Best Practices in Social Media for Dentists – How to Stay Out of Trouble Yet Be Impactful – IC035

'Doing' Social Media is HARD work!' Do you find it difficult to make time for this? Do you worry about professionalism and ethics on social media? How about the blurred boundaries between professional and personal life? Dentistry is no exception to the trend of using social media in today's culture. Dentists are using social media to connect with their patients and create new opportunities for patient education. However, dentists face ethical challenges such as how to best communicate with patients online, and what is the best level of consent to get from patients when we post their photos and videos? In this episode, Dr. Alessandro Devigus also suggests how to use social media as a business tool and how to keep your personal life and professional life separate. https://youtu.be/TEBmlDlybLE Check out this full episode here Download Protrusive App on iOS and Android and Claim your Verifiable CPD/CE by answering a few questions + You can get EARLY ACCESS to the episode + EXCLUSIVE content “React and interact with your audience how they WANT you to see” - Dr. Alessandro Devigus Need to Read it? Check out the Full Episode Transcript below! Highlights of this episode: 1:19 Dr. Alessandro Devigus’ Introduction4:20 How Dr. Alessandro started on Social Media6:30 Drawing the line between personal and professional account9:41 Importance of having a social media for Dental practices14:38 Dentists posting full protocol cases on social media - good or bad?20:14 Spotting fake dentistry24:57 Making time for social media31:59 Consent from Patients for sharing their photos - how to do it? If you enjoyed this episode, you may also enjoy Personal Branding for Dentists, Logos, and Websites with Shaz Memon Click below for full episode transcript: Jaz's Introduction: You don't need me to tell you that SOCIAL MEDIA is absolutely huge in all of our lives. If you're listening to this, I'm sure you're involved in social media in some way or another. Jaz's Introduction:It's NO EXCEPTION for dentistry, but this creates new problems and dilemmas, new ethical dilemmas for us dentists. How do we best communicate with patients online, and what is the best level of consent to get to patients when we are posting their photos and videos? And where exactly do you DRAW THE LINE between PERSONAL and PROFESSIONAL? These are the burning questions we cover with Dr. Alessandro Devigus, who not only has a huge following on social media, but he's such a level-headed guy as an extremely experienced, successful clinician. One of the topics we discussed, which you may resonate with Protruserati is HOW to MAKE TIME for SOCIAL MEDIA. Many of you are struggling to find the opportunity throughout your busy lives to actually have a presence online. And so when I ask this to Alessandro, he had a really good answer, and it involves doing a bit of work, a bit of an audit of your time. So that's something we cover towards the middle and end of the episode. Hello, Protruserati. I'm Jaz Gulati. Welcome back to an Interference Cast. This is like a nonclinical interruption. If you're new to the show, then thanks for joining. Do check out all the other episodes. Mostly a lot of 'em are clinical and they're very geeky, and I get very excited about teeth and dentistry, and hopefully that gets passed onto you. But we talk about some varied themes. So hope you enjoy this episode with Dr. Alessandro Devigus and I'll catch you in the outro. Main Episode:Alessandro. So I know this podcast we're recording today is about social media, but we must know what is your secret to looking so youthful? [Alessandro]It's my wife. I'm married for 33 years, so happy wife, happy life. [Jaz]Happy wife, happy life, and somehow good skin. [Alessandro]Yeah and it's my Sardinian roots. So, Sardinia is known for people getting very old. So my father is now almost 90. There are a lot of people there. And I think the number one secret of getting old and looking good is reduce stress. [Jaz]Mm-hmm. [Alessandro]Stress is the one or the number one thing making you older quicker, let's say, mentally, physically with all aspects this is from my point of view. It's not that I'm a super healthy food eater doing sports every day. I don't smoke. I drink alcohol, but I don't smoke. I think smoking is one of the number one. Things all smokers always tell me, yeah, but you drink red wine and whiskey. Say, okay, but I don't drink bottles a day. So I think I have under control not to drink too much, and yeah, and again, having a good family, a good social network that helps you if whenever there's an issue. I think these are the key elements creating this, and in this atmosphere or in this context. I think you show, or you look younger to the other people. Although you are not young, you know what I mean? So, it's- [Jaz]Mm-hmm. [Alessandro]Maybe you have seen this also with patients. Some