June 2013

Recent Posts

Categories

Archives

All Roads Lead to Your Website

Tune up your website to make sure it performs!

Last month we gave you useful tips from parts 1 and 2 of “Your Website, Social Media and Traditional Marketing: Are They Working Together?”, a lecture on 21st Century integrated marketing given by our VP of Marketing, Tamara Evans, at last month’s ASCRS/ASOA Symposium and Congress. This month we look at part 3, which focuses on ensuring that your website performs — because, after all, it is the new focal point of your marketing efforts.

A successful website is one that reflects the image you want to project, highlights the services you want to provide, portrays who you are, converts prospects, stands out among the competition and is found when potential patients search on the Internet. But before it can achieve all of that, it may need a tune-up to add a number of vital features.

Website Essentials

If you read last month’s article, you know how important it is to integrate your marketing across all of the marketing platforms you currently use, from brochures to radio to social media. Your logo, color palette, messaging and other visual features should be consistent. As the hub of your marketing campaign, your website likely needs fine-tuning as well. Make sure the following are featured on your site:

Key Procedures. Be sure to mention the procedures you specialize in as well as those procedures you want to promote.

Practice News. If you purchased a new laser, are offering a new type of injectable filler, or have a spring special for LASIK, mention it on your website.

Topics that Resonate Locally. For example, if your community has a strong military presence and you run a radio ad about how you perform a lot of surgery on military personnel, then your website MUST have testimonials from these patients, as well as photos of the surgeon with military patients.

Specialized Training. This includes fellowships and any other training you have undergone. If you have a certificate on your wall, this information should also appear on your website (with a picture if possible).

PR/Media Coverage. Post videos of any interviews or appearances you have made. Make sure your website has the technology to display these videos.

Celebrities/Public Personalities. Have you treated anyone famous? If so, make sure it’s mentioned on your website.

Other Places You’re Listed. Whether it’s online or in print, if you’re listed elsewhere, mention it on your website. Examples include paid directory listings, local listings and society listings; many professional societies have logos you can include on your website. Link from your website to all of these listings to reinforce your stature in the medical community.

Social Media. Include your social media icons (as links) on every page.

Community Service. Also include any volunteer work you participate in.

Blog. If you don’t already have one, add a blog to your website. Your blog can be set up to automatically add a post on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn every time you blog. A note of caution: if you aren’t willing to ensure fairly frequent blog posts, this may not be a good option for your practice. However, your blog posts don’t have to be a time sink for you or your practice; a good Internet marketing company can create timely, engaging and successful content for your blog.

Contact Ceatus today for more tips and information on how to make your website the hub of your 21st Century marketing campaign!

CEATUS Case Study of the Month

Clarity Eye Group

Got Social?

Background: Social media is now an important part of Internet marketing for elective medical practices. A good social media strategy can generate awareness and referral business from people who already know you, and give you access to their friends and social networks. The same strategies you’ve used to increase your word-of-mouth referrals in other mediums can now be applied to social networking — as long as you take the proper steps.

Problem: Clarity Eye Group knew that social media was a very effective way to stay in touch with their patients. However, as a busy practice, they only had time to post content to their Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts a couple times a month. They quickly discovered that their posts were being buried under the many posts from their patients’ other connections and “friends.” As a result, Clarity’s posts were not being seen…at all. With such a small number of monthly posts, Clarity was missing out on the opportunity to connect with patients. What they needed was a way to post more consistently without having to hire a full-time social media specialist.

Solution: Ceatus developed a social media feed that allows the company’s professional social media writers to post interesting articles to Clarity’s Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn pages every business day. These posts appear as if Clarity Eye Group had posted them. The content of the posts covers a wide range of topics, and each post contains a link to a relevant article. Posted articles come from highly reputable sources and focus on vision as well as other engaging topics that real people are interested in. The new social media feed also allows Clarity Eye Group to add its own posts at any time.

Ceatus offers customized social media feeds for our other clients as well, including LASIK and cataract surgeons, plastic surgeons, facial plastic surgeons, bariatric surgeons and dentists.

Ask the experts

Q How long does it take for SEO to increase my website rankings?

A For a brand new website, on a new domain name, you can expect at least a year before you see any real movement on highly competitive search terms. For an established site (more than two years old), you should expect to see some upward ranking movement within six months, and significant movement in nine months.

Back to top

Read about our Case Study of the Month

Maximize Your Internet Strategy

Come by the Ceatus booth for a FREE website evalution!

Vegas Cosmetic Surgery

Bellagio
Las Vegas
June 26-30
Booth 206

Join Ceatus Media Group (Booth 206) at the upcoming Vegas Cosmetic Surgery conference in Las Vegas. The conference combines the talents of practitioners from four specialties — facial plastic surgery, oculoplastic surgery, plastic surgery, and dermatology — for the best in aesthetic education. Ceatus CEO David Evans, PhD, will be a participant on the following panels:

Strategies to Leverage Patient Reviews
David Evans, PhD • June 26 • 11:30am-12:30pm • Ballroom 3,5,8

There is a Discount Medi-Spa on Every Corner… “How can I Possibly Compete With these Prices?”
David Evans, PhD • June 27 • 11:45am-12:45pm • Ballroom 3,5,8

Don’t miss out!

