The Queen joins Facebook social networking site - but you won't be able to friend her (www.facebook.com/TheBritishMonarchy)

By Roya Nikkhah, Royal Correspondent

In a sign of the Queen's determination to master new technology, Buckingham Palace will tomorrow launch a Facebook page called "The British Monarchy".
The page will feature the latest Royal news, photographs, videos and speeches from the Royal Family, together with several daily updates about the activities of the Queen and other members of the Royal Family.
Facebook, the world's most popular social networking site with more than 500 million users, has also created a special new application for the Queen's official page.
The "Near Me" application will enable users to find out about Royal events and visits in their area, searchable on a map of the country.
While users will not be able to "poke" the Queen or send her "friend requests", they will be able to use the Facebook "likes" application, represented by a "thumbs up" sign, to register themselves as fans of the Queen.
Facebook users who "like" the page will receive updates about the Royal Family through their news feed.
The public will also be able to post comments on the page and send the Royal Family messages by writing on the Queen's Facebook "wall".
The Court Circular, the record of the previous day's official Royal engagements produced by the Royal Household, will also be made available on Facebook for the first time.
The Queen is said to have personally approved the plans for her new Facebook page, which will go live tomorrow at 8am.
A royal aide, said: "Facebook is probably the last bastion of social media the Royal Household had not yet entered, and the Queen is keen to be fully signed up to the 21st century.
"All plans for the Facebook page have been sent to the top, and the Queen has very much taken the lead on this."
A spokesman for Facebook, said: "We're delighted to welcome the British Monarchy to Facebook. People can now have a direct connection with the Royal Family through their page to see a unique glimpse into palace life."
The launch of a Facebook page is the latest move by the monarchy to embrace modern technology.
Earlier this year, the Queen launched a Flickr account making more than 600 photographs of the Royal Family at work and play available to the public for the first time.
A Royal Twitter account was launched in 2009 and Royal Channel went live on YouTube in 2007.
The Queen also "podcast" her first Christmas Day message in 2006, and launched a website for herself and other members of the Royal Family in 1997.
At 84, the Queen, encouraged by her grandchildren, is said to be "very enthusiastic" about keeping up to date with technology. She uses a mobile phone, has her own private email address and "surfs" the web.
She has continually moved with the times and in 1953, marked her coronation by allowing television cameras into Westminster Abbey for the first time for a state occasion.

www.medicalmarketing.com.hk

My practice website cannot drive patients’ enquiries?

If your website isn't delivering you new business, you are not alone.

Sadly, most medical websites are dead upon arrival when it comes to getting inquiries or new patients. They either are invisible (no one can find them) or lack the best practices necessary to motivate people to call you.

Such medical websites are either 1) generic templates and/or 2) put together by graphic artists who strive to make websites "pretty," but haven't a clue on how to make them effective

Of course, if you don't have any website at all, that's an even bigger problem.

Internet marketing happens to be our favorite area of expertise (chances are YOU originally found us on the Internet), and now we can apply that same expertise to help you get the patients you want especially for patients from China.

We'll work with you to come up with your message, content and brand - either over the phone or in person at your offices.

What's more, we'll design your website so that it is both marketing-smart and search engine friendly.

How can I use a blog to promote my practice?

There are over 200 million blogs currently online and more being started every second! Your patients are most likely interacting with a blog on a daily basis, whether they know it or not.  Many websites integrate a blog into their site so that content can consistently be updated.  First, your medical practice website could benefit from consistent and keyword rich updates because fresh content is a key component of the Google algorithm in determining web site placement on searches.  The blog section of your website could simply be called “blog” or something more specific such as “From Dr. Smith’s desk” or “Medical updates.”   Whatever the name, the content you use in your blog and add to your healthcare website will need to be comprised of timely topics of interest to your current patients, potential patients, and referral sources. 

Interested in learning more about blogging and social media in healthcare?  Please call Robbie Ho at 852-25801058 for free enquires.

www.medicalmarketing.com.hk

Article Marketing

Article marketing is an important tactic for the small business owner. It has been overlooked because people feel that it takes too much time to write articles about their business and new products, and it’s hard to see an imme-diate return.

However, article marketing is very important-it’s a marketing tactic with real tangible benefits. It can get the right traffic to your site-buyers! It’s a powerful lead generation tactic that attracts people interested in your topic. Get them to your website and you have a chance to develop a cus-tomer. Distribution of your articles by an article submission company is important to get them out and picked up by people who need content for newsletters, blogs, and article sites (more about that below).

www.medicalmarketing.com.hk

Facebook for “Friends”

Just for college kids? Not any More. Since June 2006, comScore Media Matrix has reported a 113 percent rise in Facebook visitors over the age of thirty-five. That makes up 41 percent of the sirs visitors. People around the world can connect with one another on Facebook and easily join groups of like-mided people they would not have met otherwise.

We are still in the early stages of figuring out what’s important for marketers to do on Facebook. It may succeed as a marketing platform in ways that MySpace has not. Unlike MySpace, Facebook decided to open up their network to developers. What that means is developers can create applica-What that means is developers can create applica-tions for Facebook users to employ. According to the September 2007 issue of Business 2.0, in the ten weeks since it was open to developers, there were 2,500 new applications created that triggered 139 million downloads. These applications run the gamut from ways to donate to charities to favorite movie picks.

