13 June 2022

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Power and Authenticity: Two words defining social media marketing today – Interview with Rita Zamora

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Today we interview Rita Zamora, founder, and owner of the social media marketing service providers Connect90 and Rita Zamora Connections, and a leader in social media marketing for dental professionals.

Can you help us better understand why social media in general and social media marketing are so popular today? What exactly is social media marketing? 

There has been a major shift from people spending their time on previously popular media, like television, radio, and newspapers, to spending their time on social media.

At its core, social media is a media that allows people to connect with other people. And we all need that, on personal and professional levels. It's essential. Social media may also be used for entertainment, education, or as a news source. Because so many people spend their time on sites like Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn, it has become an integral place for businesses to position themselves. 

Should everyone be involved? No matter which type of business we are in, correct?

Yes - I like to say to dentists, those who might still be a little apprehensive about everything involved with social media, that if their business doesn't have a face online and a solid digital presence, they will end up being anonymous. And that's a very dangerous place for a business to be today. It's essential, like having a phone in the past; something you need to have to be considered current and relevant today.

In your experience, what makes social media marketing successful?

I think it means the opposite of what some people think. Some people believe you must be an influencer with thousands and thousands of followers. From the dentistry standpoint, and for really anyone, it's more about quality, not quantity; it's about sharing whatever you want to get across about yourself in the media. So, for a dentist, for example, if they want to be perceived as someone who has specific expertise in specific types of treatment, whether it's dental implants or clear aligner therapy or anything like that, those types of treatments should stand out and be very prevalent on their social media. Also, if they want to be perceived from the human side as being very friendly or family-oriented or stylish or whatever it might be, that should come across in what they're sharing. Ultimately, people should be able to get a feel for what type of business you have and what type of person you are. We want to make sure that we give people an idea of who we authentically are—so if they meet us in real life, everything is congruent. In other words, the same experience must apply to who we "see online" when we eventually meet that person in real life.

Do you think authenticity is relevant today? More than before?

I think it became even more important over the last couple of years through everything COVID-wise; we saw celebrities and local newscasters and people we would usually see through a different lens, through that perfect hair and lighting. Suddenly we saw broadcasting from living rooms and kitchen tables. I think that pushed us over the edge of this need for perfection and having it be more about that authenticity and connecting as much as possible because we really needed it at that time. And now, it's just become a part of what we expect today. Because of Instagram, we still like those beautiful images, and we like to see attractive and exciting images and videos. Still, we really want to connect with other people and know that we have things in common authentically at the end of the day.

In your experience, then, what are the steps to implement a successful social media marketing strategy for a dental practice? Give us three tips!  

I think the most important things to keep in mind are, first of all, to start with the end in mind. I like to tell dentists to think about their favorite type of dentistry and what they want to do more of or be known for. Most often, they'll say clear aligner therapy, dental implants, or some other type of smile makeover. When we look at their social media, we would hope that there's a lot of content about that – sometimes there is, and sometimes there isn't, and we can talk about how to fix that later.  

The second most important piece is thinking again about how you want to be perceived and how you want to come across as an individual and your practice personality. Do you want to let people know that you're family-oriented, see kids, and see all ages? Do you want to seem like a more sophisticated dentist, and you're mainly treating adults? Maybe you want to be a dentist who is very into technology, fitness, etc. I like to talk to dentists about how they wish that online image to look.  

The third crucial tip is setting up processes and systems to support this ongoing content machine. This is because social media is not something you're doing once or for one month. To be sustainable, you need some sort of process or system in place. It could be having an online calendar that you're using every month to remind you of those important content topics and having someone on the team in charge of that. I think those are the three most essential components.

What are the most common mistakes dental practices make on social media? 

The most common mistake is always posting spontaneously. Often, when you post spontaneously, you don't have a strategy in place – it's something you can do for fun occasionally. You're not thinking in advance about the results you want to get from posting on social media. So that might mean a lot of TikTok videos on topics that don't really tell a story and are really just random posts. That can be fun, but we should be thoughtful about what we're posting from a business standpoint.

I'm careful about saying, "You should not do this" because I think there are many ways to do social media. Over the years, I've learned to "never say never!" We might say, "I'm never going to dance on video" or "I'm never going to post selfies constantly," but one day you might see someone doing that in a very classy way that resonates with you. I have a friend who is the content manager for Digital Smile Design under world-renowned Dr. Christian Coachman, who said he's never going to dance on an Instagram Reel or anything like that. They've been nudging him because he has this remarkable way of sharing his very charismatic personality and educating people in these 15/30/60-second videos. Years ago, when social media was just emerging, I gave lots of dos and don'ts, but today we can find ways to re-invent anything on social media if we think about it in advance. So, I don't really have a lot of don'ts or mistakes. Once again, the biggest mistake is not being yourself or not being comfortable with what you're sharing - which is a tragedy because if you're not comfortable with what is being posted about you, there will be a disconnect.  

