Practical management EP 2: Social media importance

Maria Sampalis, OD, owner of Sampalis Eye Care in Cranston and Providence, Rhode Island, sat down with Optometry Times®' editor Kassi Jackson to talk all-things practice management.

Editor's note: This transcript has been edited for clarity

Jackson:

How important is social media? And how can social media work cohesively with your online website branding?

Sampalis:

Yeah, it's super important nowadays. I mean, social media is everywhere. That's how a lot of people get their information: through social media. And it depends on the demographics and the age, some might be on Instagram, some might be on Facebook, and also on Google—a lot of patients are getting their medical advice from Google.

So why not be that doctor—that expert—in your community, you know, giving that tidbit of information on why they need certain glasses, or why certain contacts, why they need a certain medication better than others? And social media is a great way to get a large audience and get information out there.

The thing that goes hand-in-hand is they all work together: websites, social media, it's all important because it intertwines and in content, as well. So you know, content that you post on your website goes out on Google, but it also goes up on your Facebook page, which you can use to get to a larger audience.

It's super important that doctors have a channel because they can also compete with larger entities on that because a lot of it's organic. It's not just, you know, pay-to-play situation. Facebook is really about content, [and] so is Google.

So if you're a doctor in a local area, you can really be able to compete with larger entities—or companies—for information or to get people's attention