Building a Cohesive and Authentic DSO Brand with Sarah Ruberg

Alec Goldman:
Welcome to How I Grew My Practice, a podcast presented by NexHealth. I'm your host Alec. In this episode, we have Sarah Rueberg, CEO and founder of Our Thrive Tribe. They are a social media and business development agency in the DSO space, here to talk to us about building a cohesive and authentic DSO brand. Sarah, welcome to the show. How are you doing today?
Sarah Ruberg:
I'm Great Alec, how are you?
Alec Goldman:
I'm good, how was that intro?
Sarah Ruberg:
Perfect.
Alec Goldman:
Perfect. Well, enough on the intro. Can you, for our audience who does not know who Sarah Rubberg is, you could share a little bit about who you are, what you're up to, and kind of how Our Thrive Tribe got started?
Sarah Ruberg:
Yes, I can. Okay, quick version. I have worked for two different dental marketing companies. I also worked at the Dentist Entrepreneur Organization, which is where I really kind of understood more about the DSO space. So I've been in dental for about 10 to 12 years and I decided about a year ago that I really wanted to help organizations build better relationships. kind of my superpower, something I really enjoy doing. And I thought, what better way to do it than through social media? And if I saw one more, did you know that blue toothbrushes are more commonly purchased than red toothbrushes, social media posts for dental practice, trying to get more patients to come in, I was going to pull out all of my hair and I thought, I can help, I can help with this.
And so I created Our Thrive Tribe. Certainly not an easy name to say, but for those who were born in the same timeframe as I was, it's called OTT. Yeah, you know me. So, you know, we can kind of like throw it back to some fun musical references, but it's been an amazing year since we've built this company and we get to help DSOs and industry partners build their corporate brands, sometimes personal brands to build awareness in the industry. And it's been absolutely the most amazing and rewarding thing that I've ever done.
Alec Goldman:
Well, congrats on going off on your own. It's obviously a huge decision. And I'm so excited to hear about all the success given the conversations we've had leading up to the podcast. Um, and Sarah, when you say building a cohesive and authentic DSO brand, can you tell me the whole or gap you see in the industry and how you're solving problems for these DSOs and vendors?
Sarah Ruberg:
Sure. I think that one of the things that DSOs struggle with, or one of the things that they want the most, right, is they want growth, like most of us do, but they want to grow. One of the ways, obviously, that they grow is by acquiring new practices. Even along the lines of hiring, and acquiring, it's important to have a cohesive brand because not every practice is going to be the perfect fit. for a DSO and it's pretty painful when you're kind of matched with or end up having to move forward in a relationship where it's not a good match, right?
Usually doesn't end very well. So one of the best ways in my opinion to kind of, not that we can always avoid it, but to work towards avoiding something like that is really identifying your unique selling proposition, what it is that sets you apart. and utilizing that towards really building your brand so that there are, we don't mince words. This DSO represents these things. This is their core value. Are you a good fit for us or not? And so, and plus we don't want everybody as a client or a practice or, you know, to acquire everybody. Cause again, they're not all a fit. So I think it's really important for these DSOs.
And it's a struggle because of one thing, And hopefully, nobody gets mad at me for saying this, but one of the questions that I'll ask a DSO is, hey, what is it that sets you apart from everybody? And oftentimes it's a very similar answer. Well, we're doctor-owned and led patients first. Like I start to hear a lot of the same things and those really aren't differentiators. That's a similarity across the board. So really. Identifying what it is that sets you apart is what I believe sets these DSOs up for success.
Alec Goldman:
Yeah, so in all the customer conversations I have, and you say, what sets a small dental practice, or even a DSO different? And it's our team. And it really feels more like a table stake to your point of similarity. It's almost baseline rather than something that stands out. So that's obviously a tough conversation. You're really asking individuals and organizations to look within to say, What makes me unique and special? So how do you get that out of your customers to ensure that they're coming off as authentic?
Sarah Ruberg:
It really kind of starts with a conversation. You know, what is important to you? We'll even sit down. I've sat down with DSOs before and said, what's important to you? What is your selection process like? It's almost, I've been told that I'm similar to a life coach, which I love because I love helping people. It's my favorite thing. But even just talking about what kinds of practices are you looking for? What matters to you?
What kinds of practices don't you want to work with? What's really important to you? One of my good friends loves that DIY, I could imagine him being an HDTV show. He loves taking not damaged practices, but practices that really need to be rebuilt. He loves working with those fixer-uppers, I guess I'll call them. On the other end of the spectrum, I have a friend who that's the last kind of practice that they want to work with. They're a little bit more established. selective side. And they didn't really realize that until we started talking about it. And that's okay. I think sometimes maybe we're afraid to say, hey, we are a little bit more selective or, hey, I really like getting my hands dirty and fixing these practices. I feel like we're afraid to commit to one type or certain things, but it's really just about a conversation and just asking questions. What's important?
