Archive for the ‘Online Reputation Management’ Category
Tuesday, June 4th, 2013
In my last post I talked about the benefits of developing a large and vibrant professional network, which include not only professional growth but also career advancement. In this article, we’ll be talking more specifically about how both practice owners and associates can build their client base by taking a more outward facing approach.
For your marketing campaign to be successful, it’s critical that you keep up to date on current trends in the business of veterinary medicine. “Veterinary Economics” is a must-read for all practice owners, and highly recommended for associates as well. Additionally, the group VetPartners (www.avpmca.org) is a fantastic organization of leading experts in the field of veterinary practice management, and I am thrilled to be part of this group. I highlight this as a reminder that, if there are big leaks in your practice’s profitability, chasing new clients is a fool’s errand. The only thing you’ll get is more work for the same paycheck. (more…)
Tags: bundled services, online reviews, referrals, Veterinary Marketing
Posted in Digital Marketing, Mark Olcott, Online Reputation Management, Online Reviews, Veterinary Marketing | Comments Off
Wednesday, February 27th, 2013
Trust is the first word that comes to mind when describing a meaningful and lasting relationship. Next may be the word respect. When consumers trust and respect their veterinary hospital employees, a true relationship has formed. Unlike transactions based on price and convenience, relationships based on trust and respect last for long periods of time. Clients will give a high rating to clinic relationships that display empathy, compassion, and competence.
When clinic owners make hiring and evaluation decisions, they should look at each candidate or employee through the eyes of their most critical clients. Every position in the clinic plays a critical roll in garnering the trust and respect of each client. Clinic owners and leaders are reselling the services of his or her staff in the veterinary clinic. To create a lasting relationship, employees have to provide sound reasons for each client to highly value his or her experience and desire to return in the future.
Pet owners who have a relationship with their pet care provider not only bring their pets in for wellness visits and sick care visits, but also they refer their friends and acquaintances to the clinic as well. They do this because they want others to have the same benefits they receive when interacting with clinic staff. They understand that supporting their favorite clinic is just as important as the clinic providing excellent health care for their pets. (more…)
Tags: Beyond Indigo Pets, Client Relationship, G. Lynn Davis, Marketing to the Relationship, Veterinary Marketing
Posted in Content, G. Lynn Davis, Marketing, Online Reputation Management, Online Reviews | Comments Off
Friday, August 17th, 2012
Is social media presence an option? If you want to grow your business, then ultimately, no, having a social media presence is not an option—it’s essential these days.
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Savvy Consumers. Today’s consumers are savvy about where and from whom they purchase products and services. They take the time to research online before they ever pick up the phone or get in their car to make a purchase. By having a social media presence that is both engaging and engaged, it helps reassure clients that your business is reputable and cares.
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Humanize your brand. Social media gives your business the opportunity to reach out and actually connect with your audience. Real one-to-one relationships are formed.
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Your competition is using it. The vet down the street is likely using social media. If you aren’t currently engaging and interacting with social media, how easily will you be found? And just because you aren’t participating, doesn’t necessarily mean others aren’t doing it for you.
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You target audience is using it. Here are a few quick facts about Facebook.
a. 845 million monthly active users at the end of December 2011 b. 483 million daily active users on average in December 2011 c. 425 million monthly active users who used Facebook mobile products in December 2011
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Google counts social sharing when ranking. When many different people on social media refer to your content, your website, or your videos, it means those individuals find your content useful, entertain, informative, or all of it. When this happens, the search engines pay attention and in return use this as a factor to provide better search engine placement for your content.
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It’s the next generation version of word-of-mouth marketing. One of the best ways to interact with potential clients is by way of people who have already experienced what your brand has to offer. When your social media presence starts to generate conversation and reaction, such as likes, shares, tweets, pins, etc., it’s a visible reaction of their approval and they are sharing this with their friends and family.
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Provides transparency. Social media is an open book. If someone likes you, that’s great, everyone can see it. If someone doesn’t like you and mentions something negative about your brand or experience, then this too is available to the community. Many successful clinics that leverage social media use this as an advantage to show how in tune they are by replying and finding a way to close that loop. This shows to those watching that your clinic has integrity, values interaction and criticism, and cares about its clients.
