remember Joe Pearson not only as an orthodontist, but as a good guy who cares about others.  He will reap the benefits of this marketing program for many years to come when parents and families in Ahwatukee are seeking the services of an orthodontist.  It also helped increase his website and blog page rank in Phoenix and surrounding suburbs to promote his practice online.  It was a win… win everywhere.

If you are going to spend the time and money promoting your business, take it to the max whenever you can… especially on the Internet.  This marketing promotion is now found on the Internet 24-7, indefinitely,  There is not better return on investment anywhere for expended time and money.

To summarize, SPEED of your website is now being taken into consideration when Google compares your website to all your competitors when determining page rank.  Not only does SEO meta tags, longevity, number of visitors, and back links (just to name a few) determine your page ranking on Google…. now they are looking at how fast your website downloads when a visitor enters your site.

With the continued growth of the world wide web, the explosion in mobile marketing with cell phones, and the addition of the new iPad using mobile 3G technology, Google is smart and being proactive.  They are encouraging web owners to work with them for a more user-friendly Internet environment and attempting to control the amount of web storage necessary to expedite online search.  There is no better way to grab the attention of website owners and encourage them to cooperate with online efficiency than to penalize them for slow download time, which in turn slows down search.

In addition, the vast majority of websites designs today are not mobile ready for easy viewing on either a cell phone or iPad.  Flash websites or flash headers found in many HTML websites can be a problem due to increased loading time and lack of integration with mobile units.  Also, video is not viewable on mobile units or the iPad unless in MPEG4 format or other formats compatible with 3G technology.

Does this mean you have to redesign your website?  The answer is NO… in most cases.  And if you are currently redesigning your website or creating your first website,  it is important to address these issues NOW while in design stage.

So, what do you need to know or do to remain on the "bleeding" edge of Internet marketing?  Have you tested your website on a mobile unit or iPad to see what it looks like?

Here are a Five Tips  on how to optimize your current site to meet the new Google SEO guidelines and how to ramp up your website for mobile technology and the iPad.

1. Check out your website on a cell phonewith Internet access to see what it looks like. If areas are black or text is overlapping or illegible, your website needs some updating to correct.  In some cases you might require a site redesign or separate mobile website created if you have a flash website. Also, video is not viewable on mobile units or the iPad unless in MPEG4 format or other formats compatible with 3G technology.  If content is missing on a cell phone, it will usually be missing on an iPad also.
2. Remove any flash intros and music on your site. Flash of any kind is not viewable on the majority of mobile units and slows down your website load time.  Most consumers don't appreciate flash intros slowing them down when entering your site or listening to the music anyway.  Just contact your webmaster and ask them to remove it.
3. Flash headers are a problem.  Although they are more engaging than stationary headers, they also increase load time and do not show up on most mobile units.  If your contact information is in a flash header, mobile users can't easily find contact info.  There are different options available to address these issues without going through site redesign, so don't panic.
4. Video slows down websites.  However, if your video is embedded from another video site such as YouTube or stored on a separate server it will not affect the speed when downloading as long as it is in a format that can be viewed on mobile technology.  Most website video is not compatible unless embedded or linked from YouTube.
5. Streamline your written content on pages for faster uploads. Remove all the fluff, bullet point wherever you can for easy reading, combine pages where possible, and delete pages consumers don't use or read.  Bigger is not always better…. One Contact/Location page with a map, phone number etc is all you need. Too many pages on different areas of contact not only confuses visitors, but decreases the speed of your site.

For more information on SEO of your website and how to update your orthodontic Internet marketing program to comply with the exploding age of mobile marketing, contact me for a free online consultation to determine your specific needs to update, redesign or create a new website.

Push or Pull PR in Orthodontic Marketing

Time for me to get back on the blogging trail. Attendance at Spring Users Meetings was up this year and my lectures on how to market correctly on the Internet was a hot topic.  Lectures were at full capacity.

The light bulb is finally going off for more and more orthodontists on the importance of Internet marketing to build their business now… and in the future.

Many doctors, staff, and consultants were sitting in my lectures testing their sites on their cell phones while I was speaking. Some were surprised to find out they were not found or positioned correctly on Google maps or in natural page ranking when testing their website and social networking sites.  If you are attending the AAO in Washington this year, stop by my booth #317.  Would love to meet you to discuss options if you are having a problem or don't know where to begin evaluating the process.

