This great story is about a dentist and social media comes from the book by the Founder and CEO of Likeable Local, @davekerpen.

It appeared in Dave’s great book likeable social media - How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistable Brand and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (and other social networks) was a New York Times and USA Today best seller. Congratulations, Dave!

Since Find New Customers is a partner with Likeable Local and we have SO many dentists here in Tampa Bay, Florida, this is a great story for them to read, especially since we have a great webinar coming up in one week on the 10th of February at 2:30pm to 3:00pm, specially for dentists and chiropractors in Tampa Bay.

There are great lessons for you below in this story of Painless Dr. Z, so please read it.

Here is the Sign up page for the upcoming webinar on How to Grow Your Business in the Digital Age.

The story of Painless Dr. Z - and his dental practice

Edward Zuckerburg, D.D.S. is a practicing dentist in Dobbs Ferry, NY. He also happens to be the father of Mark Zuckerberg, founder and chief executive officer of Facebook. Known as “Painless Dr. Z” by his patients, Dr. Zuckerberg is proof that anyone’s business can benefit from using social media.

Dentists have always relied on word-of-mouth recommendations and referrals - today, social media allows this to happen more passively and efficient.

Let’s face it - most people don’t like going to dentists (Sorry Dr. Z.) If you’re anything like me, you consider a dentist appointment as more like a tolerable, necessary evil than something you find the least bit enjoyable. Consequently, smart dentists everywhere have gone out of their way to make their practices as tolerable as possible, including friendly office staff, bright colors on the walls, interesting magazines and other reading materials and toys for the children’s visits.

In addition to these things, Dr. Zuckerberg has taken the steps necessary to make his practice more likeable on Facebook.

When you first walk into the office, you’ll see a sign saying “Like us? Then Like us on Facebook.com/Painless/DrZ or text ‘like PainlessDrZ to 32665′ to join the conversation.”

This action alone is more effective that 99 percent of all dental practices in the world at driving likes. People sitting in the waiting room are a captive audience, and it’s the perfect opportunity to convert customers into online fans. However, the conversion opportunities don’t stop there.

Dr. Zuckerberg’s e-mail appointment reminders include a Call to Action to ask questions about your upcoming visit on Facebook, and new patients are invited by phone to “get to know us better before you come in by checking out our bios on our Facebook page.”  These techniques lead to patients feeling more comfortable in their first visit, but they also lead to more likes. So far, more than 50,000 people have liked Dr. Z on Facebook, which led to move than two dozen new patients.

Even I had a Facebook friend who I don’t know well send me the following message “Saw you like Dr. Zuckerberg. Is he a good dentist?” To which I replied, “Yes!”

She became a patient the next week of the most likeable dentist. (Note she didn’t even communicate with the dentist but the recommendation came from a trusted friend, which is even better.)

What do you think about the lessons for dentists with this story of Painless Dr. Z?  We love to read thoughtful comments (no SPAM please) and those who share on social media (and we try to make it easy as we can for you.

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