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Marketing

Pros of Digital Marketing: 5 Advantages

Make your business more valuable. Make the switch now. (Credit: nordwood | Unsplash)

As technology continues to unfold and show no signs of slowing down, the marketplace has become progressively digital. With people spending more online, businesses are left with digital marketing as their primary channel of actively connecting to their potential customers. More than that, digital marketing remains the best strategy for businesses to deliver their goals at an affordable price.

Unlike traditional marketing, digital marketing allows businesses opportunities to keep track of their effectiveness and launch mass interactions among its consumers. Consequently, most—if not—all businesses have adopted digital marketing as the most cost-effective and easiest way to reach the right customers at the right time.

If you’re still not convinced on how game-changing digital marketing is for your business, let’s deep-dive into its major benefits.

1. Targets the Right Audience

Thanks to digital platforms that allow you to segment audiences, you can now target the right audience for your business. There are online tools that track an online user’s demographic information and activities. You can use these data to offer them your services or products.

Another thing, when switching to digital marketing, your audience is not limited to a certain geographical area only. Since Internet users come from different countries, you can access your audiences globally.

Target the right audience and create happy customers.
(Credit: findracadabra | Unsplash)

2. Engages Customers and Increase Customer Loyalty

One of the benefits of digital marketing is that it engages your customers. Customers can now interact and understand more about the product or services you are selling without a deal-breaking amount of effort. Mobile applications also allow you to monitor your customers’ buying journey, allowing you to know the right time you can offer them customer support, special offers, and more.

With digital marketing, customer loyalty is your edge in driving up sales. When customers experience a seamless transaction with you, they are most likely to purchase again and recommend you to their social circle. This will increase your visibility and branding. Nothing goes as viral as organic word-of-mouth recommendation.

3. Has Better Conversion Rates

Unlike other types of marketing, digital marketing has better conversion rates. This means you have a higher and greater chance of customers making a purchase. Customers won’t need to visit physical stores or make a phone call to inquire about the product. Remember, your customers are only one click away from making a purchase. You just have to execute the right strategy to get them.

If used the right way, digital marketing is your next success.
(Credit: firmbee | Unsplash)

4. Allows Flexibility

As the world continues to change, so do people. Customers today are now more inclined to a more customized and personalized buying experience. This is where digital marketing comes in because it allows you to send your customers unique marketing messages that are aligned with their interests and preferences.

Note that customers love personalized products and services as it makes them feel special and compels them to make a purchase.

5. Trackable and Measurable

The last but not least benefit of digital marketing is its ability to deliver measurable results. Digital marketing allows you to monitor the effectiveness of your ads and measures the reach of your campaign. Web analytics and online metric tools allow you to identify which ads reach the greatest number of people and which generate the most engagements. With this, you can focus on areas that needed adjustment.

You can see that just these 5 benefits of digital marketing already pose a great value if employed in the business. If used in the right way, digital marketing can undoubtedly level up every business, no matter which stage you find yourself in your entrepreneurial journey.

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5-Medical-Marketing-Ideas-for-Physiotherapists-&-Dentists
 Dental, Marketing, Physiotherapy

5 Medical Marketing Ideas for Physiotherapists & Dentists

5-Medical-Marketing-Ideas-for-Physiotherapists-&-Dentists

Marketing is a crucial element for any business, and that includes clinics. Good marketing lets potential patients know you’re there for them, and tells them how to find you. It’s never too late to start building up your marketing to reach out to potential clients, so here are a few helpful ideas that can attract some new patients.

1. Market consistently all year-round

Medical emergencies have a tendency to show up at the worst possible times, be it a sudden toothache or a flare up of back pain. One thing that can help patients when troubles strike is knowing there’s a clinic out there that can help. Consistent marketing is key to generating a steady stream of leads (and new patients with them). Marketing all year-round is key to keeping your practice in the minds of your patients. Whenever a medical emergency rears its ugly head, you’ll be the one the turn to for help.

