Marketing Guru Tips: Create a Successfull Press Release

This article, written by Cosmepedia’s own marketing guru, outlines the many things to consider when your practice wishes to create a press release:

Press releases are interesting creatures. Getting them published relies on 4 things:

1. What other news is occurring (and may be more interesting and locally appealing at the moment)
2. Interest / quality of the story / relevance to that media’s audience
3. Perseverance (following up, resubmitting if necessary)
4. What kind of day the person sorting through them is having.

I have worked for media, I have worked with media in a marketing capacity, and attended seminars led by media. Every press release I’ve ever written and distributed has been picked up / published somewhere. What I’ve found is they must be written not only with a specific type of audience in mind, but also a specific type of media as well and sent to the right people in the right departments.

Press releases are sent to media who have staff that like to write / develop their own stories. Articles are sent to media who like to publish complete works. Having a target in mind, and researching what style / topics / target market / print or publication deadlines goes a long way to getting published.

Lucette,

Cosmepedia Marketing & Public Relations

Check back often to the Cosmepedia blog for more marketing tips and other useful information.

Did you know cosmetic dentistry was this powerful?

A good dentist can have profound effects on people’s lives. Most do not fully understand how drastically their smile can improve in the hands of a skilled cosmetic and reconstructive dentist. Shy people come out of their shell, those crippled or held back by pain or poor self esteem begin to blossom. When you deal with a top cosmetic dentist or reconstructive dentist they can shorten recovery time, relieve pain and bring out a balanced, bright, healthy smile.

Damage to this patients teeth was caused by grinding, and degradation due to age. Veneers and sculpting procedures were used to transform his smile. The procedure was performed by one of LA’s finest dentists, Dr. Elyassi, a leader in cosmetic dentistry.

Before

After

Nearly 200 of North America’s top dentists can be found at www.cosmepedia.com.

5 Tips to Beef Up Your Dental Practice’s Cyber-Security

These days it may seem scary owning your own website or even opening up your email. With all the talk about Google and Adobe targeted by cyber-attacks you might wonder how you can stay safe if these big corporations cannot? Well luckily our friends at WebWorld Networks have provided us a list with ways to keep your practice’s web experience a pleasant one:

1. Educate your users in the value of your information. Explain to anyone in your office the importance of keeping information private and the consequences if it is leaked. Remember if members of your staff don’t need to know the information then don’t give it.
2. Create policies and enforce them. Your employees should know exactly what to do in certain situations even if it involves referring the matter to you.
3. Create strong passwords. There a number of tools that can be used to “crack” passwords but you can make this extremely difficult by including numbers and symbols into your passwords.
4. Use secure hosting services. Your business website should be handled professionally. Unstable hosting from discount providers can put your companies information at risk. When choosing a hosting service make sure they have 24-7 dedicated security prevention systems for network security, automatic email scanning for spam and virus detection, data backup, restore and disaster recovery measures. Data backup and hosted servers should ideally be located in a HIIPA compliant data centre, meaning they are held to strict standards of the health care industry.
5. Use a secure email client. Email is the number one area of attack for cyber-criminals. Make sure you use a trusted provider like Microsoft Exchange. These email programs ensure you have backups of your emails on your computer as well as on the web and feature the most advanced security features.

This article was created for Cosmepedia members. For more cyber-security tips, services, or answers to questions you have head over to www.webworldnetworks.com and ask an IT expert.

Twitter… A Powerful Marketing Tool For Cosmetic Dentists?

To some Twitter is simply a micro-blogging tool, a place to tell anyone who will listen what you are doing or how you are feeling. These same people connect with friends and hear about what they are doing and how they are feeling. All the while what they do not realize is they are marketing.

Twitter has thousands of dental professionals as members and even more potential patients. As a cosmetic dentist all you need to do to market yourself to patients is have a genuine discussion with them. Connect with them, share what your practice is doing, what you are doing personally and they will listen. Many studies have shown that trust is one of the most important factors when choosing a dentist. Twitter will help you develop trust with your patients.