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Opens up conversation. Your clients are the best people to learn from when it comes to making things better. By asking questions about their experience or their needs, you will get an understanding as to what clients are looking for. Social media for small business success is truly about listening as opposed to marketing
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Aids customer service. Use your social media outlets to answer questions concerning customer service. By doing it this way, you can not only highlight to your community that you are available, but also get other people within the community to provide answers and support to new or potential clientele who have per haps experienced the same issue themselves.
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Brand exposure. Everybody wants a larger piece of the pie. The more targeted people who are aware of your business, the greater the chance you have of turning those individuals into paying clients and them becoming an advocate of your services.
Tags: Beyond Indigo Pets, branding, conversation, customer service, Facebook, Google, relationships, savvy consumers, social media, word of mouth
Posted in Content, Digital Marketing, Facebook, Google, Online Reputation Management, Veterinary Marketing | Comments Off
Wednesday, August 1st, 2012
Google Plus
Just as we were enjoying our Memorial Day weekend, Google went quietly about making some significant changes to its algorithm that heavily impacts local businesses. If you want to understand how to keep being “seen” in Google, these new changes must be adapted in your practice’s online marketing program.
First Change: Google Search Results Went Hybrid
This past year, when we used Google for an online search, the results would show paid advertising at the top or far right (which only 25% of people click on), with local search results shown next — listed in packs of 7 or 10 and accompanied by corresponding map markers starting with the letter “A,”, followed by organic (non-local) results. Google has now integrated organic and local search results together, which currently display on the search results page in varying ways — in packs of 3, 5 or 7 for example, depending on the search query. Search results are still formatted with paid advertising at the top or right under the map on the results page, but you’ll now see organic results listed BEFORE, and blended with, local search results. How does a business become listed in this new hybrid format and at the top of local search results? What we have learned is to focus on the following:
- It is crucial to have a custom-designed website that can be optimized (coded) down to the page with local search terms, specific relevant industry keywords (veterinarian, pet cancer, etc.), and appropriate geographic regional terms.
- When choosing location keywords, check how close your business is to the center of the city. To do this, go to Google Maps (maps.google.com) and type in your city and state; e.g., Minneapolis MN. Google will then display a marker on the map with the letter “A” — where it considers the center of the city to be located. This letter “A” is what Google calls the “centroid.” The closer your business is to the this centroid, the more “votes” your local business listing receives toward being near the top of local search results for that city. With this approach, Google is attempting to make the search experience most relevant to the searcher’s query.
- Plentiful (five or more) positive online reviews help maintain good positioning in Google Local Search. Google purchased the Zagat review site and is now incorporating these reviews into Google local listings. Reviews are becoming increasingly important. Having reviews associated with your business listing is yet another key ranking factor and one of the many signals Google looks for.
To read the rest of this article in a PDF format please click here: Fasten Your Seat Belt – Google Made Changes Again
Tags: Beyond Indigo Pets, Beyond Indigo Pets Marketing, Beyond Indigo Veterinary Marketing, Beyond Indigo Website Marketing, blogs, Google Places, google places search, Online Marketing, online reputation management, Search Engine Optimization, Veterinary Marketing, Veterinary Marketing with Beyond Indigo, Veterinary Websites
Posted in Digital Marketing, Google, Marketing, Mobile, Online Reputation Management, Online Reviews, Search, Search Engine Optimization | Comments Off
Thursday, March 1st, 2012
Many people don’t start a social media campaign for their business because they don’t even know what NOT to do. We are here to help. As long as some of these basic rules are followed, you should be “safe” to venture out into the world of social media.
- Don’t ignore your fans. If you’ve set up a Facebook page, Twitter, or Google+, be sure to check it daily so that you can respond to any fan questions or comments that may have been left there.
- Keep the negative. If someone says something negative, don’t delete it. Doing so will sometimes prompt the person to come back onto your page and complain about it, which never looks good to other fans. It is possible to “hide” posts rather than deleting them, which is preferable but should still be used sparingly.
- Don’t panic. Remember that the majority of the people who are on your page are fans because they like you. Most of them have already formed their own opinions of you based on their own personal interactions, and a stranger’s negative comment on your Facebook page will not likely be enough to sway them.
- Use negative interactions as an opportunity. Keep in mind that if someone has something negative to say about you, they will say it. By having a Facebook page, you’re providing them with a way to say it directly to you, in an area where you can listen and respond, rather than somewhere else where you may never even know about it.
- Don’t feel like you need to be perfect. If you or a member of your staff messed up, apologize. People are human and they make mistakes. A sincere apology can diffuse a bad situation pretty quickly. If no one messed up but the customer is upset anyway, you can still apologize for the situation, but then offer your side of the story.
