Orthotown November 2012 - (Page 8)

wired for // success Leveraging the AAO’s Consumer Awareness Program by Alan A. Curtis, DDS, MS, Editorial Director, Orthotown Magazine Do you ever wish you had the budget to advertise your expertise and services on traditional mass media? What if you had a five-million dollar marketing budget? How would you spend it and how would you measure the results? I was reading through an interesting Orthotown message board post the other day (search: AAO Dues) and started to think about the latest consumer awareness program (CAP) by the AAO. I personally do not have the marketing budget to directly market to the general population using traditional mass media (television/radio). This is where belonging to a larger association of orthodontists comes in handy. Through a modest assessment (paid at the same time as association dues) the AAO is able to pool resources and employ Madison Avenue professionals to create radio, TV, Internet and print content that is disseminated to get the message out that orthodontists are the educationally qualified professionals best suited to treat malocclusions. Wow, what a great service! But wait! How does this help me in my practice, and what can I do to capitalize on the efforts of this campaign and galvanize my brand while piggybacking on the coattails of this important effort? Here are some simple ways you can capitalize on the investment of the AAO’s Consumer Awareness Program. Log in to AAOinfo.org. Click on practice marketing solutions. Educate yourself about content available to you and your marketing team. Incorporate as many materials as you can into your own local outlets: • Place video and images on your Web site • Place video and images on your Facebook • Update your listings on Bing, Google, Yelp and other sites • Order posters from the AAO and have them framed and hung on the walls of your practice • Customize templates with your logo and images of your patients I would much rather compete for patients with my fellow local orthodontists than have to chase the cost of general dental offices who are oftentimes charging less for inferior “social six” treatments. Imagine typical patients searching the Internet for orthodontic services. They check out two or three orthodontic practice Web sites before deciding whose office to schedule with. If all of the orthodontic specialty practices had similar AAO-branded content explaining the virtues of an educationally qualified specialist, many more eyeballs would get the message! Do it today! Get the AAO’s professionally branded message out to your shoppers and raving fans! ■ 8 NOVEMBER 2012 // orthotown.com http://www.AAOinfo.org http://www.orthotown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Orthotown November 2012

Orthotown.com Highlights
Wired for Success
Class II Progress Case... Need Suggestions on How to Proceed!
New Ortho Chairs and Side Units
Corporate Profile: Orchestrate 3D
New Products/Industry News
Poll
Managing Your Online Reputation
The Orthodontist’s Increased Risk of Litigation
Office Visit: Movin’ Teeth in Texas
The Top 10 Mistakes in Building a Dental Web Site (and How to Avoid Them)
Anchors Away!
Ad Index

Orthotown November 2012