Today’s business owners know that social media helps drive awareness. Having a strong social media presence can help your practice stay in contact with patients and create new interest with prospective patients. Creating interesting content and sharing it regularly on your practice’s site shows your knowledge of dentistry and helps your website rank higher on Google, which in turn increases your chances of being found by those in need. Starting a text blog or video blog can provide answers to health questions to current and prospective patients, presenting you as a content expert and helping to drive business your way. DCDS member Stephanie R. Ganter, DDS, MS describes the video blog she started on YouTube with her co-host Robert G. McNeill, DDS, MD.
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Ask Me Anything: Why We Started a YouTube Channel
“Hi all. I’m Stephy Steph and this is Bobby and together we are…BETWEEN TWO TEETH!”
This is a common intro to a not-so-common YouTube channel called “Between Two Teeth”. This channel has served a multitude of functions and continues to be a space/medium to unpack some of life’s toughest questions. My partner, co-creator and co-host is Dr. Robert G. McNeill, a state board member and oral maxillofacial surgeon. When we decided to start this channel, we weren’t really sure what this was going to be. We did know that we had no idea what we were doing and we wanted to help people connect especially following the COVID 19 pandemic.
If you are part of our study club, you know we have a ‘blue couch’ in the office. Over time our ‘blue couch’ has become a symbol of a safe space to show up and talk about life before the meeting officially starts. We discuss everything from practice and kids to relationships and life’s many aspirations. There have been tears, laughter, joy, and most importantly a sense of community. This ‘blue couch’ environment is what motivated us to expand our reach to a broader audience through social media.
From the very start, Bob and I agreed that this wasn’t about the stats (ie. number of views, number of likes), this was going to be about helping the one person who needed to hear our message when they needed to hear it. The goal is to connect with our audience by having honest, quirky and fun discussions. When we produce an episode, we feel strongly about the message it conveys, and at the end of the day these are FUN to make! Think ‘Between Two Ferns’ but with Teeth.
I’ll leave you with a final thought on connection and our core values. Right now I’m reading ‘Dare to Lead’ by Brene Brown, a well-known researcher and speaker on vulnerability. She talks about living into your values. Try to think about two of your biggest values. When I challenged myself to do this, I came up struggling just a touch. I reflected on how I default to the pursuit of money, status, and power over some of my core values: connection, creativity, and internal self-worth. This YouTube channel has been a way to refocus my efforts on those core values. Sometimes in private practice I fall into the trappings of systems, business, and self-promotion. In this space/medium, both my co-host and I have an opportunity to be creative and put ourselves out there. I hope you enjoy this channel, our antics and most importantly our message!