- Keep content focused on the business. With this being an election year, it is important to keep the content of your social media focused on the topics that relate to veterinary medicine—and not politics and religion. Discussing content that is not related to your Facebook page can confuse people and turn them away from reading future posts.
- Seek professional help. When creating your social media marketing, if an overwhelming feeling descends, it is time to throw up the white flag and call in professional help. Seek out a company to either create your platforms or manage them—or both. If you just need a little help, check into online classes to teach you or your team the basics of social media.
Having your business on a social media platform used to be a fun thing to do for your practice. Today, it is a must have. How your business is found in search engines and where people are searching and engaging are now intertwined with social media. Make a commitment to yourself to get started. Give us a call, we can help!
Tags: Beyond Indigo Pets, Digital Marketing, social media marketing with beyond indigo, social media pitfalls, tips for successful online marketing, what not to do in social media
Posted in Digital Marketing, Marketing, Online Reputation Management, Social media, Social Media Marketing, Veterinary Marketing | Comments Off
Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
How Do Pet Owners View Your Business?
Business owners tend to become overwhelmed with managing their brand. Typically, the first question is where to start? To help with what to look for when doing a quick review of your online brand, I have created a checklist. First, sit down at a computer and grab a pad of paper and pen to go through this exercise. It might help to have a person who is an outside observer walk through this process with you to give a different perspective.
- Do a search for your town, state, and the word “veterinarian.” Is your business listed on the first page of Google? Do you have reviews? What do they say about you? Remember, 70% of people use online reviews when making a purchasing decision. If you have more negative reviews then positive ones, would you want to use your business services based on this information? Neither do the people who are researching you.Are other reviews placed with other review services? You can see by either scrolling your mouse to the right of your listing, triggering a fuller listing of your business to pop up, or by doing a search in Google for the name of your business with the word “review” after it, such as “ABC Veterinary Hospital, Anytown, State, Reviews.” What pops up? Typically, there are multiple places people are leaving online reviews about your business. Remember, you cannot turn these review places off! The only option is to take control of these sites by encouraging happy customers to post reviews and engaging with the ones who do post via responses to reviews.Can people also click on this search engine/review results in Google or elsewhere and go to your website? Or does it go nowhere? If the click cannot take people through to your business website, then your marketing circle has a big disconnect and people will most likely pursue another search result.
- If you can click through to your website, is the correct logo showing? Can you read the name of your business? Are the animals in the logo the species you see at the hospital? When was the last time your logo was updated? What does it say about your business? Current? Out of date? Fun? Serious? Is this what you want people to glean from your logo when they view it?
What about your website? Does it look out of date? Are social media icons listed that enable people to leap to the next point in your marketing circle? What about a blog? Sign up for a newsletter? YouTube videos? What about your services? To see an example of the newest model of website design integrated with social media, look at www.animalmedical.net. How does your website compare to this one?- Finally, Facebook and Twitter should be accessible from the business website and from each other, and the website should link back to both. These crosslinks help complete the marketing circle. For an example of how this would look on Facebook, please visit www.facebook.com/NapervilleAnimalHospital. Questions to ask about these platforms are:
- Does your business have a Facebook page? If so, who are the admins for the page? The owner of the business should be one of them.
- Has the Facebook page been used to its full potential, meaning graphics, links to other pieces of the marketing circle, and pictures added?
- On Twitter, has a custom background been added?
- Has the Twitter account been slaved to the Facebook page—at least to start if there are not enough resources in the hospital to manage both platforms?
- Has a marketing plan been created that focuses on a single message from the hospital brand per month? If so, is one person in charge of this message or are many going in different directions?
How did your business fare? Any disconnects? Please let us know how we can assist in making your marketing circle stronger and connected. For a free consultation, please visit http://www.beyondindigopets.com/contact/.
