It was about this time a year ago that some of my clients started asking me about social networking as a means of marketing their practices. There were some specialty online communities that were popping up trying to focus a discussion specifically on cosmetic procedures. That started the discussion and I gave the same answer a year ago that...

A few weeks ago, I wrote about using the Display Ad program at Reach Local as a rebranding program. For those of you who missed that, the idea starts with Pay Per Click with Reach Local. When a visitor clicks through on a paid ad from Reach Local, their cookie is remembered. Later, when that visitor comes back on the Internet and visit...

It is pretty clear that your web site is critical to getting new business. If you are tracking your marketing properly, you are probably in the vast majority that know your web site is one of the main deciding factors for prospects checking you out. So, in broad terms, this is what your web site should be like:Template sites say you don’t...

Congratulations to William Brennan, MD on the creation of his new neurosurgery web site. You can see it here at lafayetteneuro.com.Update from Project Watchdog:Speaking of web sites, how many calls are you getting from your web site? On April 1, we pulled the first group of reports from our new tracking number vendor. Ten clients had...

Earlier this month, I again was informed of the continuing mass confusion regarding Search Engine Optimization that exists in the market place. I have maintained for a long time that market confusion was the single biggest factor in frustration and dysfunction in small business SEO campaigns. So, for the next month, I am going to prepare...

This strategy combines ReachLocal’s display banner capabilities with Dog Star Media’s rich Flash Video media design to create a very effective brand/marketing/remarketing campaign with excellent traceable results. Executed properly, this is one of the more effective combinations we seen lately. And, our first client who is taking...

When I met Dr. Janet Neigel, she introduced herself as the south New Jersey version of Dr. Susan Hughes. I bet almost every cosmetic surgeon reading this has either met Dr. Hughes or knows her from her involvment in the AACS. It is kind of fitting that we have web site debuts for both of them at the same time today.Dr. Neigel launched...

Ask yourself this question: If all things were equal, would a prospective patient choose you based solely on your skills and experience?It is a great question to ask yourself in a defining moment. If all things were equal, would patients pick you? If the answer is yes (and it should be if you are confident in your skills and services), then...

This is the time of year that many of our clients are making marketing plans and budgets for the year. It’s part of the reason why I wrote the Smart Marketing List last week. If you are making plans, you should go back and read that blog.One question I get a lot regards how to break up a marketing budget. Generally, a good marketing plan...

Some say that marketing is more of an art than a science. When it comes to the creative side, I agree with that but strategy is entirely a science. And, like anything else that has objectives, you are either doing it well or you are not. Here is a Smart Marketing Checklist of what Dog Star Media thinks is vital to understanding the...

When I first was pitched digital billboards by reps at two billboard companies, I was skeptical. But, my experience so far has been nothing but excellent. And, it is giving our clients some clear and decisive advantages. There is no doubt that billboards are great ways to promote web sites, especially if you have done a good job picking...

Dog Star Media is proud to present two new web sites for AACS President Patrick McMenamin. Dr. Mack has been hard at work revamping the look and feel of his online presentation for several months and it has resulted in two kinds of web sites. The First ImpressionThe first site at renewyou.com is a Flash, HTML and Video site with a...

Remember the movie Scared Straight? Well, as things seem to be loosening up economically, I hope that we can institute a marketing version of that while the sting of the last year is still fresh in our minds. As I mentioned in several past blogs, this is the time of year where I work with a lot of my coaching clients on re-setting their...

For several years, I have been a strong proponent of tracking telephone numbers. These are unique numbers that route electronically to your phone number, capturing all the critical data about the call. When you use these unique numbers on specific locations, you can measure who is calling from which of your marketing strategies. For years,...

One of the new features we have added to our Keyword SEO program is a new auditing software and process. It yields remarkably clear instructions on what to do to improve your keyword content and how to do it. And, yes, it is another reason why Dog Star Media’s Keyword SEO program is the easiest to understand.In the audit, you receive...

I have been getting this question a lot lately. For some reason, everyone wants to know what everyone else is doing. Well, here is the answer.Right now, I am seeing a lot of yellow pages and print advertising canceled or not being renewed. Part of this is a trend coming from my coaching and retainer clients. I regularly recommend using...I...

I am happy to announce that Dog Star Media has been selected as one of handful of media design companies to participate in a new pilot program with a top national pay-per-click company. We will be offering web design, video and other creative services. Details will be released in the near future. It’s a pretty big honor and I am...

Way to upgrade your web strategy! Congratulations to Mark Weiser, DDS with the launch of his newly designed, highly optimized new web sites.You can see them at SantaBarbaraDDS.com and Boutique-Dental.com.Dr. Weiser gets it. From a design point of view, these sites are graphically very good, offer plenty of video with lots of topics (the...

Before Thanksgiving, I visited with one of my coaching clients, Charlie Morgan, a cosmetic dentist in Frisco. I recommend to my coaching clients some basics. One of those basics is email marketing, a staple of Circle of Influence Marketing. My formula is simple. Write a blog and email market it out to your patient database on email.I...

Last week, when I debuted WowSmileNow.com in my blog there was a pretty consistent response. Lots of people emailed and commented that they loved it. Yes, it is a great design, we agree.And, wait until you see what we will be rolling out next. A new gold standard is about to be set for using a web site to introduce the doctor to the...