» social media

Yelp is Official in Tampa!

Dr. Nate — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:27:25 +0000

At Bright Eyes we try to stay ahead of the game when it comes to social media. We’ve had the blog for about 4 years now. We have fun with Facebook and Twitter. When foursquare was available in Tampa, I was one of the first local bloggers to write about it. As turned out, that was pretty successful.

Well, I am excited to share the news that Yelp is official in Tampa! If you are not familiar with it, Yelp is a social online business review site. People use the site to help decided where to go and then share opinions about their experiences afterward, good and bad. You can read a more detailed explanation on my Westchase Patch blog here.

I have been using Yelp personally since early 2009 and have found it to be a lot of fun. We’ve also established a Bright Eyes account and have been offering Yelp discounts and check-in rewards check in for a quiet a while. But now that we have an official Tampa Yelp representative, we have lots of more options includingReviews of the Day, Newsletters, and official events. So get excited! This is yet more validation that we have a thriving tech scene in Tampa. It is something we should be proud of and continue to develop!

If you have any questions about how yelp works either for consumer business, don’t hesitate to let me know.

(PS: I’m still excited about Google Plus! If you haven’t had the opportunity to try it out yet, let me know and I will get you an invite as soon as I can.)

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Optometric Business Innovators of 2011

Dr. Nate — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 00:43:19 +0000

Recently I was surprised and delighted to learn that I was selected by VisionMonday and Review of Optometric Business as one of the 20 “Doc Stars in Practice Management.” The piece highlights the people who they feel are the Optometric Business Innovators of 2011.

I typically do not like to toot my own horn in a blog post. If I am mentioned in an article, or am published somewhere, I’ll most likely link to it on our Facebook page. Perhaps one of the Bright Eyes staff will write a post about the story. But it isn’t normally my thing to write, in essence, “Everyone stop what you are doing and look at how great I am.” But being named one of the top optometric innovators was special and so I figured I’d write about it.

In the spirit of disclosure, I should note that I am a paid writer for both Vision Monday and Review of Optometric Business. I don’t think I was a shoo-in because the selection panel was diverse and most of those chosen didn’t have any tie to them. But it does make it a little bit sweeter because these are some of the biggest names in eye care publishing and I’m happy to have developed this relationship with them.

I was selected for my use of “Digital Media.” The other categories were Marketing, Patient Experience, Influencers, Eyewear Dispense, Contact Lens Dispensing, and Business Management. I feel I am in very good company among the honorees. These include my friends Dr. Justin Bazan, Dr. Alan Glazier, and Dr. Derron Lee as well as some eyecare heroes such as Dr. Brad Williams, Dr. Tommy Crooks, and Dr. Glenn Ellisor. You can find a complete list of the recipients here.

Of course, since this was for innovation, there will be no resting on any laurels at Bright Eyes. We have several new ideas to roll out and I’m happy that I’m involved in some great projects in Tampa. Where all this takes us, well, we never know. But it is exciting, isn’t it!?

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Foursquare Day and the Press Conference with Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn

Dr. Nate — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 00:28:25 +0000

(click to watch video)

I can certainly say that it is has been a remarkable journey. If you are not familiar, Foursquare Day started a little over a year ago when I was trying to find a way to have a fun event for Bright Eyes using foursquare and, to my surprise, the idea was very popular. In three weeks, it went global. You can read about happened in 2010 here and the recent story in the Tampa Tribune here.

This year, thanks to volunteers in Tampa and around the world, it was an event greater success. Foursquare Day was officially proclaimed by 19 mayors around the world, including Michael Bloomberg of New York City, and Tampa’s newly elected Bob Buckhorn. Over 1000 parties were held all over the world and money was raised for many great causes such as the Humane Society, Red Cross, food banks, and Japanese disaster relief.

April 16th was a busy one for me. After a few hours of sleep in Houston, TX, where I had spoken the day before to eye docs about Facebook, I flew back to Tampa early. I rushed for an interview for Bay News 9, did some blogging for 4sqday.com and then participated in a press conference with Mayor Buckhorn. It was very cool to spend time with the mayor talking about social media in a relaxed setting, outside by the Sail Pavilion. Then Mayor Buckhorn and I spoke at the podium about the importance of social media and business development, before Mayor Buckhorn proclaimed Jason Cyr the “Foursquare Mayor of Tampa.”

Until next year!

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Tampa Mayor Buckhorn and others to Celebrate Foursquare Day

Dr. Nate — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 22:54:13 +0000

Wow, what a crazy few days. I’m in Houston, TX for an optometry meeting and Foursquare Day got a nice write up in The Tampa Tribune, which featured a nice pictures of me. Very cool.