What kind, of what do you envision your process being? Or what is it that you want your practices to look like? What don't you enjoy? You know, it's like relationships. As we, as you have, as you get more established or have a longer relationship, or if you've had one that you end, this is just bear with me on this Alec, okay? I'm going somewhere good, I promise.
Sarah Ruberg:
Lots of things are relatable to relationships, right? And it's, if I don't know if you would agree, but as I've gotten older, it's easier for me to identify what I do want. When young, when I was younger, I was like, well, I definitely know what I don't want, you know, cause I had that experience, but having that balance of what am I looking for? What am I not looking for? So it's a really long answer to your question. I think it's just about having conversations and talking about. what it is that you want your practice or your overall brand to look like and feel like.
Alec Goldman:
Yep. I think in short terms, I think it's really just about asking, what is your ideal customer profile? Like who are you trying to attract? And given who you're trying to attract, you have to figure out what you want to embody and show off to those specific customers. And to your point, I think the biggest challenge that DSOs face as well, is my ideal customer profile is anybody with teeth. Right? And the problem there is that that's not specific enough. And you're really better off trying to talk to a very specific part of the market, whether it's younger patients who live in densities, who make X amount of dollars, who are working at these types of companies, that really lets you ask the question of who, and that then lets you kind of get into the what.
And I think that's kind of where. it makes a lot of sense that you're both branding. But when we say what, like what channels, where are you going? The social media aspect, right? Because if you're targeting, let's say, people who are north of 60, putting your message on LinkedIn doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It would be a big waste of time. But if you're targeting younger folks in the tech sector, it might make sense for you to actually have a Twitter, which I would not recommend for most. for most dental practices, given how visual the experience is. So it's really a thing about starting with knowing who you are. But I guess another question I have for you, given your expertise in social media, is what's your recommendation for DSOs in working and putting their content out on social media?
Sarah Ruberg:
That's a really good question. I think one thing we also have to talk about and remember is while it's great for utilizing social media and building our brand, it's not only great for a lot of things. Obtaining new patients, retaining existing patients, new potential team members, because if anybody thinks that... potential new hires are not looking at their social media to look and see what their culture, their brand is like. That's like a mindset we have to get rid of because they're totally looking at that. So it's an entire potential target, smaller group practices that you might be looking to acquire, and things like that. So there's kind of two, the overall corporate brand of a DSO as well as their individual locations. I personally think that LinkedIn is incredibly important to kind of like be in front of all of those people. TikTok, if you feel comfortable on TikTok, you have that TikTok. You go right on ahead. But not everybody feels comfortable doing that.
Alec Goldman:
It's an intimidating space. So where and how like what types of content are you recommending DSOs create to put on, you know, the social media platforms that you're, you know, pending who they are and who their ICP is? Um, and then also who are you recommending to make content at, at these, uh, at these large organizations?
Sarah Ruberg:
Ooh, that's a good question. So there's the 80-20 rule, right? 80% of your content should be educational, informative, entertaining, really kind of like shining a light into who it is, who you are as a brand. And then 20% really should be that like call to action, give us a call, here's our special that we're running this month or anything like that's really like more sales. So I think that that's an important rule to follow. People wanna know and like who they work with. People wanna know and like where they go. I personally, I even like to see, so no stock photography. I know that sometimes it's okay to use, but I like to know where I'm going. Even if it's just a picture of the parking lot and the practice if it's in a... You know, and so obviously I'm speaking from a patient perspective, but more personalized content, and who should be doing that for you? If you're, I think it's wonderful to have an internal team because then they're able to focus more on it.
Getting those assets from the different locations and things like that. Or if you're at the practice level, really utilizing someone who's physically in the location. But sometimes they don't, so somebody, so if I work with a DSO or if our company does, I always want to have what I refer to as an ambassador, an internal ambassador, somebody that I can collaborate with so that I can say, hey, this would be great content or this would be great graphics or assets or photos for you to provide for me. So, and we oftentimes we'll even work with an internal marketing department who can provide those things.
So I think it's great to have someone internal. And if you want them to work with someone external, like, I don't know, I'm kind of, I don't want to say I'm biased. I think so long as it's somebody, you know what, Alec, this is what I'll say. Somebody who cares to get that message out there, that's who I think. And if you have somebody on your team, but it can't just be. Social media should not be an afterthought. So it can't be that, hey, Sally Jo, you've got like 10 million other things that you're doing. Let's just put social media, no, do not do that. Please don't do that because it's gonna stress them out. And it really, it's a full-time job. It's important.
