Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have long been used by individuals looking to keep up with family and friends. But as we shared last year, these social sites can be a great tool for eye care practices as well. They can be used as a free marketing tool to share your expertise and demonstrate the customer service your practice is known for.  Pinterest is another social site that, according to Augustin L. Gonzalez, OD, can be used to market your practice in a unique way.

Dr. Gonzalez shared with Healio that because Pinterest is “primarily a visually driven medium,” eye care practices can use to their advantage in a number of ways. Some of his examples for ways Pinterest can be used to market a practice include the following:

• – Show pictures of new frames and sunglasses, as well as new instruments and technologies you’ve brought into your practice. For instance, if you’ve recently purchased a Daytona® for your practice, post a picture of it and give your followers a short synopsis of what the device does.
• – Share testimonials, therapies your practice prescribes on a routine basis and patient success stories.
• – Showcase images of conditions like age-related macular degeneration or short videos of procedures that patients and potential patients can look to as educational resources.
• – Use Pinterest to share your own knowledge. For instance, if you’ve been published in magazines, newspapers, etc., pin it! When you do, be sure to link the pin to the publication.

For Your Eyes Only, an eye care practice in Ohio, has dedicated one of its Pinterest boards to show the benefits of optomap® and how our ultra-widefield retinal imaging compares to conventional exams.

Those are just a few of the ways practices can consider using Pinterest to their advantage. Dr. Gonzalez does offer a great reminder – if you want to post a picture with a patient in it on Pinterest, be sure to obtain permission from the patient before you post.

Is your practice currently using Pinterest? If so, share how you’re using this social site to market your eye care practice in a comment below!