Now is the time to check it out… You don't want to be the last one off the starting line. It will make it very difficult or almost impossible to catch up down the road with your competitors in local areas. The Internet is hear to stay and your future visibility is on the Internet will be the key to marketing your business externally. Make sure you are set up correctly for optimum rests.

That being said… What is the difference between PUSH and PULL marketing everyone is talking so much about today when targeting today's consumers? I found two videos that explain it well for those what want to understand what is considered the latest marketing tactics by marketing gurus around the world.

Check them out and tell me what you think. 

Below is a more detailed looked at PUSH|PULL marketing with examples being used today.

Find out today how your are positioned on the search engines.  Don't hesitate to contact me for a FREE online consultation to test and evaluate your Internet Marketing presence.

I would like you to read the post or watch the video again, but consider it from a different light.  In October I was training on what is RSS.  Today lets talk about how an RSS feed helps the SEO of your Blog.

When subscribers are notified in their RSS reader you just added a blog post and they click on your links to the site to read the post,  it increases your click through rate!

It shows Google you are providing interesting content for your readers.  Written or video content is "King" when engaging the interest of readers on social networking sites.  If readers are subscribed and keep coming back when pinged you justed posted,  Whahlaaaa… more money in the Bank to increase page ranking of your site in the eyes of Google.

The higher the click through rate, the better the chance your blog will make it to page one in your local area if coded correctly.  RSS is just one way to increase the SEO of your Blog. It is also one of the easiest areas to set up and use to promote your site.

As long as you offer content of interest to your subscribers, they will most likely keep coming back.  However, if you are not adding good content, readers will either not sign up after they visit the first time or remove themselves from the feed if disappointed.  Here a Five Tips on what NOT TO DO when creating your blog and blog posts so viewers don't lose interest.

1. Ramble on about what you are doing during your work day.  Readers are looking for orthodontic, dental, or interesting social content viewed from your perspective.  Mix it up! Also, keep in mind that your blog is social.  No more than 20% active marketing of your practice. No one is interested in revisiting an ad.
2. Adding photos without written narrative explaining what is going on and why they should be interested in viewing them.. (the key concept being interesting to others)
3. Unorganized look and feel creating negative emotion.  A visually disorganized blog and navigation, just like your website, causes confusion and loses readers.
4. Using different fonts and font sizes in your posts.  Decide when you start what font and size to use and stick with it throughout for aesthetics.  Its OK to increase the font to emphasize a new idea or introduce a section of content.  However, maintain continuity with the same size font and color when doing so.
5. Different size photos on a page.  Think of your blog as a photo gallery of sorts.  Presentation is everything!  Crop photos the same for a uniform look and insert in a table.  If you have many photos, consider using Flickr or my favorite Smug Mug with a link to your photo gallery.  Photo services make for better presentation anyway.

Your Blog is a representation of you and your practice, just like your website.  With the growth of social networking, it may actually someday become more important than your website.  Who knows what the future will bring. Structure your blog correctly from the start to engage, add RSS, and promote subscription to your blog to patients, their families and friends.

Good News… I suggest you Read this article "Many Cutbacks But Not for Straight Teeth" to start your year off on a positive note.  Even though the article was published months ago, it is still relevant in 2010.

The good news is parents with disposable income, even during tough economic times, feel straightening their kids teeth is still a high priority when it comes to the personal development of  their kids and a good return on investment.  A great smile sends a message to people both socially and in the business environment today.

In a society that places extraordinary value on appearance, orthodontics is increasingly seen as a necessity, not a luxury, and even though the number of patients undergoing orthodontic treatment declined since the start of the recession, many families are going to great lengths to keep tooth-straightening in their budgets.

"The latest figures from the American Association of Orthodontists, compiled before the recession began, counted about 4 million patients younger than 18 in North America in treatment in 2006, up from 2.6 million in 1989. Experts say the number has dropped recently."  I recently heard the population is down as much as 10%  in the past few years which is a double whammy coupled with the recession.

The article also quotes Paul Zuelke and Roger Levin on their take of the current economic environment facing orthodontic practices today and the stats they are seeing around the country with their clients.

All is not bleak.  Hunker down and pay attention to your marketing strategies, customer service, and latest Internet marketing trends to get your marketing message across to prospective new patients.  Now is not the time to cut back on your marketing efforts at the beginning of a new year, but to grease the wheels on an effective marketing program to grab your piece of the shrinking orthodontic pie in 2010.