Alec Goldman:
Yeah, I even at NexHealth, I mean, I think something you just said is that anybody who cares, and kind of the mindset we are trying to adopt as an organization is that I think that content and creating content really falls on anybody's lap. Anybody who is passionate about something who has something to say about the industry, our customers, our product, or something they learned about the industry, I think should have the opportunity to get in front of the camera and share their thoughts. I think that's what creates an authentic brand. I think that that's the content. I think an organization is nothing more than a group of people that represent it. So trying to ensure that humans and the human touch is felt through social media channels is the very thing that I think organizations, DSO specifically, should be doing. So that kind of leads to a question of like, if you're a DSO, what are... What's good content? What types of questions are you asking DSOs to stimulate them to think about getting in front of the camera and saying something?
Sarah Ruberg:
And a lot of these things that we're talking about, the cool thing is that they can be applied to a DSO, an industry partner, any business really. And I think the type of content that you should be providing to people, and it's just me, and so I'll say, I call it DIY content. So the questions, the content that I believe resonates the most with people is when you give them, the information you provide value to them that they don't even have to use you for. They can then take that and do it themselves, whether that's care at home, whether that's, hey, small group practice that we're interested in acquiring.
Maybe we're not the right fit for you, but hey, here are a couple of things that you should look for in a DSO if you want to become a part of one. I like to tell people how they can do for themselves what they could also pay me to do for them. And it just, makes me more relatable. It makes me more approachable. They like to follow my content because it's helpful. So I think content that's helpful to people. So those questions are, Hey, who am I trying to talk to? How can I help them with? How can I give to give? without giving to receive. That's what I think is important content. So when they're asking themselves these questions, what should I share today? What can I tell people? What can I help them do themselves?
Alec Goldman:
Yeah, I forgot who I think we had here, someone on the show, or I may have jumped on another show, but a great, I think any question that your customer is asking while typing into Google, you can literally think about them typing into Google makes great content. So if you know, going through dentistry, it's like, how do I get a cavity filled or how, how do I ensure that the cavity that needs filling is done? painlessly. That's great content from a DSO's perspective to show how you give pain-free cavities to be filled, right? Or it's like, how much does it cost for Invisalign? Or do you offer lingual braces? Or whatever is going through their head. Those are all fair questions.
Who works at the office? Is the staff friendly? Can I book my appointment online as it relates to NexHealth? Whatever. Like all of those to me are great places. So for me, it's almost as if the questions and the content and thinking about it is easy, but the hard part is actually creating time and finding time. But even when you prod, it almost feels that the reason that they don't create time or find time is one of two reasons. One, they don't see the value, or two, they're actually scared. And given that your business... is on business development and social media, you clearly have success at either convincing them of the value or coaching them as a life coach to be less scared. So how do you handle both of those? How do you handle them not seeing the value? And then how, if it's not that, how do you coach them to not be so scared and to get in front of the camera?
Sarah Ruberg:
You know, it's funny. I think most people do see the value. I think that that's what they tell themselves, but underlying. And I just had this conversation with my COO, and I actually just posted about this today on LinkedIn. I think most people operate from coming from a place of fear. What if I don't have anything valuable to say? What if somebody doesn't react to my post? Like, what if? What if they don't like my content? What if I don't have anything important to say? So I, and. I love, love this part of my job because I do get to coach people on. You do have something valuable to say. I was talking to one of my clients and he said, Sarah, I don't have anything important to talk about.
I don't know what to post about. And maybe the next week he's like, I've read this really great book, Sarah, and this is what this book really made me think about and I really enjoyed reading it. I mean, he went on and on about this book and I thought. Why don't you post about that? That's a great thing. You're not directly talking about yourself. You're just saying, Hey, I read this book and it was really great. And he did. And of course, it performed well because I know what I'm talking about, but, um, which I love to tell people, but it's, it really is something for individuals to, for people to get over. And so I think it's just consistently. Cause it, there's value in it. You might not be able to 100% say, okay, I can determine the ROI from my posting on social media, because first of all, if you're at the practice level and you ask a patient, how did you hear about us?
And they say, Google. They could have seen you on Instagram and then gone to your Google. They have no idea. You really can't rely on that. Maybe every once in a while, we can directly pinpoint a lead that somebody gets through LinkedIn or Instagram. But it's one of my DSO clients actually. put this in such a perfect way is like, Sarah, how do I see success in the things that I do with social media? Or is it just a feeling? And I thought, that's a really great question and a really great insight because a lot of it is, can be a feeling. But it's just, you just have to work at it and understand. And I mean, understand that you do have, everybody has something important to say, provided you say it in a nice way. Don't be a butthead about it. That's my advice. Don't be a butt head. Isn't that the greatest thing ever?
