Move Over Small Talk – How Social Media is Revolutionizing New Patient Experiences and Referrals

You have a new patient sitting in your treatment chair.  What is the conversation you’ll have with that patient?   Masters at small talk will tell you they can use open-ended questions to open the door to trust with patients at their first visit.  While small talk still has its place, consider a new patient who found you via Facebook …

Rather than a new patient waiting for you to open conversation, the patient may say, “I saw on Facebook that you are an avid fisherman.  My husband and I both love to fish too!  Have you ever been to … ”.  Practices who use social media to share a bit of their authentic selves will begin to notice deeper relationships (that also grow faster) than those who do not.

Small talk has been defined as conversation for it’s own sake, or making comments about what is perfectly obvious.  Which has more meaning, conversation about the weather or sharing your favorite fishing spots with a fellow fisherman?   When practices (dentists and teams) share what hobbies they enjoy or what they are passionate about—outside of the office—they open the door to a whole new world of conversation, “social talk”.  Social talk is not only more meaningful than small talk, it’s also more fun—and more effective!

Will you and your team continue to rely on small talk or have you already ventured into the social world of Facebook?  Once you begin sharing what’s meaningful in your life, you will begin to rely less on small talk and experience more social talk, trust, and new—ideal–patient referrals.