Like all bad weather, the storm will eventually pass.  When the clouds clear, where will your practice be standing?  High and dry ready to seize the day with all your marketing strategies in place or muddling your way along in low standing water trying to figure out a way to dry off.  If you are still trying to figure it all out or doing nothing, let me help you bring it into perspective.

What do you see happening in your area?  Is the worst over or you do you see the sun starting to come out again. Leave a comment below to share with others or just offer an opinion.

But the truth of the matter is …if you provide a professional service… then YOU are your product.  It isn’t the type of braces you use that achieve the final result; it is your attitudes, skills, and knowledge using different treatment modalities that creates a beautiful healthy smile.  Your ability to sell yourself as a product builds and maintains a successful practice now and for the future. Therefore, your services can be promoted using your blog in much the same way as any other product being sold online.

One of the great things I love about blogs and blogging is the credibility you can build up over a relatively short period of time. You have much more flexibility with a blog than a traditional information website.

1. You do not have to know html code to manage your own blog which eliminates your webmaster
2. You have total access to the back end of your site to easily edit or add new content on a regular basis
3. You can upload photos, audio, and video to your site.  If  you don’t have your own video, you can embed free video from YouTube
4. You can SEO every blog post and page of your site so it is found in your local area on the search engines
5. Plugins or add-ons are available to add flash and cool affects on your site.  You are only limited by your own imagination, time invested, and skill level

Many professionals still believe prospective new patients are not looking online for orthodontic or dental treatment providers.   This belief couldn’t be further from the truth. The monthly reports from the Google Local Business Center are verifiable proof patients are looking for you every day. The question is are you there at the exact time they are looking you… and offering content they are interested in reading or watching on video.

One of my clients Dr. Joseph Porter in Louisiana has allowed me to post one of his monthly reports off the Google Local business center.  If only one new patient per month calls the office to schedule an appointment and starts treatment (very conservative projection) consider how powerful it would be if you had a website and a separate blog to attract and engage new patients to contact your office.  Can you afford not to target this Internet audience?

If you don't have an Internet presence your local area, you might as well be invisible in today's orthodontic market place where the vast majority of consumers go online to research treatment providers whether they are referred to them by their general dentist, friends, or family.  Doesn't matter, they want to check you out first before picking up the phone to schedule an appointment.  This is the way it works today.  The Internet and social networking has changed all rules when it comes to marketing a business today.

The key to an effective blogging strategy is the correct setup of the blog to engage and inform visits which includes SEO, a separate domain name and hosting service from your website, and continually adding new content on a regular basis of interest to visitors so they know you are out there. Blogging is an art and like everything else, in order to do it correctly, training is necessary to learn how to do it yourself or have a basic understanding what is involved to oversee vendors you outsource your services for optimum results and return on investment.

As one of your New Year Resolutions, I want to urge you as a professional, to look into and actually start blogging about your professional services and the benefits and features of undergoing treatment in your practice rather than your competitors.  It could bring in more new patients, make you a published author online, and who knows what opportunities are awaiting once you get the word out on a more personal level to those interested in treatment in your area.  Social networking is the "HOT" marketing medium in today's tech savvy society.

I predict that in the not too distant future, your blog will attract more new patients than your website. Eventually many Blogs will outrank websites on the search engines. Social networking is virgin territory for most professional businesses.  Stake your claim now on Internet real-estate in your local area to gain early positioning in front of your competitors and then maintain it for the long haul.

If it’s the technology and the time required to blog on your own that scares you, let me help clear the fog around blog building for you. 

It works if you work it! Promote your practice and orthodontic expertise through the marketing power of the Internet.

Share your thoughts… do you agree or disagree blogging as a marketing tool is a good option to implement today in to promote your business

Your Internet Orthodontic Marketing Plan has many pieces to the puzzle.   Are you maximizing your email program to increase awareness and promote your practice?

Below are two videos I found that were thought provoking on YouTube related to emailing marketing I would like to share with you. Most of you already have email capabilities integrated with your practice management software through Sesame and Televox on your website. My questions to you is this… Are you maximizing your email  as an Internet marketing tool vs a communication tool to promote your practice?

I find many practices do not have their email set up correctly for practice promotion and most don't use email other than to confirm appointments and send out an occasional newsletter.  It is not because of lack of effort, but lack of Internet marketing knowledge and training to implement ideas.

In 2010, I suggest you kick it up a notch to further promote your business.  However, just like everything else, emailing marketing must be done correctly or your patients will resent the intrusion or opt out of the service.

