Internet dental marketing Archives

Dentists: Can Copyright Law Protect You from Negative Online Reviews?

August 19, 2018 By Jim Du Molin

Online dental reviews can be a problem for dentists when negative reviews appear, especially when they feel the review is possibly retaliatory or bogus.

A few thousand doctors have taken matters into their own hands by working with a company called Medical Justice, that created a way to use copyright law to go after negative online reviews.

For about $100.00 a month, Medical Justice protects its doctors by going to online review sites and demanding any bad reviews be removed due to “a breach of copyright.” The company instructs doctors to have their patients sign contracts that assign away the copyright in any future review the patient might be compelled to write online.

Techland Times reports that Medical Justice claims what they’re doing is not only protecting the doctors from unfair bad press, but also from bogus reviews. “Some sites say, we don’t know if you’re telling truth, and we don’t know if they’re telling the truth — it’s the Internet, so deal with it,” contends Shane Stadler of Medical Justice.

Moco News writes that by having patients assign copyright in any reviews to their doctor, Medical Justice is hoping to help doctors get around Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (an “arcane nuance of cyberlaw,” according to Medical Justice’s website), the law that protects web services from getting sued over content posted by their users.

It is being reported that Yelp has refused to honor a doctor’s take-down notice based on copyright infringement, and another online review website called RateMDs created a “Wall of Shame” to identify doctors who are using the copyright contracts.

Sound unreasonable? Do you think it’s irrational to demand dental patients sign a copyright assignment form when they visit a dentist office?

For more on this story see “Doctors Now Using Breach of Copyright to Quash Bad Online Reviews“ and “Can Doctors Use Copyright Law To Get Rid Of Negative Reviews?“

Filed Under: Legal, The Wealthy Dentist Tagged With: Angie's List, Dental News, dentists, Internet dental marketing, negative online reviews, online reviews, Yelp, Yelp Online Reviews

Are Celebrity Cosmetic Dentists Good Dental Marketing for Dentistry? (video)

August 19, 2018 By Jim Du Molin

When reality TV started showcasing dental makeovers, the general public began looking into cosmetic dentistry to give themselves that perfect Hollywood smile.

Cosmetic dentistry has become hugely popular and celebrity cosmetic dentists have made sure it stays that way by offering more dental makeovers on TV.

“The end product for many of them looks like dentures!” complained on Texas dental marketer.

Watch the following video to hear what dentists have to say about celebrity cosmetic dentists –

What are your thoughts on celebrity cosmetic dentists?

Filed Under: Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Videos, The Wealthy Dentist Tagged With: Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Marketing, dental surveys, dentist, dentistry, dentists, Internet dental marketing, survey, survey video, video marketing, videos

Can Popular Social Media Site Pinterest be Used for Dental Marketing?

August 19, 2018 By Jim Du Molin

We can hear dentists groaning now, “Please, not another social media site to integrate with my dental marketing plan!”

But only having a dental website isn’t enough anymore, especially if that dental website isn’t geo-targeted and isn’t up-to-date with the latest dental keyword phrases.

A modern dental practice must maintain an active, keyword rich website, a dental practice Facebook page, and a Google Plus page, and it also helps to post some dental demonstration videos on YouTube.

Social media is a great way for dentists to engage and communicate with dental patients on a regular basis. It takes a little more work on the dental practice side to keep the social media engagement going.

It’s not just a one-time post with a teeth-whitening special.

Social media is a conversation between the dentist and his dental patients about what’s going on at the dental practice, what new cosmetic dental procedure patients like, what new treatment financing options are available and so on.

And using the new social media site Pinterest can further help dentists promote their dental practice.

If you aren’t sure about Pinterest for dental marketing, then check out the following stats compiled by Monetate Marketing Infographics about Pinterest —

Think about Pinterest as more of an online scrapbook that links to the websites where the images are found. This is the traffic power behind using Pinterest. Pinterest users “scrapbook” their ideas, hobbies, passions and inspiration with the world when they “pin” images to their virtual boards.

Members are able to follow each other and comment, just like other social media platforms. They also share their boards with each other.

Here are 7 ways a dental practice can use Pinterest for dental marketing —

1. Share images of your dental practice, both inside and out.

2. Share your before and after photos from those dental patients who have given permission to share their images online.

3. Encourage your dental patients to share their images on your boards. Ideas like “My dental patients graduating this year” and invite them to post their graduation photos with their beautiful smiles.

4. Share new dental equipment.

5. Even share the things you enjoy and you may find many patients who share your passions for trout fishing, race cars, or golf.

