Establishing a social media presence for a physical therapy clinic

There are certain fields still playing catch-up online, making it less of a challenge to stand out (in a good way). This one is more than another day at the office, however, because it’s for my wife’s physical therapy practice – Premiere Physical Therapy & Sports Rehabilitation – in the Metro Washington DC area. To put it simply… it’s an absolute blast!

Starting with a short, easy-to-remember url like PTMaryland.com, we’re ramping up @PremierePT on Twitter, her Facebook page, LinkedIn presence and YouTube channel.

Granted, each presence is simple (now), but they are all growing a little bit every day relative to content and optimization.  I’m just using this post as an opportunity to provide insight into the steps.

For a unique tour, check out my online Prezi demo.

All the best,

Chris

Pragmatic Social Media: An example of how to integrate social media into your off-line, brick-and-mortar business

Put your social media presence everywhere.
It’s so simple, it never occurs to many.
Look how long it took many businesses to get their website addresses on vehicles, business cards and ads.
And some still have yet to get with the program (very few).
In fact, I haven’t seen a sign like this yet… except at this business outside DC (a business very close to my heart!)

Of course, it’s bigger than this and there is other information on the door, but I know many clients both current and potential who’ve expressed delight at being able to contact this business in so many ways… especially since it’s closed on Sundays unlike many traditional retailers.

But, hey, who wants to be traditional?!

In fact, this business encourages people to friend them, fan them, tweet them, check in on foursquare, and anything else they can think of.
And they offer rewards like Starbucks gift cards, drawings and merchandise.

Give me your thoughts on this one because I humbly think it’s genius
If you’d like to learn more about social media and real business, even if it’s just to check on your brand, check out the book The Social Media Equation. One tip from it could save you embarrassment or make you thousands!
Click the image to order and you will be able to download it immediately.

All the best,

Chris

A geeky trick… not so much: Caller ID spoofing

This is a tool I’ve used in business a bit too frequently (in the past).
And keep reading for the part your credit card company may not want you to know.
Before I sold my first startup, I got a lot of practice chasing down COD’s… that pesky fact of business life, the balance-due.
Of course, I had a contract with a collections agency, but I’m Swedish and that’s not how we roll.
I would always, usually , try to go the extra mile before ruining someone’s home life to collect funds owed and caller ID spoofing worked like a charm.
Here’s how it works:
You set up a contract with a spoofer (pick one, any one) and you can have any number you choose show up on the phone of the person you’re calling.

I would call the person/deadbeat/forgetful one who owed the balance (usually in the thousands of dollars) and spoof their own number or a number I knew they would not be wary of.
The end result was that I got to talk to them and we could usually make a plan.
If I could not make it work, of course, I would forward them to my collections agency and go through that silliness, but this tool saved me a considerable amount of capital and time.
Now, for the trick.
Once, on a whim, I wanted to activate a credit card I’d received in the mail (that I asked for).
I did not have time to make it back to my home to call them from my home number (the only way, supposedly, it could be activated), so I caller ID spoofed the Visa company.
Whoa!
Yes, it worked.
Now, I’m not advising this, but it was so easy I got a little nervous.
That was 5 years ago, but it may still work.
All the best,
Chris

Show some “follow love” to build loyalty in social media

This is probably the most concise post I’ve authored.
If someone follows you, follow back.
It will affect how Twitter sees you and, believe me, you want Twitter to view you favorably.
Unless, that is, you want the big “T” to impose a follow limit on you.

Next, when someone follows you, give them a mention.
It looks like this:

Send your questions and I’ll reveal some more “follow love” secrets.

All the best,

Chris