I went to a local dental meeting last night, and one of my dentist friends said to me, “Dude, you have some balls posting what you post on Facebook!” My initial thought was that he was referring to my outspoken views on a number of things. I don’t hold back much, as many of you will probably agree. He then went on to say that he’d NEVER post what I post. I chuckled and said, “I’m sure I’ve pissed off a few of my friends and family. But, if you don’t make a few enemies along the way, you’re probably not trying hard enough… and probably not being yourself.”
Then my friend commented he wouldn’t want his patients to see that kind of stuff.
OH! Wait a minute!! Hell no! Me neither!
I started laughing, as I figured out what he was really saying and thinking. He thought that my Facebook profile was for my dental practice and open to be potentially seen by my patients. Absolutely not! But, I do use Facebook for my practice. (Read on about how to keep them separate, yet easily accessible through your FB profile.)
And, it reminded me of messages I had posted on the subject of social media, specifically Facebook, in discussions on Dentaltown. And, while I don’t consider myself an expert on social media, I know a few things. One of those things is that you want to keep “business and pleasure” SEPARATE, and that includes Facebook. That doesn’t mean you can’t use Facebook for both. You just have to know how to set it up properly so it’s all “Kosher.”
Profiles vs. Pages, Friends vs. Fans
When you create an account with Facebook, you start off by creating a PROFILE. This is where you put in your personal information (as much as you feel comfortable). On your PROFILE you can add FRIENDS. Friends can be anyone mutually agreeable to connecting on Facebook. But, for most of us, it’s our actual friends, family, and maybe even colleagues. For me, it’s friends, family, and other dentists.
I see London. I see France. I can see your underpants.
A Facebook FRIEND can see everything on your PROFILE. That includes your photos, “status updates,” birthday, employer, education, relationships, and other information you post there. It’s also important to note that you can establish privacy parameters on your Facebook account. You can make your information viewable by:
- Public – anyone on Facebook… ANYONE… can see your stuff. All they have to do is search for you by name, and they’re in. I don’t recommend this setting.
- Friends of friends – This means that your Facebook FRIENDS… AND THEIR friends can see your stuff. I generally don’t recommend this setting, either.
- Friends only – This means that ONLY your Facebook FRIENDS can see your stuff. This is my preferred setting. I prefer to keep my “stuff” somewhat private among my approved Facebook friends.
In your account settings, you can specify the privacy level for the various sections and tidbits on your profile. I prefer to have them ALL set to FRIENDS ONLY. I prefer a maximum level of privacy. But, you may decide differently.
Why can’t we be friends? (with a nod to the 70s group, War)
Again… this is about your Facebook PROFILE. I would recommend you NOT make patients your Facebook FRIENDS. Why? Hopefully it’s somewhat self-evident. But, just in case it’s not… You may not want your patients to:
- See your political views.
- See photos of you drunk or half-naked.
- Know who you’re related to!
- You just bought a new Rolex or a new car.
- Learn about your personal issues.
- Read your online spat with ___________.
- Realize that you’re a 40 year old man who digs Justin Bieber songs.
- See comments by your friends that may be controversial, vulgar, or simply not something you’d want your patients to see. (Added this May 2018, as I lost a friend for that very reason. He got upset over a comment I made on his Facebook post, because he didn’t want his patients to see it. How was I supposed to know his post was intended for patients to see, when it’s on his PERSONAL profile?)
But, wait! I thought social media, like Facebook, was a great place to connect with current and future patients. It can be! But, you don’t want to do it via your Facebook PROFILE for the reasons we’ve already discussed.
I’m making records, my fans they can’t wait! (Joe Walsh)
This is the KEY thing you need to know about Facebook and your patients: FAN PAGE. You want to set up a FAN PAGE for your dental practice. (Edit to add: Now it’s just called a “Page.” They deleted the “fan” part.) This is where you can keep your business separate from your private life. A fan page is designed to be “public.” Rather than “friends,” you accumulate FANS or “likes.” And, they choose you. You don’t have to approve them like a friend request. They click on the “Like” button, and they become your FANS. Fans can see your fan page. And, they’ll get notifications when something new is posted on your Fan Page. But, they cannot see your PROFILE, unless you approve them as “friends.” Again… I’d be very careful about “friending” patients or potential patients. If they ask to be “friends” on Facebook, just direct them to your fan page. You might even fib and say you only do the fan page and don’t use your profile.
One more thing about fan pages… You can have as many as you want. If you have multiple businesses, you can create a fan page for each. If you have a cause you want to promote, you can create a page for that. If you want a place to showcase a hobby, “there’s a page for that.”
How do I get a Page?
I will assume (we know what happens with that, eh?) that you have a Facebook PROFILE, already. Think of a FAN PAGE (Facebook now just calls them PAGES) as a mini-website within Facebook. It is created under your existing account or profile. If you go to this link, https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php, just follow the instructions, and you’ll be on your way to creating your own fan page.
Create a fan page on Facebook
And, like a website, a fan page is a perpetual work in progress.
You can use your fan page to promote your practice in a number of ways. A sampling of suggestions:
- Before & after photos.
- Special offers or contests.
- Surveys.
- Staff news.
- Announce new services.
- Reminders about end of year insurance benefits.