2. Focus on local SEO

Search engine optimization, specifically for the local area, is key to getting noticed by nearby patients. Good SEO helps you rank for relevant keywords for your business (e.g. back pain and root canal), but it’s vital you remember your local keywords as well. Your business benefits more from targeting patients in your local area. Clinics based in North York, to name one example, should include that keyword in their content to help attract the right kind of patient.

Teach-a-class-on-a-topic-that’s-relevant-to-you

3. Get involved with your local community

Dental and physiotherapy clinics are local businesses, and you’ll need your community to provide patients. One way to attract more patients is getting involved in the community. Try attending local festivals and events, or sponsor a little league sports team to do something for your neighbours. These events are a golden opportunity to build some relationships in person and generate goodwill. You can also make arrangements with local schools to teach some classes on relevant subjects like dental hygiene or getting quality sleep. These ideas are a great way to build a foundation for your relationships with others in the community. It’s a good way to do some easy word-of-mouth marketing, so take the chance to do a little more.

Update-your-website-to-draw-in-more-traffic

4. Build a strong website

Your site is the first thing most potential clients will notice about your clinic, so take some time to optimize yours. A professional, well-designed site is key to making a good first impression with the people you want patronizing your clinic. Go through your site to test how easy it is to navigate. Creating internal links is an effective method for navigating from one related page to another. You can also redesign your site for greater mobile-friendliness. More and more clients use mobile devices to search for essential services, especially in case of a medical emergency.

5. Create quality content

One form marketing can take is quality content answering simple questions your patients may have. For example, some people may be looking for better brushing tips or tips to help prevent back pain, and it can be a big help to provide some easy answers for them. Content can come in various forms, from videos to blog posts, so choose whichever method allows you to churn out more and high-quality content. Think of your content as a way to generate some extra goodwill among your clients that can easily convert into more visits.

Clinics could always use a good marketing strategy to help attract more patients. Keep these tips in mind to help strengthen your approach to marketing and bring in more patients for your practice.

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Best-Business-Ideas-During-and-After-The-Pandemic
 Business

Best Business Ideas During and After The Pandemic

Best-Business-Ideas-During-and-After-The-Pandemic

The coronavirus disease pandemic has taken a toll on economies across the globe. As the crisis continues, businesses are forced to adapt or evolve in order to survive. Business owners must anticipate the shift in consumer behaviour. There’s now a growing hesitation in consumers to step out and shop and this can greatly affect long-established buyer journeys.

With these changes, online businesses are becoming a widely accepted trend. If you wish to venture into a new business that is certain to remain relevant during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve got some ideas for you.

1. Online Consultancy Business
Do you have any skill that you want to teach others? You might want to monetize it by setting up a home-based consultancy business. The internet provides tons of platforms where you can connect with clients and offer your services to them.

Here are some examples of online consultancy ideas:

  • Online fitness coaching
  • Music classes (one-on-one or virtual classroom setting)
  • Nutritionist/dietitian consultancy
  • Photography classes
  • Digital marketing consultancy

During and after the lockdown, people may have doubts going out and signing up for face-to-face classes due to risks of infection (plus, today is an ideal time to learn a new skill). So leverage this opportunity to build an online business and teach others what you know.

2. Professional Online Classes
The education of millions of learners all over the world is disrupted during this pandemic, and educational institutions are scrambling for ways to deliver learning effectively. This makes online tutoring classes integral in the present time.

If you’re a teacher or a professional in your industry and online tutorials might be something you can do, grab this opportunity. Start up by setting up your virtual classroom and create online study materials for your students.

3. Set Up a Delivery Business

In addition to online tutoring classes, online delivery business is also on the rise at this point as more and more consumers are leaning towards virtual shopping. This trend will spill over even after the pandemic.

Start off by delivering goods and services in your area. You can start delivering products like:

  • Groceries
  • Baked goods
  • Hygiene products
  • Medicines
  • Other daily essentials

4. Create a Freelance Marketplace
You can also build a platform where talented freelancers and employers can get connected and work together. Start by gathering people within your network and introducing them to one another. Through the platform, you can also provide learning resources for freelancers so they can sharpen their knowledge and skills, increasing their chances of getting hired.

