Facebook has been busier than ever over the last few months testing new experiences and rolling out some big changes. One of the latest has business owners, especially those who don’t "pay to play," nervous.

Facebook’s official statement described upcoming changes to the newsfeed that will put a focus on friends and family instead of pages. There are still no concrete answers on what exactly this change will mean for businesses both large and small, but everyone seems to agree that organic engagement will go down.

Any doctor or dentist will agree that word of mouth and direct referrals result in the best patients. They come in with the best attitudes, already somewhat assured of the value the practice offers in both treatment and experience. And why not? Someone from their community of influencers told them so.

This is exactly why social media and content marketing is the top way to build an audience to bring in new patients. All of the above it true. You believe it and so do I. So, what is different these days? The community of influencers has changed to include online social interactions, not just friends, family and neighbors. As the community of influencers has changed, it has opened up new opportunities to create a new word of mouth.

Although it’s been almost a month since the new update began trickling out, many people are just now discovering Google’s big SERP, or search engine results page, change. Around November 22, Google started increasing the length of search result snippets. Have you noticed?

One of the most frustrating parts of a client-agency relationship is trust. And that goes for both parties. A study done by USA Today and independent ad agency RPA discovered that 98 percent of advertising and marketing executives believe that their best work occurs when the client trusts the agency. But, entrusting your brand’s image to someone else can be daunting. Here are five things worth considering when you start to doubt your agency:

Just because something works great for a while doesn’t mean it always will. This is especially true when it comes to technology. Search engine algorithms are constantly changing, and with each new update comes new do’s and don’ts if you want to be successful. If you are still using these outdated practices, you may not realize just how outdated your SEO strategy is:

 As a business owner, your days are consumed with the day-to-day tasks of managing a business. Although you try to take the time you need to stay up to date with changes and advances in technology, especially when it comes to the digital world, you may always feel a step behind. When having a website was no longer just a leg up but a necessity for businesses that wanted to be successful, you jumped right in. Now, you keep seeing all this stuff about a business blog. You may be asking yourself, Why in the world would my practice need a blog? Let’s look at a few big reasons why a business blog is a no-brainer.

If you spend any time on social media, you’ve likely heard the buzz about Facebook’s new Explore feed. It has many businesses worried, especially those without a marketing team that consists of experts in social media strategy like Dog Star Media.

The newsfeed change has now been rolled out on mobile and desktop devices and shows posts from brands, companies and practices you don’t follow on a completely different feed, called Explore, in a way that makes them invisible to the average user. The Explore feed is buried under the Explore tool bar full of options such as "On This Day", "Saved" and the newest, "Order Food."

As we head into 2018, a productivity gap is forming between practices that embrace the power of content marketing and those practicing old keyword and search strategies. In the coming year, you can expect that productivity gap to grow even more, specifically for small, niche businesses like fee-for-service or advanced medical and dental practices. In other words, you either know the most productive way to market on the Internet or you don’t.

Content marketing and its related tools are designed to leverage the Internet’s communication possibilities according to how people use the Internet now. As communication evolves on the Internet, the way we use the web changes, the tools we use change, the sites and portals we use change ... It all changes. 

If you aren’t utilizing video in your content marketing strategy, you’re missing out in big ways.  

Facebook’s algorithm is heavily pushing video content. This means not only is it being viewed by the consumers you’re trying to reach, but it’s also being measured and recorded so you can see exactly how it’s performing.

Most business owners don’t know much about SEO, but they do know that it has something to do with being the top result when someone searches online for something related to your industry. For years business owners have been told that the only way to be successful is attaining that top ranking, and yet it’s always felt so out of reach.

The bottom line is that it’s felt out of reach because, in most situations, it is. For many small to medium-sized businesses, the budget necessary to compete with the big players in their industry means they aren’t going to be able to attain that ranking in a way that provides value.

One of the biggest obstacles to any company’s marketing efforts is often something as simple as knowing your target audience. As a business owner you may think you know exactly who your audience is, but when the numbers aren’t adding up it may be time to reassess.

There’s a reason Facebook ads have become one of the biggest ways for brands to advertise in today’s market. There has never before been an advertising medium that allows you to target ads towards such a specific audience. Facebook Pixel can be instrumental in helping you discover just who your audience is while helping you place your message before those people in your group who are most likely to convert from lead to sale.

At its most basic level, a Facebook pixel is a code you put on your website to help see how visitors interact with your page. You can then use that data to enhance your Facebook advertising. It also helps you optimize ads by collecting data and using this data to build custom audiences. This lets you market to qualified leads by reaching people who have already visited your website. The insights provided by the pixel data include things like:

In a world of constant communication via the internet, it’s not enough anymore to just have a website. Your website is a window into your practice that lets consumers see why they should pick you over everyone else. It’s a chance to connect and close the deal by bringing what you have to offer front and center on a potential client’s phone or computer screen. If you’ve been wondering how your website stacks up to the competition or if it’s time for an update, ask yourself these questions:

 Do you find yourself wondering if the time you’re spending on your practice’s social media presence is actually growing your business or translating to profits?

Many small business owners find navigating the waters of social media marketing to be confusing and figuring out if it all pays off can be a mystery for some. At Dog Star Media, we believe that if you’re only using social media to converse and not to convert, you’re wasting your time.

So, what’s the difference? To start with, let’s look at the conversion cycle and watch how conversation and conversion are used together to drive business and create meaningful connections.