- Oral health articles.
My practice fan page on Facebook. Click image to visit!
A fan page is a simple way to “reach out and touch” your dental practice audience. And, it’s a way for your patients to reach out and stay in touch with your dental practice without also seeing photos of you in your drunken glory, reading posts on your “wall” from your bawdy friends, or that you think the President is a pinko-commie. 🙂
Both of my Facebook fan pages use the bland Facebook template. However, you can dress them up to look like a custom web page. There are a number of services available to do that.
The Dental Warrior fan page on Facebook. Click on image to link!
In review: You have a Facebook PROFILE, which is where you can run free and post whatever suits your fancy without fear of offending patients or potential patients or giving them inappropriate insight to your personal life. Pissing off your relatives with your political views can be loads of fun! However, it’s probably best to keep personal views, pursuits, relationships, and activities separate from your dental practice. I recommend you decline any friend requests by patients and instead send them to your practice fan page.
(Editing to add this tidbit) When you create a fan page, the url (web address) will look something like www.facebook.com/djhgd732ld8u3. Of course that’s not convenient to use if you want to tell someone how to find your Facebook fan page. You can create a “vanity url,” or as Facebook calls it, a “username.” So, you can have your page address be something like: www.facebook.com/TheDentalWarrior. That’s much easier to use. To set up your own page vanity url, go to: https://www.facebook.com/username/.
Of course, you’re invited to “Like” The Dental Warrior Facebook fan page. 🙂 Click the badge below!
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So you’re saying I shouldn’t list my various Justin Bieber playlists?
Sure! If you don’t mind your friends knowing. But, you may want to keep your “alternative lifestyle” a secret from your patients. So, don’t “friend” your patients. Keep them on your fan page. 😉
Good post.
I’ve noticed in the uk, many dental practices have set up a Facebook sight as a profile and not a page.
A big no no I believe!
As far as I know, you are correct. Facebook frowns on creating multiple accounts. But, here’s another reason to not do it. It’s MUCH easier to work with a single account / profile. You log on ONCE. And, you can easily manage your personal profile and multiple pages all from one place. Easy-peasy.
Mike,
Don’t forget that with the latest FB update you can also create “LISTS”….FB’s answer to Google’s “circle of friends”. You can create lists of your DentalTown friends….or church friends…..or as I’ve done….create a “political discussion” list of friends. When creating a post….you can select Friends, Friend of Friends, Public, etc. and all that stuff you mentioned….and ALSO these lists you’ve created. ONLY the people on the list will be able to see/read your post. That’s why you can see those political posts Mike….and most everyone else can’t. It’s a great new feature that allows you to post stuff that ONLY your family can see….or any of your other groupings of friends.
FB had “lists” a long time ago. I’ve been categorizing my friends since I started with FB. But, now they’re promoting it (in response to Google+, which still hasn’t really gotten off the ground).
Yes…they had “lists”…..but up until recently you could not limit your postings to be seen ONLY by specific groups/lists. THAT’s the difference.
Ah yes.. that’s true. Thanks for pointing that out. 🙂
While this post is older, it’s very pertinent even today. I haven’t found FaceBook to be particularly productive in getting me new patients, it helps me keep in touch with old ones. Primarily, I do advertisements and sponsored posts to stir up interest. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t.
My online marketing specialist does a great job of separating the wheat from the chaff, and tries to make sure that people don’t get bombarded or sick of our posts.
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hey..I do agree with this… it’s sometime bit awkward to “friend” someone on Facebook. I wouldn’t mind if it’s on the Company Facebook Page
I totally agree that it is not advisable to add as a friend in any social media platform your patients. You’re giving them a hint of your private life (which am I guessing not good). Creating a Facebook page for your practice is a good outlet for your patients.
If you talk frequently with patients, they too might want to hang out with you in the Facebook world. But unless you’re comfortable with them seeing pictures of your kids and special family moments, I’d tell them you only have a few close friends in your Facebook list. You could even tell them you don’t use the site that much. That should satisfy any complaints about denying their request.
Maybe I’m old fashioned but who doesn’t only have close friends and family on their Facebook friends list? And I would think it’s common sense that you should only add people who you want to see the things that you post… isn’t that the point?
Yep, a business facebook page is the best way to improve customer relationships.
My brother in law, who is a dentist, doesn’t even have a Facebook account under his own name for the exact same reasons as to prevent his personal life to influence his professional one. Most of the time he just sends people a link to his anonymous facebook page via email. I guess, it’s the price you have to pay when your reputation is so much tied with your career advancement and bussiness.
Regards,
Gillian
Thanks for this great post! Extremely helpful in managing my private page and the practice’s business page.
I agree
Every Dentist should use a Fan Page in order to have a digital space in facebook to talk and give value to our patienst
It is a mistake to think that if we are, for example, on Twitter, every patient will be there as well
So, if it is the case that some patients only use facebook, we will be able to connect with them through our facebook fan page
It is a great article
Thanks for sharing!
What a nice post! Are facebook friends must be segregated to a balanced level. A doctor’s image can be completely distorted in the minds of patients through his/her informal post.
I myself got alert with this……. i think i need an editing session on each social media platform. Thanks for the alarm!!!!