Tweeting patients -- what's in it for you?

Editor's note: Sheri Doniger's column, Dental Diaries, appears regularly on the DrBicuspid.com advice and opinion page, Second Opinion.

I had a patient in today and we were discussing the new world of social media. He asked if I Twitter (yes, of course, doesn't everyone?), and he said he had opened two Twitter accounts: one for his business and one to talk about his rental property in Costa Rica.

It got me to thinking: Why aren't we all sending tweets out into the Twitter-sphere, talking about the benefits of oral health care?

Actually, there are folks out there with dental Web sites. Some tweet about what they are doing during the day, preparing for lectures or writing articles, and some talk about oral health tidbits. I have seen everything from advertising specific dental products to general postings about dentists and oral care to non-dentists discussing dental treatment.

Personally, I like to tweet about health issues. I do have the occasional random tweet about what I am doing, such as my "Happy Black Friday" posting at 4:55 a.m. on November 27. But for the most part, I try to keep my postings relevant to dentistry. As a dental professional, I enjoy the occasional "soap box" moment, and with Twitter you can send a message loud and clear out to the world via cyberspace.

In addition to sending out my Black Friday "retail therapy" Tweet, I read several retail tweets and began to realize that Twitter is a great conduit for free advertising. For example: I receive daily tweets from a fragrance company advertising their fragrance of the day. I contacted the CEO of this company, and he is doing famously. As an Internet-based company, his sales are dependent on constant exposure.

As dentists, especially in this economy, any advertising -- especially free advertising -- is a good thing.

I am not saying that we should always go searching for new patients. But providing patients with useful information about their oral health and general health is a win-win. And when you are posting in short (140 character) messages, you can make your point quickly and succinctly. It is always good to be the one controlling the message.

Planting the seeds of knowledge and spreading the word about you as a dentist may generate future gains. Who knows? Maybe a tweet will get you a new patient. It has been said that each new patient is worth some $10,000 over the course of their lifetime. A few patients like that couldn't hurt.

Please follow me at sheribd on Twitter.

Happy tweeting!

Sheri Doniger, D.D.S., practices clinical dentistry in Lincolnwood, IL. She has served as an educator in several dental and dental hygiene programs, has been a consultant for a major dental benefit company, and has written for several dental publications. Most recently, she was the editor of Woman Dentist Journal and Woman Dentist eJournal. You can reach her at [email protected].

The comments and observations expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DrBicuspid.com, nor should they be construed as an endorsement or admonishment of any particular idea, vendor, or organization.