One of the biggest mistakes of Twitter marketing is pushing your brand ALL the time. Your followers want to get to know you as a person and not just as a practice. Make sure you take the time to message patients directly on Twitter. Thank them for their visit to your practice, suggest a procedure that you think would be perfect for them, or give them tips on keeping a healthy smile.

Specific ways to use Twitter to increase your patient base include:

1. Follow your followers. These people have shown an interest in you, repay the favor by showing interest back.
2. Connect with other dental professionals. Twitter is a great place to meet other dentists, you never know who might refer patients to you after you’ve befriended them on Twitter.
3. Follow your followers friends. If your patient is proud enough to follow you then they will likely recommend you when their friends ask about you.
4. Be accessible, twitter is designed for discussions so be open whenever one occurs.

On a personal note Cosmepedia would like to thank our Twitter community for helping us make the 1000 follower milestone. We look forward to reading your tweets in the future! Remember to follow Cosmepedia at twitter/Cosmepedia.

What Does an “LVI Dentist” Mean to You?

So often we see acronyms – what do they mean? If your dentist has “LVI” on their website or online profile it means they have chosen to have additional special training. The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies (LVI) is a post-graduate learning centre for dentists wishing to excel in their craft. LVI uses live patients for education and offers courses in the areas of restorative, occlusal, ortho, implant, endodontic, laboratory, practice management and team training. The centre, over 15 years old, has seen more 7500 graduates of their curriculum. LVI alumni are extremely proud of their continued education are most likely happy to discuss their experience with you.

Many Cosmepedia members such as Dr. Forsberg, Dr. Logan and Dr. Klein are LVI Fellows. This means they have gone through rigorous post-graduate training, finishing the CORE LVI courses that include demonstrations of their talents, and completing written examinations. LVI fellows have learned advanced techniques in restorative dentistry, aesthetic dentistry and much more. They are committed to ongoing education and perfection in the art of dentistry.

To learn more about LVI please visit www.lviglobal.com and visit Cosmepedia to read about the continuing education of all our members.

Cosmetic Dentistry Techniques: Veneers

Veneers have become extremely popular in the last 20 years. These thin sheets of restorative material, made from either composite or dental porcelain, help protect the teeth and dramatically improve the aesthetics of your smile. The procedure is relatively pain-free and only requires minimal time to perform. This procedure can be performed by any AACD cosmetic dentist or any experienced dentist with the proper training but ask your doctor if it is right for you.

Here is a detailed video that goes through the entire procedure from start to finish:

To learn more about this procedure or other advanced cosmetic dentistry techniques head over to Cosmepedia.com.

The Tooth’s Guide To Holiday Eating

The holiday season is fast approaching and so are the festive dinners. At a time like this it is important to remember that some foods can help develop strong teeth whiles others may cause harm. Luckily Cosmepedia has classified your holiday foods as naughty or nice to help you out!

Naughty –

• Sweets – The holiday’s aren’t the same without sweets but these sugar filled delicacies can wreak havoc on your teeth. If you must indulge try to brush as soon as possible.
• Meats – Meat has much-needed nutrients for your teeth but if any meaty fibers get stuck between your teeth overnight, they can petrify and release an acid that causes tooth decay. So make sure you floss before you go to bed!
• Drinks – Sugary drinks or even diet drinks can cause damage to your teeth. Your tooth enamel will slowly be degraded by the acidity of the drinks. To void this rinse your mouth with fresh water after indulging.

Nice –

• Meats – High protein foods help build strong teeth, but see the naughty section for our warning.
• Nuts –  Nuts have important nutrients for your teeth such as calcium, magnesium and phosphate. We recommend cashews and almonds.
• Fruit and Vegetables – Foods that need to be chewed and are healthy for your body makes these guys double-great for you.
• Cheese – High calcium dairy products are always a tooth’s best friend.

We hope you enjoyed our list and invite you to visit Cosmepedia.com for more great information.

To all our members and visitors, Cosmepedia wishes you a wonderful holiday and a happy new year!!!

What does being an AACD member mean?