Tags: Beyond Indigo Pets, Building your brand online, Getting your veterinary website noticed, Online Marketing with Beyond Indigo, Online Reputation Managment, Veterinary Websites, Veterinary Websites from Beyond Indigo Pets
Posted in Digital Marketing, Marketing, Online Reputation Management, Search, Search Engine Optimization, Social media, Social Media Marketing, Uncategorized, Veterinary Marketing | Comments Off
Monday, January 9th, 2012
Consumers are increasingly relying on online reviews to make decisions on which local service providers to use. According to a number of sources, a large majority of Americans affirm that online customer reviews influence their decisions about where to purchase products or services, and it’s highly likely that this number will only increase over time. Did you know that business listings and reviews can be displayed at local search sites and online directories without opt-in or involvement of the business owner? This may be common knowledge to the web-savvy Internet user, but may surprise some old-school entrepreneurs. The proverbial horse is out of the barn regarding this phenomenon. Becoming involved in online dynamics, such as finding out where one’s business is listed and what consumers might be saying, as well as how best to work with negative reviews and dissatisfied customers, is now incumbent on business owners.
Join us for an upcoming webinar on this very topic, “Online Reviews: What Are Your Customers Saying?” to learn more about the world of online listings and reviews, how your online business reputation can be affected by these reviews, and what to consider as you navigate this influential territory. Check out the Beyond Indigo webinar page to find out details and sign up for your spot in this Wednesday afternoon webinar.
Tags: local search, online reviews
Posted in Digital Marketing, Online Reputation Management, Veterinary Marketing | Comments Off
Friday, July 8th, 2011
When it comes to online reputation management for your veterinary practice, Yelp is one of the major players the realm of online reviews that you should be monitoring closely. Founded in 2004 as a website devoted to helping online users connect with local businesses, Yelp has grown into one of the most popular review sites on the web. According to information provided on the Yelp site, on average more than 50 million people visit Yelp every month in search of services, and to read and post reviews. While there are a number of other websites that also offer consumers this option, what separates Yelp from the rest of pack is that it employs a fairly stringent review filter. The result is that some reviews that may seem benign and credible will not be displayed and will get filtered out. If a new-to-Yelp business is striving to establish credibility, they may of course get frustrated with reviews that they know are submitted by legitimate customers, but are still being filtered. Fortunately, in these cases consumers can still read filtered reviews by clicking on the gray link indicating the number of filtered reviews (“X Filtered”) at the bottom left of any Yelp business listing. In the event you cannot not see this link, then the business listing does not have any filtered reviews.
How Credible Reviews Make It Through the Yelp Filter
Let’s take a closer look at how the filtering process works. As quoted from their site:
“Yelp’s review filter is designed to help protect against fake reviews, including those that might be written by a competitor or a disgruntled former employee. Since it’s not always easy to distinguish the good guys from the bad guys, the system sometimes affects perfectly legitimate reviews, especially those that are written by less established users. Some businesses might fear that they are being singled out among the millions of businesses on Yelp. Rest assured, the review filter is automated to reduce human bias. It affects both positive and negative reviews, and doesn’t have anything to do with whether a business is an advertiser or not.”
Note the word “established” in the above explanation: For those reviewers who have only posted one review on Yelp, and have not been active otherwise on the site (such as those who do not have a profile, photo, or have not “friended” others), they are much more likely to have their reviews filtered. This “filtered” status will usually change once the reviewer becomes more involved and “established” on the site — meaning more credible in the eyes of Yelp. When it comes to making it through the Yelp filter as a reviewer, it’s really just about making efforts to be active on the website, and regularly posting helpful reviews.
If you find your business is receiving negative reviews on Yelp it is important to remember that reviews can change from negative to positive over time. One of the ways to help this happen is to reach out to those reviewers who were unhappy with the services you provided. An unsatisfied customer might reconsider changing their low rating to a higher one if they feel acknowledged and that the issues they mentioned in their review have been addressed. Yelp reviews are not static, and can morph in status over time. To help overcome the Yelp Review Filter, strategies can include: voting the review useful or funny, sending the reviewer a compliment, letting them know their review is being filtered and encouraging them to fill out their profile, or asking to be added as a friend on Yelp. Making efforts such as these to engage the review and the reviewer will help in getting those filtered reviews to show up on your Yelp business page.
Why Yelp is Important to Your Veterinary Practice, and Your Clients
A large percentage of consumers check online reviews when seeking a specific product or service, and often rely on web-based feedback early in their decision-making. However, a much smaller percentage actually post online feedback, and as such, a more vocal minority may have a greater impact on the decisions that your potential customers make. Becoming involved and proactive at online review sites such as Yelp is a crucial part of online reputation management for your veterinary practice and will pay off in the long run if you are willing to stay on top of it!
Takeaway Ideas
- Create or claim the business listing for your veterinary practice on Yelp (and other online directories/review sites), fill out all applicable fields, and engage with consumer feedback regularly.