patients they come, and they are 40 and they're saying, oh, life is awful and blah, blah, and then they look and feel and express being much older- [Jaz]And tired. [Alessandro]Yes. And then you see 85 year old guys, not walking straight, but smiling and are being happy. And then you feel the spirit. You feel the youth coming out and they say, okay, maybe tomorrow it's over, but I will enjoy my life. Life is too short not to enjoy it. So this is a very important point, I think. [Jaz]For those guys listening. Alessandro sounds great for those watching. He looks great as well. You have to take my word for it. And if you don't already watch the episodes, you can catch him on YouTube and Instagram, whatnot. Just remind everyone, you came on the photography episode, and you talk a little bit about your roots, your interest in photography. Today we're talking about social media. And I mean this in the most kindest way possible, Alessandro, right? I just told you, you look great for 60. Okay. Most of the six-year-old dentists I know they steer well away from social media, yet you are blossoming on social media. What you do on social media, I don't see many of this doing. You are wonderful at social media. So, tell me about how you got into. Just the habits that you have on social media, your presence on social media and I mean, again, I mean this in a nice way despite your colleagues who maybe your age have probably don't even have an Instagram account. So, tell me about that. [Alessandro]So basically, I restarted my social media career three years ago. So I was on social media when everything started because I'm a computer geek. So I was one of the first Twitter user. I was in immediately on Facebook, on all these channels, but then realized that I made a big mistake. And this is something, let's say the first important message goes out to everyone, young, old, whatever, women voice man. Don't mix your social media and your private life. So be aware you can have a private account whereas a young girl, who show bikini photos of yourself, or as a young man pumping in the gym, that's fine. I'm not against this, but don't mix these accounts with something that you want to be professional. So if you have an account for your dental office, don't show yourself too much in your private life driving your Porsche or whatever because this creates a wrong image. Even if you have achieved something in your life, making it possible to buy a Rolex or all these gimmicks that people think, wow, if I have a Rolex, if I have a Porsche, I'm a bigger, I'm more important. But if you feel doing this or wear expensive clothes, don't show that to your clients. It's like my brother, he has like four Ferraris. He would never take a Ferrari driving to a client, never. You know, then you take your normal car, you dress yourself like you have to in a business suit or in your office. So react and interact with your audience how they also want you to see and this is the number one message of how to start or how to think about starting your social media career. [Jaz]Alessandro, I wholeheartedly agree with you on that. What about, I'm gonna play devil's advocate. What about the situation whereby like I, myself, I do this whereby, I post a dental stuff on my, not Protrusive Dental, but on Jazzy Gulati, I post a Teethy stuff. But now, and again, I have family because for me, family is one of the highest values. And what I think that does is it humanizes me. So when prospective patients come say, oh, he's a father, he's a husband, I want to go to a family man. Do you think that's okay? Showing your children, showing yourself not necessarily in bikini and whatnot, not necessarily luxurious, but in a family environment or, I like football, Mans Tonight, cricket. What about those things teach us about. [Alessandro]Yes, I think this is important to show yourself then it's your decision in what extent you want to integrate your family. I always tell people, look, have you asked your children if they want to be on social media? Do you have the written consent of your three-year-old boy or girl jumping around, making a fool on your Instagram account? So these are the points. I think it's important to show people that you are a father, that you have a family. You can share these facts in short things, but don't overdo it. Don't overdo it. What I do is this is something important. From time to time, I do a new story. Talking about who I am. So I tell people, look for all those, for the new followers, for all people not knowing me. My name is Alessandro Devigus. I'm a Swiss dentist with passion for digital technologies and I want to share this and this and this and that, and that and that with you. And so it's like a refreshment on people not knowing who I am. You cannot expect that over, because social media is very short life information, so from time to time you have to repeat, and I agree with you that you can integrate your family,