A few clicks and I found this Jeddah-based dermatologist running public accounts on Twitter (http://twitter.com/DrLillian), Facebook () and Blogger ().
On her Twitter account Dr. Lillian states she is a “Bio Dermatologist... working with Avon. I am an expert in Cosmeceuticals.” Her Facebook page claims that her practice is at Silky Image Clinics in Jeddah. The same photograph is used on both pages so it must be the same person — even though the details of her employment differ.
While the use of social media sites for business promotion has become very popular in the United States, in the Middle East there has been a more muted response from companies to online social networking. Dubai-based Spot On Public Relations () estimates that 400 brands are represented on Twitter in the region including companies, government departments, NGOs and non-profit organizations. Over 300 of these can be tracked through Spot On’s Middle East Brands Twitter List (). For the past two years Spot On has been working with clients to help them understand social media marketing programs. So what did Alexander McNabb, Group Account Director, Spot On PR think about Dr. Lillian’s social media efforts?
“I think they’re rather charming. I’m not a fan of cosmetic surgery so I’m probably the wrong person to ask in terms of the subject matter. But from what I can see it being approached responsibly,” McNabb remarked. “She’s using new media in an exploratory way which is great and she’s got some exploring to do because of course there are huge ethical issues that have to be answered about how you deal with things online.”
Dr. Lillian uses her social media resources in part to answer questions about skin conditions. While she does recommend various products, the physician also states frequently that certain symptoms need to be investigated in a medical setting for a definitive diagnosis and treatment. Her blog promotes various packages and other promotions at the clinic. She is currently commenting on the proceedings of the 4th Jeddah Dermatology and Cosmetics Conference which runs through April 1.
McNabb thought it was great that Dr. Lillian was sharing her expertise with the community. He did caution though that it is important for her to unify her business goals within all the social media outlets she is using and to concentrate on defining the community she wants to serve.
“You have to be careful to make sure you’re serving people within your catchment area and you’re not talking to people who will never work with you, because then you’re just wasting your time,” he explained. “But if you define your market, then why not talk to people online? How wonderful would the world be if more professional people would be out there giving advice.”
Social media is allowing Dr. Lillian to interface with the community and grow her business, while building a reputation. McNabb remarked that this is why she must be transparent in her online business relationships. He didn’t see anything wrong with the doctor recommending various products. After all, if individuals went to see her at the clinic, Dr. Lillian would recommend products for whatever the condition might be. However, if the dermatologist has a financial interest in a product, this must be declared.
“If you’ve got somebody using Twitter or Facebook or any social medium and they’re constantly recommending a single product, then they’ll become devalued quite quickly and their advice will be worth very little in people’s eyes,” McNabb said. “As a professional person is very important that you do keep that reputation and that your advice is seen as valuable to people. Ideally you do make statements about which products you represent so that your advice is seen as transparent, fair and honest. In my own personal blog I never talk about anything that has to do with my clients. If it would happen that a client was involved, I would declare the relationship.”
Dr. Lillian does reveal certain of her personal details in posts and tweets and McNabb stated that such content was desirable. When people feel that they know someone, they are more likely to trust that person. This can be an especially effective marketing tactic in the Middle East where relationships have always been important. There needs to be common sense though in deciding what personal details to make public. Dr. Lillian has crossed over into a potential danger zone by posting her mobile telephone number on Facebook, something that McNabb doesn’t recommend. Making such information easily available could lead to disruption in Dr. Lillian’s life and there could be security concerns.
Will Dr. Lillian’s efforts to grow her clinical practice succeed using social media alone? McNabb was of the opinion that the best marketing campaigns in the Middle East are hybrid programs. These marketing efforts use both traditional marketing — such as advertising and roadshows, combined with promotion of the business message through social media including social networks, blogs and YouTube.
“We’re finding that this works,” said McNabb, “because we’re at a transitional stage. Businesses can’t go lurching straight into social media but they absolutely cannot ignore it right now. It’s best to build it into marketing programs. That means that there needs to be a great amount of planning so that the social media program and the traditional program are consistent and working towards the same goals or objectives.”
When companies do dive into social media without understanding the requirements of such a move, issues can quickly arise. It is very time consuming to write blogs and respond to Twitter queries. In the past, businesses simply turned over their marketing campaigns to ad agencies and the message was shouted out. With social media, consumers have the ability to shout back and companies need to respond.
In businesses where the executives can’t personally give the amount of time it would take to use social media effectively, then someone should be hired within the company to coordinate corporate social media exposure and respond to social media queries. A regional example of this has occurred in Dubai at the InterContinental Hotel. The hotel was an early adopter of Twitter and now they’ve hired a social marketing executive to handle all social media requirements.
As a physician, this will never be an option for Dr. Lillian. Old fashioned time management then becomes extremely important. McNabb’s prescription for this physician is that she must determine just how much of her life it is reasonable to invest in online social networking, set goals for those efforts and then faithfully follow her plan.