- Encourage satisfied clients to write and post reviews by offering great customer service.
- Reach out to your reviewers (that includes both positive and negative).
Check out Yelp (and other online directories/review sites) to see what consumers are saying about your business!
Tags: local search, Online Marketing, online reviews
Posted in Online Reputation Management, Veterinary Marketing | Comments Off
Friday, July 1st, 2011
Google recently released Panda 2.2, an update to their SEO ranking factor that is geared at helping to filter “low quality” pages from search results. What does this mean for your veterinary website? Is your website Panda 2.2 friendly? When it comes to keeping the bear on your side, it all boils down to content.
What is Google Panda?
Panda 2.2 is Google’s latest attempt to ensure that websites with poor or often irrelevant content are filtered out. This means that when your searches are returned, the highest-ranking websites are those that Google has deemed the most useful for searchers.
The Panda filter seeks to accomplish one goal: reward websites for producing high-quality content pages that are relevant to what searchers are looking for, and penalize websites that are sometimes exploiting SEO by flooding the Internet with low-quality content.
Panda-Compatibility
Avoiding having your website targeted by Panda is simple when you know what to look out for. Google posted some ideas for what you should look for in your website content to ensure that it is as Panda-friendly as possible.
Here are some useful tips provided by Google:
- Make sure that the information provided on your website trust-worthy and well written. Especially when it comes to health (or pet health!) related information.
- The content on your website should be geared towards the reader, not simply written to perform well in search engine rankings.
- Make sure that information provided on your site is as unique as possible. This does not mean that you need to be featuring information seen no where else on the Internet, but the content on your website should be not be mass-produced or used on dozens of other veterinary websites.
The bottom line is that the best way to avoid having your site be negatively affected by the Panda update is to make sure that there is a purpose for all of the content within your pages, and that the writing all appears within an appropriate context.
You can think about the Panda filter as similar to what many of us do whenever we pickup and begin reading the back jacket of a book. If you think that the content of the book looks as though it will be a waste of your time, would you open the cover and begin reading it? The goal of Panda is to help Internet users by going through those jackets for you, and separating the worthwhile from poorly written books on the shelves.
For more details on the Google Panda 2.2 update click here.
Tags: Google Panda, Tyler Kerxhalli, Veterinary Marketing, Veterinary Websites
Posted in Marketing, Online Reputation Management, Search Engine Optimization, Social media, Social Media Marketing, Veterinary Marketing, Website Statistics | Comments Off
Friday, June 3rd, 2011
Creating a visible website can be one of the most important components of your marketing strategy, giving your veterinary practice an opportunity to utilize the web to branch out to potential customers. However, some practices find that their websites still are failing to bring in a noticeable amount of new clients, even when their web traffic is good. What causes this lack of conversion? A recent survey found that your design might be the culprit.
According to the survey conducted earlier this year by OnePoll, 70% of respondents stated that they simply do not trust a poorly designed website. Such data highlights the importance of establishing a presence for your veterinary practice on the web, but making sure that your website is serving all of the functions that it should.
So what separates the good websites from the bad? Well, its all about looks, functionality, and navigation.
The Look: You might not be able to judge a book by its cover, but you can certainly judge a website by a similar standard. It is important that you ensure your website has a look that the aesthetic expectations of potential clients, and comes off as professional, clean cut, and tasteful.
The Functionality: On of the biggest parts of making your website successful is making sure that all of the “behind-the-scenes” work is functioning correctly. This means your website should not crash, show error messages, or limit the browsing abilities of your client with broken code.
The Navigation: The final part of what makes a good website is making sure you have fully organized all of the content, and helping to direct your potential clients to the places that they would like to go. If your clients do not know where to look, you cannot expect them to stay on your website.
In a perfect business world, it would be great to expect that high-quality service would be enough to keep potential customers interested. In reality, however, it all comes down to how well you are able to sell your practice, and making a substantial impact on the client every opportunity you get.
Tags: consumer trust, Online Marketing, Veterinary Websites, web presence
Posted in Marketing, Online Reputation Management, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Veterinary Marketing, Website Statistics | Comments Off
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In my last post I talked about the benefits of developing a large and vibrant professional network, which include not only professional growth but also career advancement. In this article, we’ll be talking more specifically about how both practice owners and associates can build their client base by taking a more outward facing approach.