Two videos I suggest you to watch on email marketing.

Email Marketing by the Book with Joel Book.  He discusses why email marketing works and  a few ideas that are applicable for a professional practice.  The second video discusses what happens if you cross the line, which you don't want to do!

Can The Spam

When creating an effective email marketing campaign its all about the consumer, not you. Send emails your patients would consider content of interest or acknowledging and event on a personal level.

• Appointment reminders
• Birthday or holiday cards
• Latest Contests, winners of contests, and Community Event Announcements – Don't wait for a quarterly newsletter, then its old news
• Emails with embedded video or written content of interest on dentistry, orthodontics, treatment, or specials for both patients and referring dentists.  (Testimonials do not fall into this category)

Internet marketing, like all forms of internal and external marketing used to promote your business, requires a knowledge base to strategize ideas for the best ROI and a skill level to implement.

Don't have the time or expertise to figure out what to do, let me help clear the fog when promoting your practice with Internet marketing.

Watch this video on how "Evian Water" set their video marketing promotion apart from all the other water manufacturers and attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers from around the world to watch their video on YouTube, both in the US and with a separate video Internationally.  They will definitely associate the Evian brand with the baby video the next time they see it.  Mission accomplished…

I understand you do not have the marketing budget that Evian had to create this type of video. But with some imagination, good scripting, and the right royalty free music, you are only limited by your own imagination. Using photos instead of video is an alternative. With great subject matter and a fun spin on things, you can create a great emotional experience so prospective new patients will remember you when compared to other orthodontic treatment providers in your area.

Here is a video created by an orthodontist in Phoenix, AZ. and produced on a free program on his Mac Laptop.

This video promotes his treatment expertise in a fun format that encourages active participation in the practice from patients with a contest. He thought outside the box. What can you do?

Leave a comment below on you thoughts about this type of video production.

"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land, there is no other life but this.”

My present has always created my future in whatever I accomplished throughout my orthodontic career:

• When I helped create an orthodontic practice management software system with a Zerox computer Geek in 1982 that saved time and improved collections with contract billing. I tried to promote it to other orthodontic practices in the area, but they laughed.
• In 1991, when we brought in a Baby Dolphin Imaging System as a marketing tool to impress new patients, it was almost 10 yrs before someone else in the area followed suit. 
• In 1998, when I set up our first website, the competition didn't come around until six or seven years later.
• In 2005, I coordinated the installation of a fully intergrated paperless orthodontic practice management software program which included digital marketing and radiography.  Patients are very impressed.
• In 2009, now out on my own as an Internet marketing consultant,  the majority of orthodontic competitors in the area are pushed off organic #1 page ranking on Google with a proactive PR Orthodontic Internet Marketing campaign by Get It Straight.

The practice has been #1 in the area for over 25 years and will continue to do so by living in the present… whether I am there as a member of the team or not.

Ride the wave of present time and take advantage of the Internet to become your own PR director for your practice.  The past few years have been rough, but the economy is starting to turn around.  Be thankful. You have weathered the storm!  Now, live in the present and make sure you are maximizing your Internet marketing presence to build your future with new growth.

I found this video below on current music trends on YouTube.  As with everything new and innovative, it will take some time for this to catch on, but the time will come when musicians will produce classical, jazz, pop, rock, hip hop… whatever… with a combo electrical string, keyboard, and wind instrument.  This group I predict will explode into the music culture because they were the first.  They may not ultimately be the best with the learning curve and you may not like it, but they are the first to try and already are creating a big stir.

My second favorite quote…

"It's not the BIG that eat the small, it's the fast that eat the SLOW!"  Jason Jennings

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have much to be thankful for this year, especially you my readers and my clients who understand the benefit of taking full advantage of the Internet. 

Koodos to you…Much success!

This fall, Align introduced  new features in all Invisalign products. New aligner features, along with improvements in Invisalign software and clinical protocols, are designed to overcome barriers to treatment.  The new features are addressing both clinical issues that general dentists have traditionally perceived as challenging in Invisalign treatment, such as extrusions, rotations and certain types of root movements.

Prior to the release of the next generation of Invisalign products, treatment techniques that were once only available to orthodontists with advanced training are now standard on all prescriptions resulting in additional treatment options for general dentists.

I was the first Invisalign case treated at Get It Straight Orthodontics back in 2001. At the time, our practice was told Invisalign would never be offered to general dentists as a treatment option for their patients.  It would be exclusively offered to trained orthodontic professionals.  Over the years, little by little, promises have gone by the wayside and protocols have changed.