At this point in time, I think Facebook has demonstrated that it can be useful as a networking tool for business owners, but still has to prove itself as a small business marketing tool, Given all the other tactics available, I wouldn’t rush into this one.

QUICK TIP

Five tips for selecting keywords:

1.          Don’t pick broad generic words that cost a lot and yield no tangible results. You’ll never come up on the first page of search results if you use the word “shopping” for example. There are 860 million citations ahead of you.

2.          Use niche phrases whenever possible. At the time of this writing, three- and four-word phrases work very well for targeted traffic.

3.          Stay current with word and phrase changes in your industry or niche and update your list.

4.          Use every tense of your words by adding the suffixes –ed, -s, and -ing.

5.          Make sure to use your keywords phrases on your website, in a sentence end-ing in a period. Just listing words on a page doesn’t work.

A blog benefits you in ways your website can’t

 1)     It’s interactive--readers can comment and you can establish a dialogue with your customers. That means it’s two-way conversation, which is critical in today’s market.

2)     It’s immediate--content is published instantly and search engines find it quickly.

3)     Its inherent structure allows you to archive content for interested read-ers to search.

4)     You have increased exposure to search engines, which love the constantly changing content.

5)     You don’t have to be a “techie” to create a blog. The tools are readily available.

6)     You can comment on other people’s blogs and get more exposure for your brand, sending more traffic back to your site.

Seven Business Benefits of a Blog

1. It reinforces the idea that you are an expert in your field.
2. It helps pull a community of like-minded people together.
3. You get useful feedback from people who have bought or might buy your product.
4. It increases the likelihood that the media can find you and write about your products. ZDNet Research reports that 67 percent of journalists use blogs as sources and that 35 percent have their own blogs.
5. It helps develop the brand story so that people can tell others about you and generate further leads.
6. The content is always fresh, so your business demonstrates that you are active and responsive.
7. It generates traffic to your website and any other links you include on your blog.

Contact: Robbie Ho , http://www.medicalmarketing.com.hk/

How to Get Your Patients to Refer in Droves? (Part One)

Here are three remarkably easy-and highly effective-ways to encourage patients to refer family, friends and colleagues to your practice. The cost is almost nothing, so your Return On Investment (ROI) is through the roof.

This is the closest thing you'll find to guarantee success in internal marketing, and with a little practice and persistence, it's almost effortless to generate patient referrals.

The only tough part is making the commitment and doing it.

1. ASK PATIENTS FOR REFERRALS

Yes, you really do have to ask. That's rule one. You look busy to the patient and they don't think to refer. Brochures or signs are passive-helpful as reinforcement tools, but they don't engage or inspire the patient directly.

Far more than half of the doctors we talk to have heard of "asking for referrals," but-here's the tough part-many shy away...embarrassed, uncomfortable, or afraid they'll look needy. In fact, most patients would happily refer and would love to be asked.

Consider the patient's perspective. If they are pleased with your professional services, they are grateful, appreciative and naturally ready to say "thanks" in return. So ask. Not asking is more than an omission, it's a costly mistake and a golden opportunity lost.

Here's how to get beyond the stage fright (or other excuses) and get into the habit.

Doctor Talk. It's best if the doctor does the asking because that's the highest level connecting point for the patient, and the most direct channel for appreciation.

Timing is Important. Pick a moment when you know the patient is happy and when you've achieved great results. (Not when they are in pain from surgery.) Ask a "checking" question or two to make sure they're up on the satisfaction curve: "Did we do a good job for you?" or "Are you looking forward to showing off those new pearly whites at your sister's wedding?" Or when a patient volunteers a compliment: "I'm so glad you took care of that for me!"

Script it. Rehearse it. Keep it short and sincere. With a little preparation, you will not need the script, but it helps you focus your message. One of the best we've heard is to sincerely say to
the individual that you like having them as a patient, and that you would love it if they'd send their friends because you know they'd be great patients too.

Make it a habit. Look for opportunities to ask for referrals and do so often everyday as part of your regular routine. Mark the chart so that you (or your staff) only ask once (otherwise, you may look needy).

http://www.medicalmarketing.com.hk/

Five Tips For Hiring a Professional to Design Your Clinic Brand Identity

Five Tips For Hiring a Professional to Design Your Clinic Brand Identity
1.  Before you speak to any designer, be clear about your target audience and positioning. Your designer will want to know this and if you are confused or unclear, the results will be less than you hoped for. Don’t call designers hoping they will figure it out. You are an expert in your medical business so they can be an expert in theirs. If they are willing to work with a loose description, be wary.

2.  Think about colors and presentation. Do you want your brand to appear very formal? Are you a medical service with professional certifications? Let your designer know. Show them examples of brands you admire.

3.  When you speak with the designer, make sure they have a marketing sense. I’m not saying that they have to be marketing experts, but there are designers out there who care more about the aesthetic appeal of their design than how it fits your business. Don’t be bullied.
5.  Don’t expect good design work to be cheap. Be prepared to spend a reasonable amount. Look at a variety of designers before you finalize your budget. It’s hard to change a clinic brand identity once you create it, so bear that in mind when you are making your choice. If you feel you are compromising, you’ll never be happy.

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