To do things properly then, can you tell us who can help? What defines an expert in social media marketing?

First and foremost, check out their social media and see if that resonates with you. Are the types of topics they're posting interesting? Do you feel some sort of connection with the agency? Look at how they're interacting and whether they're getting engagement on their content. I think there are a lot of great providers out there; it's a matter of who you're connecting with, their content, strategy, style, and what they're doing for their clients. Often dentists ask great questions, but I'll also offer to share some of our clients' examples with them. I want them to see the work we've done with different dentists and how it differs based on their different personalities and goals. If you're considering working with a social media agency, you should look at their social media and ask them for a few examples of their clients to see what it would be like to work with them. Very important today is to make sure you have flexibility in that relationship, so you're not locked into a 2–3-year contract. Maybe it's month-to-month, so you can very quickly do what's in the best interest of your practice.

Tell us about yourself and why Connect90 and Rita Zamora Connections are special?

Over the years, we’ve adapted and changed our services based on what our dentists need. Ten years ago, when Facebook business pages were first released, practices needed help just getting familiarized with Facebook. They didn't know what it was and didn't use it. So, we provided services to get them set up, trained, and familiarized. And then, over the years, they said we understand social media, but we want someone to train our team or handle everything for us. So, we've evolved based on what the dentists need. Most recently, we noticed that clients we had worked with in the past had new team members and were struggling to keep their team in place over the past couple of years. They came to us saying they really needed something their team could step into and take the baton and run with it. They also said they were very busy, suffered from content fatigue, and didn't know what to post. So, we created this program using an online calendar where we provide content suggestions for them every week. I'm most proud of the recommendations to every dentist to personalize their content for their practice. So instead of using a stock photo, for example, we say, "Here's the type of photo you could use for this post, or here's the kind of video you could post." So, we're encouraging them to integrate their personality and show off what is most important and unique about their practice in all the content we recommend for them. We're giving them a platform and a framework for the topics.

An example is a reminder that says, "Remind your patients that their insurance is expiring soon,” or "Thank your patients for their referrals,” or "Make sure people know you accept new patients or offer dental implants and clear aligners.” And then we show them what type of photo they can upload for a given post – so we take that pressure of having to come up with content ideas away from them and provide them with the technology they need to create their posts.  

The name Connect90 means that in 90 minutes a month, you should be able to personalize all your content, create your whole content strategy for the entire month, and have it published to the most important platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Google My Business. Then the content gets posted for the practice, and they can keep an eye on engagement and their comments and respond accordingly. We tried to create a sustainable and effective process for them. But most important for me is that I wanted it to be able to show off what is unique about every single practice so that it isn't one static, generic solution – which would be a shame.

Do you have any other specific programs you offer to dentists?

Yes, we do! We have a fully custom service as well. Sometimes the dentist may approach us and say we don't have anyone with the time or the interest to handle social media, but we know we need to do it. We offer a fully custom service for these practices. Every post is customized for their specific audience. We handle everything from A to Z for them in this way. There is another part of my business, as an individual, where I have been speaking on the topic of social media for the past ten years. I've also written a book, published in 2018 and scheduled for a new edition re-release this fall with all the latest updates. I needed to wait to write the book until we had a lot of evergreen content, so there is a lot about social media strategy and things that don't really change, such as authenticity and systems. But it was time for us to update it to reflect new social media platforms, updated statistics, and fresh tips, so we did. That is the other part of what I do; I'm really lucky!

Let's look ten years from now. How do you envision marketing? Do you believe social media will continue to be powerful in promoting products and a company's brand, engaging with customers, and sharing values?

I do believe social media marketing will still be essential. It will continue to evolve. We see that already; it will continue to evolve and change. Generation Z, the younger population actively using social media like TikTok, will continue to influence other generations and the way we're using social media and how businesses use social media. I think some of the things that stand out for me with that generation are they do believe more than anyone else in authenticity, and they also understand all of the nuances – they don't want to be sold or told what to do. We want to make sure everything is very convenient online, that experience. Some dentists are still struggling with offering online scheduling, for example, which will be a requirement soon. We're going to see the integration of the conveniences of finding a dentist, becoming a patient, accepting treatment, and getting everything that a patient needs to know to make that a seamless process. The social component of social media will continue to become even more critical, so it will be interesting to see how it evolves. Still, I think those are some of the core pieces of what we will continue to see.  

About Rita Zamora
Rita Zamora is an international speaker and author of the book Get Found, Get Liked, Get Patients - Making the Most of Social Media. She is the founder of Connect90, a customizable social media program helping dentists with content ideas and tools to save time and get better results. A former treatment coordinator, she graduated magna cum laude from the University of Colorado with a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing and has over 20 years’ experience in the business of dentistry. 

Learn more: Connect90.com and RitaZamora.com.

About Connect90
Connect90 is a social media program for dental practices. It offers the tools, systems, and guidance to help dentists reach their social media goals.