I’m sure by now you have heard all the rumors either by news sources or business articles and maybe even signed up to start testing out the new Graph Search capabilities by Facebook. If not, maybe you have been living under a rock or you just don’t care much for social media. I’m sure most of you may be thinking, “Great another social media gimmick we need to worry about.” However, this is an important channel for your business and could possibly be a major form of inbound traffic for you company so it should definitely be worth considering.
How it works:
Facebook Graph Search can appear to be like another search engine with a search bar and results. However, these results are what differentiate themselves from typical search engines like Google and Bing. The results are comprised of a graph of images based on your search terms and these results are calculated based off of your friends, interests, “likes” and personalization. These types of searches can help answer questions that a general search engine might not be able to dive into and is much more personalized.
Typically, with search engines, everyone may have the same set of search results based off the same search term. With Graph Search, each search is unique to the user and will have vastly different results based off their friends and interests.
Why would I waste my time with it?
Like all dental internet marketing strategies, the key concept is to get your practice in front of the right customers. Graph search is an important emerging technology that should not be ignored given the amount of daily users on the social network. As the Graph Search evolves people will tend to utilize the “like” button even more, update their interests, and continue to develop this large digital ecosystem.
By being active on your Facebook with customers and friends, you can tap into this new channel of search. Whether your business appears passively or with user intent, it is important to start engaging your social community so that your business will appear more frequently in Graph Search results for your network.
Tip:
Engage with your customers and follow up with them through Facebook. A great way to make them want to share with you would be to set up before and after photos for patients – Facebook is all about the timeline and changes people go through their life. Why not help them share this with their beautiful new smiles.
Be sure to tag these photos and watch how many people will “like” your patient’s new smiles. Now you are actively engaging into your online community.
You’d be surprised by what people might be interested in and what they are looking for from their peers, common interests, and recommendations. Yes, even dentists and orthodontists!