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IDOC actively shares industry-focused articles, blog posts, podcasts, videos and other thought leadership with our members and other optometric practitioners. Below, you will find links to our growing library of educational materials and multi-media assets written and created by IDOC's team of seasoned industry experts.
Maddie Langston | 3/25/2020
COMMUNICATE UPDATES ON YOUR PRACTICE WITH PATIENTS AND COMMUNITY DURING COVID-19

If you’ve temporarily closed or truncated the hours of operation at your optometry practice after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that people delay routine eye care exams, please update your community by communicating the short-term changes through these channels.

Website. Work with your practice website administrator to share updates for patients on your practice website. Your communication should ideally include answers to questions they may have, including what to do if they have an ocular emergency or eye issue, how to order contact lenses or medication refills and what to do if they have a question or concern regarding their glasses.

Google business listing.  Update your listing to provide accurate information for patients and people in your community. Change your hours of operation or share an update about your practice, including any information regarding extra precautions you’re taking, contacting you for an urgent eye issue or any other relevant information you’d like to share with patients during this time. Read here to learn more about updating your Google business listing.

Facebook. Update your Facebook business page for the practice to reflect the changes you’ve made during this time. If you’re still open but your hours of operation have changed, please edit your hours of operation:

  • Click About on the left-hand side of your Facebook page.
  • Click Edit Page Info.
  • Click the Hours tab at the top.
  • Edit the hours of operation.

If you’ve temporarily closed your practice, update your followers with clear and concise posts which answer their basic questions, including what to do if they have an ocular emergency, who to contact for medication refills, how to order more contact lenses or what to do if they need to talk to someone about their glasses. Reassure them that you’ll be monitoring Facebook and will be responsive to their messages. Many people are spending time on social media because of the emphasis right now on “social distancing” so they’ll be even more likely to reach out to you via Facebook.

Yelp.  Depending on where your practice is located, Yelp may be relevant for people in your community. Consider updating your Yelp listing to reflect the temporary changes at your practice. Read here for step by step instructions on how to update your Yelp listing.

Patient Communication Platforms.  If you have a patient communication platform in place at the practice which allows you to send texts and email to patients, utilize those tools during this time to update them. Solutionreach provides detailed instructions on how to utilize their tools to communicate with your patients during this time.

 

Maddie Langston
Director, Marketing Services
Maddie Langston brings extensive experience in marketing and sales administration and has developed strategies and platforms to drive sales for organizations in the fitness and business services industries. Most recently, Maddie developed marketing programs for a national network of independently owned auto repair service centers. This is where she developed her passion for partnering with small business owners to help them compete with franchises and big box retail chains. Maddie earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Liberty University. She is excited to be a part of the IDOC team, and to help you utilize marketing to brand your practice, retain patients, and drive new patients to you.
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