6. If you have dental patients who are getting married, ask them to share a couple of their wedding photographs.

7. Women are even planning their weddings on Pinterest. Think of the services you can offer a prospective bride that she may want to include on her wedding planning boards for things she wants to get done before the big day.

Dentists must be present in more places online, and recognize that dental patients increasingly want to engage in social media, regardless of the platform. Broadening your dental marketing to include image boards on Pinterest is a simple new way to showcase your dental practice in a positive light.

(If you would like to receive an invitation to join Pinterest, please let us know in the comments and we will send you an invitation from The Wealthy Dentist. To see The Wealthy Dentist on Pinterest, go to pinterest.com/wealthydentist)

Filed Under: Dental Marketing, The Wealthy Dentist Tagged With: Dental Marketing, dentist, dentistry, dentists, Internet dental marketing, marketing, pinterest, social media

Internet Dental Marketing With Google Plus (Video)

August 19, 2018 By Jim Du Molin

Social media is here to stay. But it’s not entirely clear yet whether Google Plus is useful for internet dental marketing.

“I signed up but haven’t done anything further with it,” said a Michigan dental office worker.

“What is Google Plus?” asked a Georgia dentist.

We conducted a survey asking dentists if they use Google Plus.

Jim Du Molin and Julie Frey discuss what dentist are saying about using Google Plus for their online dental marketing:

In our survey, 36% of dentists said they have Google Plus profiles, but 48% do not. The remaining 16% are planning on using Google Plus at some point in the near future.

A previous Wealthy Dentist survey found that nine out of ten dentists are on Facebook.

Google might be the world’s biggest search engine, but their social media domination is not yet complete — at least not when compared with Facebook.

“I like Google Plus myself, but I’m a tech guy who’s fascinated by search engine optimization. I can understand why some dentists might be hesitant” said Jim Du Molin, a former dental marketing consultant and Chief Editor of TheWealthyDentist.com.

“I haven’t done a thing with Google Plus since I got on,” said a Connecticut orthodontist.

“I am on Google Plus. It doesn’t seem to have any impact as of yet, though. Not as many people are using it as Facebook,” said an Oregon dentist.

“I don’t trust Google! Their products are useful. However, I think the computer geeks are disabling security systems, as well as collecting and selling way more personal information than they want us to know,” said a New Mexico dentist.

“Could Google Plus interfere with your ability to monitor your own website results?” asked a general dentist.

Google offers so many services that it can get confusing. Google Plus is for social networking, while Google Webmaster Tools let you monitor your website traffic.

Using one set of Google tools won’t interfere with using another set. In fact, Google has so many useful web tools, that you just might find yourself using more of them!

Filed Under: Dental Videos Tagged With: Dental Marketing, dental video, Google plus, Internet dental marketing, social media

Survey Results: How Dentists View Dental Marketing

August 19, 2018 By Jim Du Molin

Dental marketing provides dentists great opportunities to promote their dental practice.

Considering the fact that the recession has hit some dental practices hard over the past few years, implementing a smart dental marketing strategy can be more important than ever.

The Wealthy Dentist ran a survey to ask dentists what is their current attitude towards dental marketing.

40% of dentists believe dental marketing provides great opportunities to promote their practice, while 25% don’t like it, but think it’s a necessary evil. Another 25% wish they could take full advantage of marketing their practice. Only 10% feel that a good dentist shouldn’t need to market his or her practice.

Here are some dentist comments:

“It is hard to run a small practice and learn how to market successfully on an ongoing basis as time is short to do everything and see patients and expensive to have others do it for you.” (Nevada dentist)
“When new patient numbers decline, then marketing becomes a focus. By far, the best marketing tool is the sedation website.” (General dentist)
“I feel that internal marketing is the most effective but motivation of staff is problematic. Probably a bonus system would work.” (Ohio dentist)
“Budget constraints seem to be the biggest problem, but I basically believe that you get what you pay for. I would like to keep it “fresh” and rejuvenate it someway.” (General dentist)
“The best marketing is still, and always will be, creating satisfied patients. 90% of our new patients come from referrals by existing patients.” (Illinois dentist)
“This is a real conundrum, as far as an old timer dentist is concerned. We were taught to go out do the best dentistry possible without advertising, be honest, treat patients like family and don’t oversell or over-treat, and we would build a great dental practice.” (California dentist)
“Dental marketing lowers the esteem of the profession in the eyes of the public when our ads are right up there with the chiropractors and the pizza joints.” (General dentist)

For more on this survey see: Dental Marketing Provides Great Opportunities for Dentists