Mayor Bob Buckhorn will sign a proclamation naming the Foursquare Mayor of Tampa in honor of Foursquare Day. The event will take place at the Sail Pavilion on the Riverwalk at Tampa Convention Center on Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 2:04 p.m.

Mayor Buckhorn, myself and others will speak at the event, held in celebration of Foursquare Day and to help raise awareness about ways social marketing can be used to increase business. Tools such as Foursquare are not only an easy way to promote a business, but it is free, making it an affordable option to add to a marketing program.

After the real mayor’s event, we’ll be heading over to the Tampa Tap Room for the 4sqday party. Free drinks and give-aways, it will be a lot of fun!

Yesterday Mayor Michael Bloomberg proclaimed April 16th to be Foursquare Day for New York City. As the Huffington Post reports, NYC joins many cities in making Foursquare Day Official. This is all very exciting, the Mashable story even refers to me by name as the originator of Foursquare Day.

And lastly, don’t forget our big Foursquare Day Sale!

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Major Discount for New Yelp Patients!

Dr. Nate — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:18:16 +0000

We love new patients! We love Yelp! We have a huge offer for Yelpers new to the practice! $50 discount on any purchase or service! You absolutely cannot beat that deal.

Click on the screenshot above for more info.

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Mark Regen Interviews Dr. Nate about Social Media

Edna — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 16:35:56 +0000

Yesterday, self-described online marketing fanatic Mark Regan interviewed Dr. Nate about social media. Here is the opening:

In this week’s interview of Online Marketing experts here in the Tampa Bay area, I had the chance to hook up with Dr. Nathan Bonilla-Warford (Dr. Nate), owner of Bright Eyes Family Vision Care in the Westchase area of Tampa. He sprang onto the Tampa scene early this year with…

I’ll let him tell the story.

The interview covers Dr. Nate’s early interest in social media, Foursquare Day, local social media, healthcare marketing and more. Click here to read the interview in full and learn more.

Enjoy!

Edna Moore
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Dr. Nate to Speak about Social Media at TEDx

Dr. Nate — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 12:38:24 +0000

Wow! What a busy month! On Thursday, October 7, I had the honor of speaking at the First Annual Click Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The conference was organized by Vision Monday and my talk , entitled “(Social Media Offers Great) Ways to Meet People (in Real Life),” was a light-hearted look at how many amazing and dynamic folks I’ve met through social media. It was a lot of fun!

The following week, I attended one of my favorite events, the annual meeting of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development. I am the co-chair of their Public Relations Committee and, as such, was part of a small group that delivered a talk about social media to about 200 optometrists who specialize in children’s vision and vision therapy.

And just when things are starting to settle down to a normal, crazy pace at the office, I am preparing to speak at TEDx PalmaCeia on November 16! I am a big fan of TED, and am very excited to be able to participate in this event. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design and its mission to highlight ideas worth spreading. You can go to TED.com and instantly find hundreds of amazing videos about incredible things.

TEDx events are local. From the TEDx PalmaCeia website:

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. Our event is called TEDxPalmaCeia. At our TEDxPalmaCeia event, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized.

There will be some fantastic speakers, including my friend Kim Randall, Chris Blackerby, Mark Katz, and organizer Chris Krimitsos. So check it out at the official link here. If you are coming, or are thinking about coming, check out the Facebook event (but you register at the official site). I’d love to see you there!

PS: I like public-speaking and am available for future talks. You can read about some of the past talks I’ve given here.

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Patient Spotlight: Mark Regan

Dr. Nate — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 16:32:52 +0000

I first became aware of Mark when he checked in to Bright Eyes on foursquare. In fact, as he held down the mayorship for about 6 weeks, I got to know him better and was always interested in his ideas about social media and living in Tampa Bay. I thought he’d make a great subject for the Patient Spotlight! -Dr. Nate

Dr. Nate: Mark, I think of you as a social media marketer, but your background really is as a coder. Can you tell me about what that transition was like?

Mark, That’s right, I grew up writing code on routers and mainframes for IBM and Cisco. As I moved into management I started becoming interested in the marketing side of the equation. So I dabbled in product management and technical marketing. Then one day in 2006 I learned about web analytics, this wonderful sweet spot between the technical and the marketing. From there I’ve grown into online marketing as my fanatical passion. Social media is an integral part of that space.

Your current project “31 Days of Wobtoberfest” is very creative. Tell me about how you came up with the idea.

I’ve read a lot about people during projects like this from Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen to DotComGuy.com to Rolf Pott’s Round the World with No Baggage and dreamed of doing something similar. But I have a job and a family. On September 4^th of this year while driving home from a Gator game in Gainesville, the idea literally popped into my head. That night my wife enthusiastically signed on. Now I am blogging daily at www.31wob.com during October from the World of Beer around the corner.

