Rosemont Media CEO Keith Humes on a Social Approach to Facebook

Rosemont Media CEO Keith Humes Offers Social Media Tips

As social media matures into a viable and widely-effective platform, the definition of engagement has changed. The sheer number of fans or followers, links or likes no longer remains the end-all-be-all. As the aesthetic healthcare industry grapples with the prospect of outsourcing or automating social media, Rosemont Media CEO Keith Humes sits down with the Rosemont Review for a frank discussion on the importance of quality engagement.

Consistent Quality Engagement Essential to Social Media Success

Rosemont Review: What is the single most important factor surgeons and dentists must consider when building their social media community?

Keith Humes: Social media should not be automated. You must engage with your patients as they engage with your practice. Automating or outsourcing your social media efforts does not inspire conversation or engagement. It may increase the number of fans you have, but if they aren’t participating or contributing to the quality of your social network, then you’re missing the point.

Quality vs. Quantity: The Numbers May Fool You

RR: Speaking of Quality vs. Quantity, this has been a popular topic lately in SM.

KH: Yeah, it’s all about quality now. When building your fan base, your efforts should not be fixated on the total number of fans, at least to the point where you are ignoring the quality of the fan base. My best advice: don’t focus entirely on building your community. Instead, focus on engaging with patients that express interest in your practice, your procedures, and your passion as a surgeon or dentist.

Give the Community what they Want, Fans Will Follow

RR: Why is embracing quality over quantity important to the success of a practice’s social network?

KH: Without interaction, without conversation, there is no community. By definition, community is a group of people living and interacting with one another in a particular environment. Focusing entirely on the number of fans through automation or outsourcing is a bit like paying a bunch of strangers to show up at a particular place and expecting them to become friends.

Avoid this Common Social Media Failure

RR: What’s the biggest failure you typically see in social media communities for the aesthetic healthcare practice?

KH: Outsourcing social media to a 3rd party. Without a direct role in patient engagement, the practice is missing out on the very real chance to strengthen existing patient relationships and develop new ones.

Three Action Steps to Improve Social Media Engagement Right Now

RR: If you could offer three quick, immediately actionable steps for doctors to take right now to improve their social media success, what would they be and why?

KH: Get involved. Period. Check into your community and monitor the conversation on your practice page. Don’t just delegate social media responsibilities. Two, that said, designate a Facebook ambassador in your practice to handle the day to day comments and posts and keep the conversation going. And last, get your patients involved, integrate your online presence with in-office consultations and appointments. Constant engagement across all channels of patient communication can increase patient knowledge and satisfaction, and in the end, happy patients are repeat patients.

Take 5 Minutes a Week to Improve Social Media Engagement

RR: And one more for good measure that doctors can accomplish in 5 minutes.

KH: The doctor should author a question-based post to his/her fan base at least twice a month, preferably once a week.

Ask Keith More Questions on Facebook

Still have questions about how to improve your practice’s social media presence? Visit the Rosemont Media Facebook page and post your questions. You may even get a few responses from the rest of the RM team and our social media community.