The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) is a professional association for cosmetic dentists and dental professionals. This association encourages a commitment to ongoing education and a high standard of ethical conduct. There are less than 300 Accredited members (AAACD) in the world. If you see a doctor with AAACD credentials, it means they have passed a comprehensive series of examinations including a written examination, oral examination, and proven their expertise with clinical case examinations. AAACD members must also complete the required continuing education demonstrating their commitment to continued dental excellence.  There are also general membership and Fellowship categories.

Watch this video to learn more about the AACD:

Many members of Cosmepedia such as Dr. Alexander Quezada, Dr. Tom Trinkner, Dr. Nancy Summer-Lerch and Dr. Nancy Norling are also members of AACD. Make sure to visit their profiles to learn more about their involvement.

Correcting Crooked Teeth Without Braces

Are you afraid to straighten your teeth because you don’t want embarrassing metal braces (“metal mouth”) or the issues with not being able to brush or floss properly with them on? Invisalignâ is one alternative to traditional metal braces that is clear and nearly invisible to your clients, coworkers, the ladies at the club, and the kids. The product consists of a series of plastic trays to be worn in the mouth, which gradually reshapes your teeth.

You can remove the trays when eating and brushing teeth, but must be careful to remember to put them back in! You need to continue wearing the trays for at least 20-22 hours a day. If this regiment is not followed then it will take longer and new trays will have to be made which can cost extra money.

Dentists such as Dr. Robert I Schwartz, a top New York dentist has found Invisalign to be just as effective as braces, and the costs are comparable but with the added benefit of them being “invisible”.

Do you have questions about Invisalign or invisible braces? Have you used them and want to share your experience? Leave a comment here, we are always happy to hear from you.

For more information or to see other treatments for crooked teeth visit the Patient Education section on www.cosmepedia.com.

4 Things To Consider When Choosing a Cosmetic Dentist

These days who knows who to trust? Doctors can have fancy offices and expensive looking websites but not necessarily be good at what they do. Choosing a cosmetic dentist can be stressful because once a procedure is done, there are a limited number of things that can be done to correct it. You want a great smile but you know that a wrong choice can put this dream in jeopardy. How do you find the best dentist? Luckily Cosmepedia is here to help; this is part one of our two-part guide on choosing a cosmetic dentist. Here we discuss general characteristics to watch for when choosing your dentist, in part two we will write about our readers experiences choosing a cosmetic dentist.

Education – Do you want an artist that creates a perfectly balanced healthy looking smile or someone who has just had general training? Any dentist can perform cosmetic procedures but do they really know what they are doing? Check your dentist’s credentials. Find out if your dentist is certified and from where. What courses have they taken that specialize in cosmetic dentistry? Have they continued their education to be on the forefront of technology and techniques? These questions can help gauge the quality of dentist you are speaking with.

Experience – How many procedures has the dentist performed? Of those, how many are the procedure(s) you wish to have done? Do they display lots of before and after pictures showcasing their work? Cosmetic dentistry is like an art, and experience can play a large role in the skill level. Everyone is slightly different in what they need and how their body responds. Experienced cosmetic dentists are more likely to have the skills required to adapt to various situations so you get the smile you’ve always wanted. Searching for doctors based on their experience may lead to you having a satisfying experience.

Facilities – The facilities that a cosmetic dentist works in can play an important role in patient safety and building trust. Look for friendly and well-trained staff helping the dentist. Often these people are just as responsible for your well being as the dentist is. Check the cleanliness of the office, and ask about sterilization techniques. Well-sterilized instruments that undergo high temperatures, UV light treatments or are meticulously cleaned with disinfectant can often mean the difference between a shorter or longer recovery period, or potentially dangerous infections. Disposable items like gloves should be used and thrown away after each patient.

Personality – Finally you need to ask yourself if you like your doctor’s personality. Some of the more complex procedures require multiple visits. It is important that you build a trusting relationship with your cosmetic dentist. How do you feel around your dentist? Do you feel pushed into a procedure or does the doctor take the time to make recommendations and explain them to you?

We want to hear from YOU! Leave a comment or go to the poll page and give us your opinion. The results will be listed in the follow up article.

For more information visit www.cosmepedia.com, your exclusive online cosmetic services community – the #1 place you can go to get all the information you need to make an informed decision.