5. Remote Healthcare Consultancy

Online healthcare is vital now more than ever. People need to avail consultation services of their doctors without fearing for infection. That’s why it’s important for healthcare experts to encourage their patients to stay healthy without heading out. If you are a doctor or dentist, consider offering your services through chat, email, or video call, or you can create your own healthcare app.

6. Sell Handcrafted Goods
If you’re into creating DIY soap, sauces, or pottery, you can make a business out of them. Start off by operating on a pre-order basis or accepting small batches of orders until there’s a steady flow of orders coming your way.

Set up your business page on Facebook or Instagram. Post information about your products and accommodate order through chat.

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5-Tips-to-Kick-Start-Your-Post-Pandemic-Business-Recovery
 Business

5 Tips to Kick Start Your Post-Pandemic Business Recovery

Navigating the pandemic has been quite the challenge for many, particularly businesses. Once the virus has run its course, it’ll be time to reopen and get back to business, but it helps to have some idea of what to do to help prepare for that day. Here’s a list of ideas to rebuild your business and help your business get back on its feet.

Coordinate-with-your-customers

1. Coordinate with your customers

The current crisis has impacted everyone, and that includes your customers. As a business owner, it’s crucial you take some time to think about how your customer’s needs have changed and how you can continue to meet them. Another thing to consider is maintaining communication, even as early as now. Keeping in close communication is key to maintaining long-term loyalty, which helps make your customers more likely to come back when the virus runs its course. Above all, remember to let your customers know what’s changed for you to help them know that you’re still there for them.

2. Develop a time limit for rebuilding

There’s likely to be plenty of work to do to get your business up and running like before. However, it’s important to do some triage to find out which parts of the business need the most work. Develop a timeline to help guide how you approach the question of rebuilding. If your business needs funding before anything else, focus on securing that first before moving on to other tasks like rehiring or restocking. As you start, track your progress to find out which activities are working best toward helping you get back on your feet. Start with weekly reviews, then move on to monthly as things start to stabilize.

Consider-whether-you’ll-need-funding-to-recover

3. Consider whether you’ll need funding to recover

A great many businesses may need a helping hand to kick start the post-pandemic recovery. The first order of business is determining if yours needs some aid to help you get back on your feet. There are some loan options to consider that can help you find the funding you need to rebuild. One thing that can help you be more competitive regarding loans is checking your business and personal credit scores, as well as your business and personal financials.

4. Create new sales channels

One lesson many businesses have learned from the pandemic is the importance of having multiple sales channels. Many businesses are limited to a single business channel (brick and mortar locations are a notable example), which has led to difficulty serving customers. Think about new sales channels, like marketing your business online or creating an e-store, to allow customers to do business from home. As you adapt, it’s also important to let your clients know so they can give you business again.

5. Think about the paradigm shifts

The pandemic will have consequences beyond what we’re experiencing now, and it’s vital you be ready for them. Trends like remote working and online conferencing are here to stay, so take them into consideration when making your post-pandemic plans.

Some changes are inevitable after everything that’s happened, and your business needs to be ready for the changes. Keep the new trends in mind as you use these tips to help prepare your business for the new normal, whatever that may look like.

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Tips

5 Essential Tips to Manage Employees during the New Normal

In response to the current health crisis, many businesses have turned to letting employees work remotely. It’s a great way to keep employees productive, but it has its challenges, particularly with employees more used to working from an office and working with coworkers in person. Most business will have to make a few changes to cope with these changes and maintain productivity on the job. Here are a few tips that can keep employees engaged and morale high as we adjust to the new normal together. 

1. Establish clear policy

Thanks to the pandemic, many businesses have had to update their policies to adapt to all the new changes. Clear direction is key to helping employees make the most of their time and maintain professionalism on the clock. Provide guidelines on proper use of company equipment and outline your expectations for employee responsiveness. Last of all, make sure these policies are easily accessible for employees so they can look up policy when necessary. 

