Every dentist knows that maintaining a steady stream of patients can be as equally challenging as acquiring new ones.
While there are patients that truly prioritize their oral health, others take months or even years to book their next appointment. That means a lot of extra effort is involved in keeping your patients engaged and driving new people to your practice.
Enter social media for dentists.
In today’s digital age, social media marketing is one of the best investments a business can make. How so? The numbers speak for themselves.
- 52% of brand discovery online come from social media
- 90% of marketers have seen an increased exposure of their businesses through their social media marketing efforts, while 75% have noticed a growth in traffic
- 50% of marketers who have used social media marketing for two years have seen a growth in their sales
- 43% of internet users believe that social media is a major source of information when making a purchasing decision
- 70% of consumers expect businesses to use social media to provide customer service
- 71% of consumers who’ve had a positive experience with a brand on social channels are likely to recommend it to others
But, with Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and every platform in between attracting different audiences, how do you make the most out of your social presence?
Build brand awareness, showcase your knowledge, drive organic traffic, and strengthen your relationship with your existing and potential patients by following these best practices:
Ready to begin? Let’s get to it!
1. Post Quality Content Consistently
If you’re looking for a way to demonstrate your expertise as a dental practice while keeping your followers as engaged as possible at the same time, educational content related to oral hygiene should be a cornerstone of your strategy.
Providing dental tips in the form of infographics and how-to videos on a regular basis can make all the difference in your business.
The more relevant and informative your content is, the more people will view you as a reputable dentist, thus increasing their chances of scheduling an appointment with you.
Oh, and don’t forget to share links every time you publish a new blog on your site! This can drive more traffic to your website, which is hopefully designed to convert.
Besides oral hygiene tips, here are other dental social media posts that will drum up the interest of your audience:
- Before and After Photos
There’s no better way to prove how skilled of a dentist you are than by displaying photos of your masterpiece aka your patients and their new shimmering teeth and contagious smiles. Just be sure to ask for their permission first before you show them off for the whole world to see.
- Dental Facts
Whenever you come across an intriguing dental fact on the internet or a book you’ve been reading, like gum disease being the number one cause of tooth loss, share it with your followers. Using dental facts is always a great way to encourage your patients and prospects to visit your dental office for regular cleanings.
- Patient Reviews
Show your followers why they can count on you to take care of their oral health by flaunting your patient reviews on your social platforms. Use a simple image editor like Canva to come up with an image containing the reviews and post away. You can also provide a link to your Google Business Profile for them to read more feedback.
- Toothbrush Change Reminders
Many people don’t bother changing their toothbrushes every three months, so why not remind them by posting a status? Seeing that you care about them will give them a reason to support you.
- Team Members
Make your prospective patients feel more comfortable when they visit you for the first time by introducing your team members on social media. Post their photos along with a brief bio and their respective roles. Better yet, produce a quick video of them introducing themselves in a fun and lively manner.
2. Include a Strong Call to Action
Social media serves as a medium for discovery. That’s why you should always have a call to action or CTA in place.
Whichever channels you’re using, don’t forget to add a clear and compelling CTA in the bio section and captions. What action do you want your followers to take? Book an appointment? Visit your dental website? Subscribe to your newsletter? Let them know through your call to action!
3. Get Personal
Social media is more than just a platform to keep your dental patients posted about the latest happenings in your practice. It also presents an opportunity for you to develop a relationship with your followers on a deeper level by showing the human side of your business.
By adding a personal face to your dental social media accounts, you appear more trustworthy and relatable to your audience. This makes it much quicker for you to turn them into new patients.
Show what you do and what you offer while throwing in some zany and quirky things every now and then. Give your followers a voice too by asking questions about their oral hygiene routine and whatnot.
4. Leverage the Power of FOMO
The fear of missing out, or FOMO for short, is a phenomenon that most marketers today have been taking advantage of. People don’t like the idea of missing out on whatever it is brands are sharing in real-time, as it makes them feel left out.
And so, this is where you use limited-time content such as Live videos and Stories.
In fact, many dental businesses today are connecting with their audience through Instagram Stories and Facebook Live. They would livestream dental procedures such as teeth cleaning or whitening, others host an Ask Me Anything session, and then there are those who’d simply post surveys or polls to start a conversation.
5. Run Contests or Giveaways
Businesses run social media contests or giveaways for numerous reasons: from retaining patients and attracting new ones to elevating brand awareness. After all, who doesn’t love freebies and exclusive deals?
If you’re not sure where to start, here are four ideas that will get your followers excited to participate:
- Best caption: Simply post a silly photo of you or someone in your team and ask your followers to caption it.
- Last-minute giveaway: Run a contest within a short time frame to create a sense of urgency so you can entice more followers to join.
- “Biggest fan” giveaway: Ask your patients to share a selfie of them showing off their brightest smile after a dental procedure, preferably while holding a sign that says “I love my dentist!” Have them share the photo in their feeds along with a caption, and remind them to tag you in order to qualify.
- Holiday themed giveaway: Whenever there’s a national holiday coming up, make it a point to host a social media contest. For instance, if it’s Halloween, have your followers share a photo of them in their costumes. The one with the scariest outfit obviously gets to win a prize.
Social Media for Dentists is a Must! Need a Professional Team to Tailor a Strategy for Your Practice?
There’s no denying that dental social media can be a powerful tool in giving your business the boost it needs. Whether your goal is to keep your patient base strong and sturdy, maintain a strong online presence, or establish yourself as an industry expert, it’s truly the way to go.
However, with so much going on in your hands, formulating a social media marketing plan could be one of the last things in your mind. You might as well leave it to the experts to do all the heavy lifting.
Guess what? We at Arthur Marshall are proud to tell you that we’ve teamed up with one of the most recognized digital marketing agencies in America – Digital Resource. With their tremendous expertise and years of experience working with various dental practices across the country, you can trust them to bring you social media success in no time!
To learn more about their work, head over to their website.