CDA Presents: The Art and Science of Dentistry

Moscone Center
San Francisco
August 15-17
Booth 720

We here at Ceatus can’t wait to attend CDA Presents in the beautiful city of San Francisco! The CDA Presents Fall meeting brings dental experts, top industry vendors and dynamic speakers together to unveil new dental technologies and procedures. Stop by Booth 720 to learn how to keep your practice at the forefront of Internet marketing and your industry!

Breast Surgery and Body Contouring Symposium

Santa Fe Convention Center
New Mexico
August 22-24, 2013

Meet us in Santa Fe for the Breast Surgery & Body Contouring Symposium. For 28 years, this ASPS/ASAPS event has remained the premier meeting for aesthetic and reconstructive surgeons interested in expanding their knowledge while networking with other top surgeons. Join us for a free website review!

Back to top

 

Read about our Case Study of the Month

You Did What? Off-the-Grid Adventures

Go in search of the Big Five in Africa, skydive off the highest point on earth, swim with great whites, hike the Himalayas or literally “go off the grid” with an expedition through a desolate and icy North Pole.

1. Hike the Great Himalaya Trail

Nepal

This recently inaugurated trail is made up of a network of existing paths traversing Nepal. It will eventually form part of a 4,500-km (2,800-mile) “super trail” linking Bhutan and Pakistan. The existing 1,700km Nepal section divides into smaller routes passing in sight of eight of the world’s 8,000-meter (26,247ft-plus) peaks and through some of the world’s most remote villages. The trail crosses mountain passes up to 6,000 meters in altitude while climbing a total of 150,000 meters.

When to Go:

Mid-February to July.

Go with:

World Expeditions

Price Tag:

The fully escorted 157-day trek with World Expeditions costs £20,490 (US$32,077), but another option is to take one of the seven shorter connecting stages, ranging from the 18-day Langtang Trek £2,350 (US $3,678) to the 34-day Makalu & Everest Traverse led by climbing legend Stephen Venables £3,850 (US $6,027). Prices include airport transfers, expert mountain guides, porters, trekking permits, equipment and all meals, but not flights.

2. Swim with Great White Sharks

Isla de Guadalupe, Mexico

There’s no place quite like Mexico’s Guadalupe Island. Where else can you dive with great whites in crystal-clear water that allows you to see sharks approaching from a distance? With sparse vegetation and curtains of fog that roll off it, this cragged, volcanic outcropping some 160 miles off the west coast of Baja is the perfect backdrop to great white encounters.

When to Go:

August through October is peak season for seeing great whites off Guadalupe.

Go with:

Great White Adventures

Price Tag:

Total price including 3 days of cage diving, taxes, all food and alcoholic/nonalcoholic beverages, and round-trip transfers from San Diego to Ensenada, is US$3,219 (excluding gear, national park fee and Mexican visa).

3. Safari at Kruger National Park

South Africa

A game drive in search of the so-called Big Five — lions, leopards, Cape buffalo, elephants, and rhinos — is only the start to this South African six-night safari. The trip fee also includes internal flights, park fees and all-inclusive three-night accommodations at Ulusaba Rock Lodge, followed by the Royal Malewane (also three nights).

When to Go:

Game-viewing is best in the dry season (May to September), when animals can be seen coming to drink at water holes. Expect cool mornings and warm days.

Go with:

Perfect Africa

Price Tag:

Perfect Africa’s customized vacations vary in price, ranging from US$3,000 to US$7,000

4. Skydive Mt. Everest

Nepal

On October 4, 2008, Wendy Smith and Omar Alhegelan leapt out of a Pilatus Porter PC6 to become the first people to skydive in front of Mt. Everest. Over the next couple of days, a total of 50 solos and 19 tandem descents were made. With further success in both 2009 and 2010, this adventure to beat all others was here to stay. The Everest 2011 Skydive Expedition includes a trek from Kathmandu to the world’s highest drop zone.

When to Go:

October

Go with:

Everest Skydive

Price Tag:

The price for an 11-day trek/jump is £14,750 (US$23,091) for solo skydivers and £19,750 (US$30,918) for tandem skydivers. The package includes meals, accommodation, guides, equipment, briefings and the jump from 29,500 feet, but excludes international flights.

5. North Pole Expedition

Arctic Ocean

Crunch through packed ice and take helicopter flights and zodiac trips for a thrilling view of the expansive Arctic Ocean. Get up close and personal with polar bears, penguins and walruses while riding in a nuclear-powered ice-breaker ship.

When to Go:

July 9-23

Go with:

Quark Expeditions

Price Tag:

14 days from US$22,690

Back to top

Read about our Case Study of the Month