2. Offer flexibility

The pandemic has changed life for everyone, and that often extends to personal circumstances. Many employees currently have to look after children at home thanks to schools being closed, or have to deal with sick relatives. Be sensitive and keep these circumstances in mind when they interrupt employees’ ability to work. Offer more flexible hours to help employees attain a more stable work-life balance and improve the quality of their work. This approach helps employees find a more “optimal” time to work, and avoid distractions when other obligations need their attention.

3. Improve communications

Maintaining communication between teams is more important than ever, so consider setting specific times for employees to be available for calls and meetings. Virtual team meetings and chats are a great way to help your workers feel like part of a team. It’s crucial you check in with workers regularly, both to check up on their progress, and to make them feel valuable. Isolation can often affect employee engagement, so take the opportunity to set clear goals and targets where applicable. 

4. Focus on using video

Calls are a great way to stay in contact, but prioritize using video when discussing vital matters. Video calls are a more effective resource for maintaining the human element in conversation and fighting feelings of isolation. A great degree of communication is nonverbal, and a video call is a great way to capture that element when speaking with employees. Look into video chatting solutions to find a convenient method for keeping in touch with your colleagues.

5. Build a good rapport

When you’re in an office, it’s much easier to find a few moments to chat with coworkers and build a rapport. It’s much harder to do so with remote employees, but there are ways to make it work. Spend a little more time on one-on-one chats to build a connection with your employees and get to know them as more than workers. Ask about their hobbies, aspirations, and interests to get to know thema  little better and forge a deeper relationship. Something as simple as asking about an employee’s weekend can do much to make them more comfortable around you and get them more engaged with work.

Thanks to the pandemic, many businesses have had to make some changes to the way they do business. Remote working is a good solution to many of those problems, but a few changes are needed to make the most of it. Keep these tips in mind to help keep employee engagement and morale high as you move forward.

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Business

Business Ideas Worth Investing During Coronavirus Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has completely disrupted the economic landscape and changed customers’ behaviour. Non-essential stores have temporarily closed and unpreceded number of customers are purchasing online. The pandemic does not seem to be improving any time soon, many business owners are forced to act and respond quickly to survive and stay afloat

However, amidst all the chaos brought about by the pandemic, technology has turned out to be a solution for many entrepreneurs, allowing them to reach out and serve customers during these critical times. If you are looking to invest in a new venture, we have outlined a few business ideas that will surely thrive amidst the COVID-19 crisis.

  • Cleaning Services – The exponential transmission of the coronavirus has instilled fear to millions of people around the world. It should not come as a surprise that professional cleaning services are in high demand during the pandemic. Many establishments, such as grocery stores, offices, restaurants, and homes, need to be sanitized to prevent transmission within the establishment.
  • Food Delivery – After the government has enforced lockdown, many non-essential businesses, such as restaurants, had to stop their operation. Waiting for the situation to return to normal may not seem a good option as restaurant businesses can lose thousands in sales. Offering online delivery can help survive your business, as more customers choose to order online to avoid the transmission of coronavirus. Simply launch a food delivery app so that customers will only have to place their orders online and have their food delivered to their homes. 
  • Online Education App – Many educational institutions have closed and shifted to online learning programs. Due to the pandemic and closure of educational institutions, online education app downloads have increased nearly by 300% since March 2020. 
  • Liquor and Wine Stores – Although some bars are back in business, many people are still afraid of going out and prefer to stay at home and stock up liquor and wine. Ever since the outbreak, the sales in local liquor and wine shops have dramatically increased. Some people do not only purchase liquor for consumption but also to make hand sanitizers. 
  • Fitness Equipment and Program – People need to take care of their health and stay fit, especially during the coronavirus outbreak. With the strict enforcement of social distancing and stay-at-home order mandated in almost every country, gyms have to temporarily shut their doors while people are stuck at home. However, the pandemic is not an excuse to slack off. Many people can purchase basic training equipment, such as dumbbells, jump ropes, and mats, to train at home. In addition to selling fitness training equipment and products, fitness programs also sell like hotcakes:

→ Training video courses

→ Online workout programs

→ Coaching services

→ Nutrition and diet programs

Healthcare Consultation – Providing remote health care during the quarantine period helps control the impact of the outbreak. During the pandemic, online health care can be considered as a legacy that helps fight COVID-19. It enables healthcare professionals to provide remote care and treatment to patients in need of medical help, without stepping outside their homes. Using your branded online healthcare app, you can reach patients and offer them the best possible solutions digitally.