Are the new features offered in the Invisalign products just one more way to reduce your piece of the orthodontic pie in your local area?  How do your plan to kick up your marketing program to compensate for the potential loss of more new patients?  Food for thought… 

Obviously, there is going to be much debate on this topic.  How do you feel about the latest Invisalign updates in product delivery to general dentists?  Please share your thoughts and comments below for others to read.

But, depending on which study’s stats you believe, only 17%-32% of RSS users actually know they’re using RSS!  That means that roughly 50 million regular RSS users would say, “Huh?” if asked “what does RSS mean?”

After reading these stats, I decided it was time to at least educate my readers and… I suggest you educate the readers on your blog also to get them to sign up. It will help improve the SEO on your site.

Check out this video which will give you the “skinny” on RSS anyone can understand …

What does the acronym RSS stand for?

RSS (sometimes called RSS Feeds, XML, Atom Feeds or Channels) stands for “Really Simple Syndication” or “Rich Site Summary”. The easiest way to grab the concept on how RSS works is to consider what happens when you subscribe to either a magazine or newspaper.  If you subscribe to a magazine or newspaper either online or via your local newsagents, you don’t need to physically go and collect your copy each week - they will deliver it to your door.

In the same way when you subscribe to a blog or a website, you’ll receive automatic updates so you don’t have to remember to visit the site or spend time going back to the site to check whether they have published any new content.  This means you can easily stay informed about what is going on online by retrieving the latest content from the sites you are most interested in.

How do you sign up to a website or blog via RSS?

You may recognize the icon below from sites you’ve visited and probably wondered what on earth it was.  This icon indicate that the site owner is offering you the option of receiving their syndicated content in a format that can be read using what is called an RSS reader also known as an aggregator, that displays RSS or syndicated feed content from web sites you are subscribed to.

This is the RSS icon that most people recognize:

If you want to be able to read syndicated content from websites or blogs, you’ll need a RSS reader or aggregator which will allow you to read the syndicated content from the sites that you have subscribed to.

Here are a few Feed Reader icons that you may recognise:

I personally use the Google reader since it’s free and easy to use.  There are also paid services, but I would suggest to start out you check out the Google reader first.  It works great!

Whichever RSS Feed Reader you use, it will automatically notify you when new posts are published on sites you subscribed to.  To read the content of the RSS feed, all you have to do is click the link – which is usually limited to the headline and a brief description of the newly published blog post. It will take you to a new page on the site where you can read the full story. 

Sometimes the website publisher will only publish part of the feed content to force you to visit their site, but I’ve personally noticed that my subscriptions increase when I opt for publishing the full feed.

Understanding what RSS is all about will help you understand why RSS is so important to you if you are an online blogger looking to increase readers and optimize your site. 

Most of the FTC’s new rules for blogging have to do with advertising and disclosure.  You cannot accept freebies or payment in exchange for positive reviews without disclosing it. Belive it or not, some people make a good living doing this. So if you are hiring actors to give video testimonials, your need to be aware of this.  It’s important to point out that these aren’t actual laws.  They are more like interpretations of laws that can have serious consequences if not followed—you could face sanctions or a lawsuit.

I read this  blog post this morning that sums up the announcement nicely, so I will pass this along and give credit where credit is due.  This is the power of social networking.  If I hadn't read this post, I wouldn't be able to pass this news on to you. 

Many of the areas discussed do not apply to your everyday Internet marketing efforts in an orthodontic or dental practice.   However, it is important we know that the government understands some type of regulations is required in this new industry that is growing faster than anyone imagined in their wildest dreams and will continue to do so in the future.  As time goes on, I assume more regulation will be imposed.  It will be our responsibility to keep on eye on these regulations to assure they don't overstep their boundaries.

Food for thought!  How do you feel about government regulation on the Internet?  Leave a comment below to let me know.

If you are still hiding in your shell when it comes to adding video to your Internet orthodontic marketing website, it is time to come up for air, stick your neck out, and reconsider your options.

The latest Nielson report was just released on September 15th, 2009.  The number of videos watched increased 41% last month compared to August of 2008. Unique viewers were up 18% and the number of videos a viewer watched  is up 19.6%.

Here's how it broke down among the video sites:

If you aren't ready to commit to the time, learning curve, and expense necessary to add video to your website… a easy solution is Marketing With Live Video.  The is a very inexpensive solution to adding video to your site that grabs attention and directs new patients to contact your office for a new patient exam.