Alec Goldman:
Yeah, I mean, you know, we listen, we're an organization in the dental space trying to grow our social media channels as well. Right. Like it's, it's tough. Right. And I think that something that we like to do is try and measure both our input. And also the output from that. Right. Because if you were to say, my goal is to get X number of followers, it's not something that you can necessarily control, but what we do want to ensure is that we have the right. input and say if we post this many times, engage this many times, the amount that other people post, and comment on other people's posts, we think it could then achieve that.
If we continuously set our input goals, maybe we exceed our output or come a little short, but we're at least getting better at understanding what are the types of things that we need to do in order to continue growing those channels. But yeah, I mean, there is totally a whole attribution issue, which is When you ask somebody how you found, and it's some companies you first touched, some do last, it's not necessarily indicative of all the content that they have absorbed that led to them contacting and reaching out. And that's obviously a step.
Sarah Ruberg:
Right. Well, and you and I were talking about it earlier because NexHealth does really do a great job on a corporate level of posting frequently and their content is great. We know a lot about NexHealth, but what we all as people want to know more about are the people who work or run... the company. And so another large piece of advice that I would give to any DSO who were to say to me, Sarah, how do we grow? Or any company, you have to have a face. You have to have a physical face of the company. And I know that it's uncomfortable and that a lot of CEOs don't have time.
Or even at these DSOs, biz dev people, biz dev people, salespeople in any of these companies. Having a personal brand and a voice indirectly draws attention to the company, but it really just also brings attention to you and people want to know and like who they work with. They want to feel this sense of trust and understanding so that when they see you in person, they think, hey, Alec, it's so great to finally meet you. I can't wait. Where's Mia? Because I'm sure she's attached to you at some point, right? So I can't wait to see her. So you know, it's... It's important to have a face. I don't want to say company content or corporate content isn't important. My company posts content, but where I get the most visibility is when I post something. So I think that's something important.
And you see Pat Bauer, Steve Thorn, Steve Bilt, you see all these big guys out there, whether or not it's the posting personally, or they have somebody doing it for them, they're out there. I know when I met Steve Bilt in person, based upon the content he posted, I knew he was just gonna be a wonderful human being. You know, and he was, because he's, I mean, you wanna make... You hope that the way somebody posts online is, and it's not always the case, that they're always authentically that way. But that's why that's really important because you wanna make sure that you're posting authentically. But that's like the number one thing when people say to me, wow, you are just, people will say you're just the way I thought you would be based upon the way you post. And that's always my favorite, but I have to have a face.
Alec Goldman:
Yeah, and I think encouraging those faces to figure out, you know, how to represent the company in a way that the company would be proud, but also making sure that they're true to themselves and speaking in a way that, you know, they're proud to communicate. That is, you know, I guess going full circle on the topic authentic.
Sarah Ruberg:
Agreed.
Alec Goldman:
Um, so we're coming up at the 26-minute mark, typically go to 30, um, 25, 30. Want to make sure that any last piece of advice for DSOs, obviously there's been a whole lot that we've covered. Um, one being authentic to getting in front of the camera, like getting your team to commit to getting in front of the camera, um, asking yourself what questions customers are asking. To kind of find a source of what type of content to make. What else would you leave kind of the DSO audience here of what, you know, they should be thinking about in terms of creating an authentic brand and sharing that authentic brand across social media?
Sarah Ruberg:
You know, I'm going to say to you the same thing that I said in my post today. My number one tip for anybody who wants to build a brand on social media is to just do something to start. It's the hardest part, right? And saying nothing is in fact saying something. So it doesn't have to be perfect perfectionism. So we operate out of fear and also perfectionism, high recovering perfectionists. So I get that but just do something. Nike it up people. Just do it. Even if you said once a week, and once a week turns to twice a week, just do something that is freaking attainable.
Sarah Ruberg:
Yeah, it's like, yes, attainable. And you know what? The one thing that I always swear by that I haven't even mentioned, and so I'll just say this because you mentioned it, engagement. Creating the content is important, but engaging within whatever industry, whatever target audience you have, if you're at the practice level, find a mom group in your area and engage with them, talk with them, and court them in the comments before you even think about it. sending them a cold message. So engagement is, in my opinion, just as important if not a little bit more important than even content. So that's my last piece of advice.
Alec Goldman:
Sarah, thank you for joining us today.