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Physiotherapy

How Physiotherapists Should Respond to COVID-19 Pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (CoViD-19) has become a pandemic, threatening the health of millions of people across the world. As frontline practitioners, physiotherapists are at risk of coming in direct contact with COVID-19 patients. It is important for physiotherapists to understand their role in identifying, containing, mitigating, and treating the symptoms associated with the virus.

Here are some of the key points to help you understand the role of physiotherapists in managing COVID-19-related issues:

  • Recognizing the symptoms of infectious disease
  • Educating and providing patients with appropriate support and timely treatment decisions
  • Advising and treating patients experiencing adverse outcomes, both in the acute phase and in longer-term recovery
  • Treating respiratory health issues caused by the COVID-19 infection and maintaining essential functions, strength, mobility, and flexibility while relieving secondary complications from isolation conditions, including blood clots, muscle wasting, weakness caused by de-conditioning, and other effects on psychological well-being.
  • Providing intervention for mobilization, exercise, and rehabilitation for patients who are at risk of ICU-acquired weakness or with comorbidities causing a significant decline in function.
  • Identify more physical resourcing requiring physiotherapy intervention and reduce the risk of cross-infections. For example, respiratory equipment, mobilization, exercise, and rehabilitation tools and equipment, and storage for equipment.
  • Providing intervention only when there are clinical indicators to reduce exposure of staff to COVID-19 patients. An unnecessary review of isolated COVID-19 patients will have a negative impact on the supply of PPEs.
  • Meet with senior medical staff regularly to identify clinical indications for physiotherapy review in confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients and conduct proper screening according to the standard guidelines.
  • Respiratory physiotherapy intervention in hospital wards or ICUs may be recommended for confirmed or confirmed COVID-19 patients, who developed exudative consolidation mucous hypersecretion and/or difficulty clearing secretions.

Physiotherapy Management Principles

Respiratory Care

  • Airway clearance techniques (active breathing cycle, positioning, manual and/or ventilator hyperinflation, positive expiratory pressure (PEP) therapy, mechanical insufflation-exsufflation (MI-E)
  • Non-invasive ventilation application (part of airway clearance strategies or in respiratory failure management) and inspiratory positive pressure breathing (IPPB) for patients with fractured ribs
  • Techniques that help facilitate clearance for mucous secretion, including assisted or stimulated cough manoeuvres or airway suctioning.
  • Exercise prescription and mobilization

Mobilization, Exercise, and Rehabilitation

Another important responsibility of physiotherapists is the provision of musculoskeletal/neurological/cardiopulmonary rehabilitation tasks, such as:

  • Active, passive, active-assisted, or resisted joint range of motion exercise that helps boost and/or maintain the integrity of the joint, as well as mobility and muscle strength.
  • Mobilization and rehabilitation, such as bed mobility, sitting balance, sit to stand, upper or lower limb ergometry, exercise programs.

The Canadian Physiotherapy Association (CPA) continues to work hard on building resources and support tools to protect physiotherapists who are potentially exposed to the increasing outbreak of COVID-19. CPA is working around the clock to ensure that physiotherapists receive the necessary resources and support systems, especially those working on the front lines and those whose livelihoods are in jeopardy as patients are cancelling their appointments and forced closure of clinics.

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World Wide SEO

What The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Means For SEO

Over the first quarter of 2020, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has disrupted almost every area of our lives. It has created a “new normal”, making people reorder their priorities and make changes to their daily lives. The pandemic has also caused a blow to many businesses that have to roll with the punches thrown by declining economic activities as people change their habits.

