Facebook – Continually Evolving

Facebook made the decision a few years ago that it would suppress the number of people who see the posts on a business page unless you pay to boost the post. This is the classic drug dealer business model – get someone hooked – take it away – and they will pay. It still benefits business pages to reach the audience that has LIKED the page since these folks have “opted in” to be marketed to. As dentists, we have to decide what to post and what to promote. You should understand that a boosted post receives about 500X the exposure of a non-boosted post.

While Facebook allows boosted posts to be somewhat targeted to an audience, those targeting opportunities are far fewer than if you used Facebook Ads. An ad campaign is a step up in cost and involvement. For those ads, in the past, Facebook would allow you to target based on age, relationship status, geography, and the likes and interests. While these are great ways to target an audience, it still was  very broad targeting and could present challenges to an advertiser.

In the last few months, Facebook has made changes to its Ad Platform and now lets advertisers get really specific when it comes to targeting. Now you can target by household income. You can also now target people by where they work and even their job title. This is pretty exciting stuff! For dentists trying to promote more expensive procedures like implants, veneers, and adult orthodontics, you now have the ability to specifically hone in on prospective patients like never before and really speak to them and tell your story.

Marketing on Facebook is undoubtedly going to continue to get more expensive as more people realize the value it holds. There has never been a better time to utilize this platform to increase brand recognition and tell your audience why your practice is the best practice. That being said, I believe it is tough to do this on your own. Unless you are extremely Internet and social media savvy, you need a real Facebook expert to help you decide on a program and a budget. I continue to recommend Heather LoGrippo, founder of Expose Yourself Public Relations. She can be reached at 617-957-3868 or exposeyourselfpr.com