Gone are the days where you walk in to a clinic and see patients crouching over a magazine, book or the day’s newspaper while waiting their turn.
These days, the pages of printed media have shifted to a different kind of page of a book in particular. To be specific – Facebook.
Every business owner knows that Word of Mouth referrals are some of the strongest leads you can have. And social media is giving more power to these kinds of referrals. A strong social media presence drives business. It provides personality for your establishment; it gives your company a voice, showcasing its human side – one where its audience can relate. You see a friend check in to a restaurant on Facebook, you ask them how the food was and whether you should go. If I see a friend ‘check in’ to a dentist, I’ll ask how they are and if it was a good experience, because secretly I need to go to a dentist.
The reason behind checking in is to show other people what you’re doing with your life. Disney, Universal Studios and Times Square in New York are the top 3 most checked in places on Facebook this year. And why? Because it shows people are out in the world doing things which they want to share with their friends.
But everyday life events are also good to share with friends. People check in at hospitals and mechanics, and yes, doctor and dentist clinics as well. But how do you get your patients to do this?
With Facebook Wi-Fi, you can give your clients free Wi-Fi when they check in to your business. At the same time, you’ll be able to accelerate your Facebook fan base quickly and grow your online presence.
What is Facebook Wi-Fi?
In simple terms, it allows your patients to use free Wi-Fi at your clinic with their Facebook login. The best part is, it brings exposure to your Facebook fan page with almost little to no effort on your end and with minimal cost.
How does it work?
Simple! All your customers need to do is log on to your Wi-Fi network. No password or security codes are required, which means less memorising for your staff and it is great if you’re not a fan of someone coming up to the reception desk every 15 minutes asking for the Wi-Fi password. After selecting your network, they will be redirected to log in to their Facebook page if they aren’t already. They also have the option to add a status update and it even encourages its users to write a review about your clinic.
That’s it! They may proceed to browse the internet or play their online games henceforth. This makes waiting at the reception a lot less boring for your patients, which usually leads to less complaint as well.
They get free Wi-Fi (that I’m paying for), but what’s in it for me?
It’s not such of a one-way street as you think. When customers check in to your clinic, it appears on their feed, which gives your practice a free mention. This is visible to every friend each customer has. If one person has 500 friends, imagine just 3 persons checking in on that day. That’s an organic reach of 1,500 people without you having to do anything. And according to Facebook, the more check ins your Facebook fan page has, the better it’ll affect your Facebook local rankings and search results.
With every check in and visit to your Facebook page, you’ll get to gain insight of your customers via Facebook insight. This will help you understand your demographics better and know what works and use it to your advantage. For example, if traffic on your page shows it’s frequented by females over 35, you may expect plenty of females that age to have young ones at home. They might appreciate children oral health advice or products, which you might talk about on your Facebook page to encourage engagement and ultimately them bringing their kids to see you.
So why should a client check in to your clinic?
Firstly, it tells the client’s friends that they are in YOUR clinic. This starts a conversation involving your clinic and the services. Secondly, you can run some locational based advertising from the check ins.
And thirdly, everybody loves free Wi-Fi. Often customers will choose businesses with free Wi-Fi over those without. Websites are dedicated to telling people where the cafes with free Wi-Fi are. And if all you have to do is check into a location to get it?
Technology now exists for you to give patients in the waiting room, and repeat patients, free access to Wi-Fi when they check in to your Clinic. You can also ask them to like your Facebook page, which can lead to promotions and giveaways and so much more. No new accounts are required, no codes to enter. Your clients can check in automatically when they walk through your door.
This will bring your brand to many more people, locally too since many people don’t travel very far to find a dental practice.
Too good to be true!
There are however, challenges to every situation. In this case, data plans! With competitive data plans out there, everyone is equipped with fast connection and a large amount of gigabytes at their disposal. However, seeing that medical practices interact with all walks of life, there will be ones who don’t have fancy plans, international tourists with exorbitant roaming fees, or secondary tablet owners who aren’t willing to pay for 2 data plans.
But apart from them, why wouldn’t anyone want free Wi-Fi?
Some other considerations
It’s important to separate your primary network from the free Wi-Fi network for privacy, security and accessibility reasons. This can be done easily by attaching the Facebook Wi-Fi router to your existing router. Also make sure you have fast and preferably unlimited internet access at the clinic to ensure the extra usage will not hamper your own practice’s usage.
If these two are readily available at your establishment right this minute, ‘wi-not’ leverage on it?
Facebook Wi-Fi for check ins is a fantastic social media marketing tool for you. Easy to setup, easy to maintain, simple to execute.
Get in touch with 20-80 Solutions to start the conversation on how we can help you setup this great free Facebook Wi-Fi for your practice to benefit both you and your patients.
Call us: +613 9028 2080
Email us: info@2080solutions.com.au