SEO plays a key role in helping businesses stay relevant in the time of coronavirus. To further protect their businesses from the effects of the ongoing pandemic, it’s best for business owners and marketers to review their current SEO strategies for the year.

Here are some SEO considerations you need to look at and how you can incorporate them into your marketing strategy in response to the impact of COVID-19.

Changing search behaviours

Consumer behaviour and search trends will largely vary at this time, both for essential and non-essential businesses. Pharmacies and grocery stores are more likely to see a surge of search queries on the products and services they offer. Oppositely, a decrease in search interests on brands, products, and services considered non-essential may be observed this time as consumers prioritize their most basic needs. 

Brands should consistently track and analyze data like organic search sessions and conversion rates, making sure to update forecasting and historical reporting to assess the impact of COVID-19 on consumer behaviour. Google Search Console, Google Trends, and your keyword tools will be your best friends during this time. Use them proactively to understand changes in search behaviour and interests based on relevant keywords and topics related to your company and industry.

Below are the important data and analytics to note:

  • Sessions and impressions may decline. But if rankings remain as is, the decrease can be a result of COVID-19’s effect on search interest.
  • Sessions and impressions may remain as is. However, a low conversion may mean that users are still interested in your products or services but are not ready to purchase yet.

Limited bandwidth and availability resources

During this pandemic, businesses may have limited development resources. Rather than implementing new features in your website, it may be best to prioritize fixing bugs that are directly affecting your site’s performance. Check to see if search engines are indexing, crawling, rendering, and ranking your website to prevent potential issues in the future.

Beefed up content strategies

It’s important for businesses to acknowledge the specific effects of COVID-19 to their industry. This way, you can create clear messaging around the disease. If your business is deemed essential or directly affected by COVID-19, you might want to make a dedicated page to capture traffic related to coronavirus and then add links to your website’s key pages.

You can also try producing a series of video content. As people become more active online, they will have plenty of time to watch videos. Consider creating relevant content to capture their attention. Study your SEO insights to gather possible topics for your video content. 

Most importantly, when developing your messaging, keep in mind the importance of social distancing. Consider making content on creating DIY projects around your product/service from which users can derive value while on home quarantine. Avoid using language that runs counter to COVID-19 safety guidelines.

Main Image Credit: Engin Akyurt | Unsplash

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How COVID-19 Affect Dental Practices
 Dental

How COVID-19 Affect Dental Practices

Aside from the serious implications of COVID-19 on human health, the coronavirus also caused a significant impact on almost all business industries in Canada, including dental practices. It has brought uncertainty to dental health professionals. The Public Health Agency in Canada, as well as the provincial and municipal government, recommends temporary closure of dental clinics concerning social distancing protocols rolled out across the nation. The dental industry supports the recommendations made by the Public Health authorities to ensure social distancing. Dentists and other dental health providers understand the importance of taking exceptional measures to minimize the transmission of the virus. That is why dental professionals only offer their services to those with emergency needs.

Why Dentistry Is a High-Risk Branch

Why-Dentistry-Is-a-High-Risk-Branch1

The COVID-19 pandemic has gravely affected thousands of Canadian dentists and their patients. Studies reported that the presence of the virus in the saliva of COVID-19 patients, which can be pivotal in human-to-human transmission. Dentists and other dental health providers do not want to become a hotspot for the transmission of the virus, as they may unknowingly provide aerosol-generating dental procedures to infected but not yet diagnosed COVID-19 patients. Inhaling these airborne particles and aerosols during the dental procedure on COVID-19 infected patients puts dentists into direct exposure of the virus. 

Should You Pause or Cancel Your SEO Campaign

Should-You-Pause-or-Cancel-Your-SEO-Campaign

With the Public Health Agency in Canada recommending temporary shutdown of dental clinics or revamping dental processes and focus on emergency ones, it may sound sensible to pause your organic dental SEO or digital marketing campaign. 

However, the pandemic is temporary; dropping your SEO campaign would mean missing out on organic searches and falling behind your competitors. Acquiring patients would become more difficult when the industry comes roaring back. Continuing your marketing effort amidst the coronavirus pandemic provides you with a huge advantage over those who do not. 

