Rockin’ 2010 With Dr. Nate

I first heard about Dr. Nate a few months ago when I was chatting with a fellow Twitterer about different events he had promoted. It wasn’t until Michele Northrup recommended him for my Rockin’ 2010 post that I actually dug around the Interwebs to see all that Dr. Nate is doing.

The very first thing that caught my eye were the amazing giveaways he is doing through BrightEyes. (Coach frames are up for winning this month! ) Another thing I noticed when I really started watching was how Dr. Nate was always providing quality content through the Social Platforms of Facebook and Twitter. Not only does Dr. Nate provide the content, he thanks people for retweeting and engages in conversation <gasp> I know, it’s amazing that entrepreneurs actually do that. OK OK it isn’t that amazing, but so many small businesses and large corporations feel that if they shove their content repeatedly in front of our noses we will buy, patronize or help promote them when in return all they are really doing is irritating people that came Online to actually be SOCIAL.

OK so back to the Rockstar and why he is Rockin’ 2010…. In July 2006, Dr. Nate purchased an optometry office, Bright Eyes Family Vision Care, in the Westchase neighborhood of Tampa.  Bright Eyes features a children’s waiting area with books and activities, glasses for children and adults, as well as specialty services in vision therapy and orthokeratology/corneal reshaping.

The most exciting new development underway at Bright Eyes is the use of social media. Beginning with a website and blog several years ago, Dr. Bonilla-Warford has expanded the way he communicates with patients to include Facebook and Twitter.  Recently, he has begun researching and attending conferences about social media, which has improved his effectiveness as well. Social media has been an extremely dynamic and rewarding undertaking in a variety of ways.

Social media allows Dr. Nate  a closer relationship with current patients. Long-standing patients will put up a quick comment on the Facebook page, blog, or Twitter. One of the nice things about about being a local, family practice is that you get to know your patients and they get to know you. This is even easier with social media. Social media also allows Bright Eyes to make new relationships with people in the community. Via social media, patients have referred others, people have learned about the services offered and people who never heard of Bright Eyes otherwise have become patients. Dr. Bonilla-Warford has earned the trust of his patients and the online communities in which he participates. At a TweetUp, he randomly sat next to Michele Northrup (another Rockin’ 2010 feature) and tasted her Intensity Academy hot sauce. She and her family have since become Bright Eyes patients and although hot sauce and eye care have almost nothing in common they have both thought of creative ways to promote each others businesses.

Bright Eyes has also grown closer with other businesses and organization in the Tampa Bay area. Business people are often so busy that they do not have time to connect to each other during the work day, but sites like Facebook and Twitter act as an ongoing business mixer, allowing for ideas and plans to develop long before meeting in person. One example of this is Bright Eyes’ relationship with Localshops1.com. Although Dr. Bonilla-Warford supports local business and had visited the Localshops1.com site, it was only through Twitter that he got know know its owner, Ester Venouziuo and has developed a great camaraderie with her. Localshops1 has featured Bright Eyes and Dr. Bonilla-Warford in its quarterly publication, which has helped reach even more patients.

But social media has not just been a local phenomena for Bright Eyes. Dr. Bonilla-Warford’s interest in social media has caught the eye (pun intended)  of optometrists nationally as well. He has been asked to chair the Social Media Public Relations Committee for the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, an organization dedicated to children’s vision problems and treatment. He also has admins Peripheral Vision, a Facebook page dedicated to helping other optometrists learn about social media.

****UPDATE (MAY 8, 2010)****

Just recently Dr. Nate founded (yes I said founded) Foursquare Day! Dr. Nate was the genius mind behind the Global Social Media Holiday. Who would have thought that 4 square is 4/16 making 4/16/10 the First Global Social Media Holiday? Well I sure didn’t, but Dr. Nate did! You can read my blog post all about Foursquare Day and how it all came to be here in Tampa Bay and all around the world because of this man.

Oh and check out Dr. Nate on FOX 13 here in Tampa! I’m telling y’all, this man is totally Rockin’ It!

Foursquare Day from Foursquare Day on Vimeo.

For more information on Dr. Nate please visit BrightEyesNews.com

You can follow Dr. Nate on Twitter (@BrightEyesTampa)

Fan up Bright Eyes on Facebook

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For more information on “Rockin’ 2010″ please click HERE

If you would like to nominate someone for “Rockin’ 2010″ you can email me at kim[at]kimrandall[dot]biz

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Please check back periodically to see who is “Rockin’ 2010″