Here at two examples of what video on your homepage can to do to set your website apart from your competition in the area to grab attention.

SureSmile practice Dr. Richard Schechtman www.braceace.com (there is a cookie on this site where it will only play once a week after entering the site.  It won't play a second time if you want to show someone unless you use a different computer)

Brodsky Orthodontics in Lakewood CA - patient testimonials – www.drbrodskysmile.com

Whether you opt for video streaming on YouTube, your website, or you want to consider a live actor to grab the attention of new patients, there are recommended guidelines to setting up video marketing correctly for optimum return on investment.  Contact me for a free 1/2 online consultation and I will be happy to review your options.

Leave your comments and tell me how you feel about video marketing on your website.

When designing a website and Internet marketing program, most professionals have no clue that the search engines, such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN (now Bing) can't read the written words in your website or determine if it is outdated or new. The search engines scan your site using a sophisticated mathematical algorithm. This is where SEO (search engine optimization), keywords, and meta tags come into play. You have to tell the search engines who you are, what you are all about, and where you want to target new patients in your local demographic in order to be found. The search engines dictate the rules of engagement and you must follow them.

Does all this sound like Greek to you? It did to me… until I spent hundreds of hours mastering the subject of Web 2.0 Internet marketing. SEO and keywords relate to the words and phrases prospective new patients type into the search engines to find you. Your website is the hub of your Web 2.0 marketing campaign. The design of your website, blog, and social networking sites relates to their setup and structure so once a new patient finds you with keywords, you can engage and convert them with your marketing message to visit your website or contact your office for a new patient exam. The main focus of your Internet marketing program is to drive new patients to your front door. In order to accomplish this… one hand must wash the other with correct SEO, engaging design, and a powerful marketing message.

So how do you determine if your Internet marketing efforts are being found by consumers in your local demographic? Simple… test it!  This test works for any business targeting customers in a local area.  Feel free to pass it on to your friends in business using their own targeted consumer keywords.

1. Go to Google and in the search box type in patient keywords - orthodontist [your city name and state]. Orthodontist is the #1 keyword new patients use to search for treatment providers.
2. Repeat the same steps again with the keywords braces #2 and Invisalign #3.
3. Does your website, blog posts, Facebook page, e-zine articles etc. show up on page one of Google?  (Pay Per Click Ads and database advertisers like wellness.com, DrOOgle.com and Dexknows.com don't count… we are looking for organic page ranking for your website, blog, and other Internet marketing tactics)
4. Does your practice name and website URL show up correctly on Local Google Maps?
5. Now do the same thing again… but this time, one by one substitute the names of all the surrounding towns in your area where you target new patients.  Does your website, blog, video, Google Maps, etc show up on page one in these towns also?

No matter how great the design of your website and Web 2.0 marketing program, you are missing a wealth of new patient opportunities to build your practice due to limited local visibility on the Internet. This can translate into hundreds of thousands of dollars you may be losing to your competitors online over the years.

Your website and Web 2.0 marketing program is a very powerful marketing tool if set up correctly… start to finish. "You don't know, what you don't know, till you know it!" Find out from an orthodontic Web 2.0 Internet marketing specialist what you don't know…today!

Major companies all over the world are spending big dollars to create clever short Internet video marketing campaigns to entertain, engage, and brand their business with current and prospective new customers.

This week’s YouTube marketing champion, in just 60 seconds, uses a tried and tested formula: cute babies, and a bizarre situation.

In 45 seconds, New Zealand Air posted video that is both risque without offending to engage… and memorable for the next time you are booking an airline flight in their area .

Millions of people are watching these videos around the world every WEEK. You don't have to market to the world, nor do you have to pay thousands of dollars to produce clever video. Think outside the box to script unique and memorable content related to your business to create attention.

Your videos may grab attention today… next week… next month… or next year. This is the beauty of Internet marketing.

In addition to a standard "me too" video marketing campaign… come up with something clever, fun, and off the wall about your business. You will be pleasantly surprised how it affects your audience.  Don't have any clever ideas? Ask your audience….  Run a contest for the best video marketing idea and have your patients decide who the winner will be.  This accomplishes two things.

1. You don't have to spend time or money coming up with a great idea
2. You know what your patients want to see.  They voted for it.

Give it a shot.  Food for thought …You will be pleasantly surprised.