That is great. How it has been received by people online/offline?

80% of the people get it within the 30 seconds. The other 20% will never really understand what it’s about. To them it’s the beer and a waste of time and money. I don’t bother trying to convert them.

What else are you working on?

I try to experiment with everything I read or hear about if it interests me. Next up, I’d like to partner with someone on another short, focused project that doesn’t focus on profits, but rather makes me smarter and allows me to make mistakes with little downside. I have the ideas but it’s really about the time and collaboration with others to make them happen.

Anything else you want to share?

Tampa has such a high quality of life. Yet it’s really hard to find those fanatics like myself here in town. I wish there was some place for us to get together and collaborate without having business cards jammed in your face. I can dream, can’t I?

Thanks for letting me be a part of your Patient Spotlight, Nate! I’m glad we got to know each other.

No problem. It was fun!

If you’d like to join Mark for 31 Days of Wobtoberfest, check out www.31wob.com. The acrtually Wobtoberfest celebration is this Friday and Saturday October, 22nd and 23rd. PS: My birthday is the 23rd.

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Girl’s Life Saved Due to Facebook Photo

Dr. Nate — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 14:56:13 +0000

This is a great example of how the tools of social media can have very significant real-world positive effects.

Retinoblastoma is a very serious eye cancer. It only affects children. This is because its kills everyone who has it by five years of age. Because the eyes are connected directly with the brain, the cancer takes over the eye, then the brain and continues to spread until the victim dies.

Surprisingly, most retinobastoma is not found by a pediatrician or eye doctor, but by a friend or family member who sees something wrong with the child’s eyes. Usually this is either a white-look pupil or an eye turn.

Recently the Daily Mail newspaper in England reported this exact scenario: A friend did see a problem with 2 year old Grace’s eyes. It turned out to be retinoblastoma, which was successfully treated. But here is the twist: the friend, a nurse, saw the problem via a photo on Facebook.

In addition to the fantastic result for Grace, there are two other points here. The first is that social media will continue to help improve education and medical care over time and this is an early example. The second is that thorough, early eye exams are a good idea. The American Optometric Association recommends exams at 6 months of age, three years of age, and before kindergarten. The InfantSEE program supports this by providing no-cost eye exams to patients between the ages of 6 and 12 months.

If you have a young child, be sure to schedule an appointment with your optometrist. You never know what problems might be found.

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

What I Learned at Barcamp…a Social Media Internet Marketing Grass Roots Organization

Dr. Nate — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 18:39:11 +0000

This is a guest post from Rae Catanese. I first met her at the American Optometrist Association meeting in Orlando. She was doing an excellent job providing social media exposure for an optical equipment supplier. Since then I have seen her several times at Tampa social media events, including BarCamp Tampa Bay. When she offered to write a guest post about BarCamp, I jumped at the chance! Enjoy! – Dr. Nate

What is Barcamp?

Barcamp Tampa started 3 years ago and has evolved into a community in itself. Barcamp isn’t what it sounds like. No beer, at least not until after the conference. Barcamp is a grass roots movement created to change the way the world interacts with people. It’s a like-minded community of social media, savvy internet marketing professionals and geeks, coming together to share information. This isn’t your typical conference, it’s an “unconference,” which means that there are presentations throughout the day but they are done by willing attendees instead of invited speakers.

How one idea spread throughout the World using Foursquare…

What is Foursquare? Foursquare is a location based application used as a check-in tool at businesses utilizing GPS technology on your cell phone.

One of most recognized Optometrists in Tampa Bay, Nathan Bonilla-Warford, or just “Dr. Nate” as we call him, founded Foursquare Day. Dr. Nate was joined by several other savvy internet marketing colleagues, who didn’t know when they started the effort that it would have such an explosive impact viral marketing effect..

Foursquare Day was an idea to encourage the use of the application and to also promote local businesses. What happened in Tampa Bay didn’t stay in Tampa Bay. The grass roots effort spread virally throughout the world to 35 countries using social media tools like Facebook and twitter. McDonald’s caught on and joined the effort; the company reported that the Foursquare Day Campaign brought in 33% more foot traffic.

Dr. Nate is truly a pioneer in the eye care industry for strategic social media marketing and branding. He uses the technology in his own practice to increase awareness and promote sales events. If you don’t know what Foursquare is you can check out the application here http://foursquare.com/. It’s a great viral word of mouth marketing tool for restaurants and retail establishments.

Read more about how Foursquare Day got started http://blog.4sqday.com/about/. You can also follow Nate on his Facebook Page if you’d like.

By Rae Catanese
Social Media Marketing Strategist

http://Twitter.com/realtyrae
http://facebook.com/tamparealestateinsider

We love guest posts that are relevant to our audience. If you are interested, please let us know!

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.