Connecting with Your Patients

Despite the temporary closure of your dental office, there are still various ways you can make an impact by making some extra efforts to your existing and potential patients the high-quality services and value you provide during the COVID-19 crisis. 

  • Maintain Your Online Presence – Having a live, active website helps maintain a strong online presence. Find out the potential dental concerns your patients may experience during the COVID-19 lockdown and provide solutions to the problems. Make sure to provide updated contact information and guidance on how you handle patients requiring emergency dental care.
  • Be Active on Social Media – With many of your prospective clients that are active on different social media channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, now is the perfect time to build or maintain your social media presence. Make sure to post relevant content at least once or twice a week to appear in the newsfeeds of your patients. Adding an image or informative video in your content helps boost engagement.
  • Start TeleDentistry – Did you know that you can provide virtual consultation to your patients? There are various apps designed to provide teledentistry services, an effective way to keep in contact with your patients when you are unable to provide personal treatment at your dental clinic. It does not only provide patients with peace of mind but also reduces the risk of going out for a simple prescription.
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Trending

COVID-19 Facts to Help Set You Straight

By now, everyone is feeling the COVID-19 pandemic, and as the situation evolves, new information comes out that can help you protect yourself. But with all the information swirling around, it can be difficult to separate fact from myth. It’s important to arm yourself with the right information to make it easier to protect yourself and your family until things get better. Here are a few facts about the virus that can give you some extra protection and help you stay safe.

Disposable Masks Don’t Work the Way You Think

We know the virus is spread from infected body fluids (usually discharge from infected coughs and sneezes), so some people take the precaution of wearing disposable face masks to filter germs as they breathe. However, face masks don’t work that way; they really work by keeping your droplets from spilling out and releasing germs, not by keeping them out of your respiratory system. Ideally, most people should stop buying masks and save them for people who need them most (i.e. healthcare workers taking care of patients).

Younger Patients Are Also at Risk

In a pandemic, it’s usually the elderly or those with preexisting health conditions considered to be most at risk. That is true (those demographics will be hit hardest if they get sick), but people of any age can contract coronavirus. According to the New York Times, nearly 40% of hospitalized patients in North America are below the age of 54. It’s important everyone in your family, regardless of age, stay at home and minimize the risk of infection.

You Might Still Be Contagious, Even Without Symptoms

Not showing any symptoms is definitely a good thing, but it’s vital you stay vigilant all the same. Up to 70 or 80% of people may show mild or even no symptoms, but might still be infectious. To avoid putting yourself or others at risk, minimize going out, and maintain social distancing when you have to. It’s also important to wash your hands regularly to keep yourself clean and help stay safe.

Warmer Weather Won’t Do Much

Some people are hoping that once the weather shifts, the pandemic might slow down. Unfortunately, warmer temperatures won’t do much to kill off the virus. The spread may slow down once it gets a little warmer, but that’s mainly due to there less coughing and sneezing in the warmer months. With that in mind, be mindful of social distancing even as the seasons change to give yourself more protection when you have to leave the house for errands.

Over-the-Counter Meds Don’t Hurt

There are some rumours going around that OTC medicines (for example ibuprofen) can make the virus worse. The truth is that there’s no evidence to back up that claim, and over-the-counter medication can be one way of dealing with any symptoms that pop up. Use whatever medicine works to help relieve symptoms. For example, ibuprofen can help deal with aches and pains, while acetaminophen helps with fevers.

Avoid Home Remedies

You may also have heard that certain home remedies (like gargling hot tea) can have a hand in fighting off the virus. At best, these remedies soothe some of the symptoms, like sore throats, but don’t actually do anything to fight the virus. Another home remedy you may have heard is spraying yourself with disinfectants like alcohol or chlorine to kill the germs. These substances are useful as surface disinfectants, making them an instant no-no as a remedy.

The most important thing is not to panic. Use these insights to help take care of yourself while COVID-19 remains a threat. Eventually, the pandemic will run its course and life will resume; knowing these facts can be a great way to protect yourself until then.

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