Posted By: Danny Rubino - Director of Operations - www.Dietitians.net

I just got done reading an interesting article and wanted to share some of the information with all of the RDs who are thinking about how to spend their advertising budget.

The article started off with a story that I’m sure all of us can relate to about how the writer was looking for a phone number, so he turned to his trusty kitchen drawer. The drawer was packed, so he had to pull out all of the contents to find the little directory that had the number he was looking for inside of it. Then as he was stuffing everything back into the drawer he realized the source of the problem was the 4-inch thick yellow pages book that he hardly ever uses, but keeps in the drawer until the new edition arrives.

It has gotten to the point at my house that the book goes directly from my doorstep into my trash can. The reason is because if I need to look up a business I turn directly to my laptop and jump on Google or Yahoo and type in what I’m searching for.

He uses an example of law firms and how they spend a significant portion of their marketing budgets on the yellow pages. He then points out that when he went through the 2000+ page book that there were almost 100 pages of just ads for lawyers. This stands true for almost any business advertising their services this way. The alternative is that there are only a few listings, but there are so many sections dividing up the book that people may not know what heading to find your business under. Is it under “Health”? “Nutrition”? “Medical”? …etc.

People spend hundreds of dollars PER MONTH for some of the smaller Ad options with Yellow Pages, and they rarely see a return on their investment. We manage a number of other directory websites and we always ask our members why they continue to spend the money each year when they don’t see any return, and they almost always say the same thing….”because everyone else does it.”

Here are a few things to think about when you are trying to decide if becoming a member of Dietitians.net is a good option for you and your business:

1) Ease of Use - People always do what is easy. Think about how easy it is to access the Internet these days. People can access the Internet from home, work, library, or even cell phones. The majority of people who are looking for information online use search engines, so it makes sense for you to list your services where people are going to find them right? If a patient can go online and search for registered dietitians, and they find a directory full of only profiles of registered dietitians…then they don’t need to flip through hundreds of pages of ads to try and find you.

2) Costs $$$ - The main reason that it costs so much more to advertise with yellow pages or similar models is not because they work better. It is because they have alot more costs that they have to cover to run their business which trickle down to you - the advertiser. Print Costs, Mailing/Distribution Costs, Local Sales Rep Costs, etc. There are other limitations as well, such as flexibility of your ad. If you need to update your information they are not going to reprint and redistribute the phone book for you.

3) Differentiation - When you are marketing your services to new patients you should want yourself to stand out among your competitors. Listing yourself in a phone book or similar models does not give you that option…unless you want to spend ALOT more money for a larger Ad. Everyone is listed alphabetically which can be a huge disadvantage if your last name doesn’t start with A, B, or C. Listing yourself on www.Dietitians.net not only allows you to create a profile that has some ‘personality’ by adding a photo and details about your services, but the search function allows the patient to find real LOCAL dietitians as the results are displayed by proximity to the patient. Being the first RD to list in your area has its obvious advantages as you will be the only RD patients find within 25 miles (by default).

Are you thinking….Is this information true? If so, how can I get a presence for my business online? The answer is becoming a member of Dietitians.net and our network of RD websites. Here are a few things you need to do today to stand out from the crowd and grow your business:

- Look at your current marketing investment: What is it costing you per year and what business is coming directly from it? If the numbers are in your favor then keep doing it, but if the answer is “I’m not sure” or “I don’t know” then you need to try this. Even if you are 100% happy with your current marketing strategy you should become a member of our RD network and increase your online presence to stay ahead of the curve. For $149.99/year to list yourself on 4 highly ranked websites that target patients looking for your services…it shouldn’t be a tough decision.

- Get your own website: Being listed in our directories is a great source for exposure and patient referrals, but we also recommend having a website of your own to market directly to your patients. We can take care of this need for you as well. We offer affordable solutions to building and marketing a website for your business, and we walk you through the process from A to Z.

- Keep track of your traffic: You should frequently (once per month or per quarter) look at the number of visitors who find you listing or your website. WIth your listing on www.Dietitians.net you can login anytime to check the number of people who have viewed your profile. If you build you own website with us we can provide you with more detailed reports that include number of visitors, where they came from, what pages they visited, etc. This is a great way to make sure you are getting a value out of your membership and/or your website.

Search engines are the future…and the only question you should ask yourself is - Am I going to be a player or a spectator? If you follow us on Twitter you know that we randomly post real patient’s requests for local registered dietitians. If you don’t see any being posted from your area keep this in mind - We only post a handful of the leads we receive on a daily basis..and we post them entirely at random. The thing to keep in mind is that the patients only have the option to request an RD if we do not have one listed within 25 miles of their zip code, and less than 15% of the patients who do not find a local RD fill out the form and ask for our help. That means you are missing out on ALOT of patients and potential business.

Visit our Home Page and search your own zip code - If we do not have an RD listed yet…don’t hesitate to be the first!