While dental practices have looked into referral advertising for a long while, and admittedly it has been quite successful, however, owing to the advent of social media the entire reach of advertising has increased exponentially. Yes, patient referrals continue being crucial, however, when you have a social media presence that is carefully curated you can not only control the conversation and forge better relationships, it also provides you with a space to be able to cultivate credibility, along with brand equity.
It is estimated that by 2021, as an industry we are looking at dentistry to touch a $37 billion milestone, now when you look at getting a lion’s share of the profits, upping your social media game and paying adequate attention to your online presence is necessary.
Why is Social Media Marketing Important for Dentists?
Even though social media marketing might be a fairly new concept, when it comes to dental practises, those that have managed to adopt, have been seeing steady growth.
The actual challenge that dental practises face lies in the fact that people generally end up forgetting the scheduled appointments, or sometimes just avoid visiting the dentist since they fear dental visits. Social media hence can not only act as a reminder but also help people in overcoming any fears by gaining their confidence. Hence, convincing potential patients that your clinic can deliver a professional, pleasant, pain-free experience is where your entire sales pitch lies and what you truly should be focusing on delivering.
What Are The Advantages of Social Media for Dental Practices?
Dental practises both big and small, the right dental advertisement through social media can go a long way in garnering the right kind of patients that you want for your practice. So, here’s taking a look at how you can utilise the benefits of social media for your practice:
- Foster Meaningful Relationships: It is no secret that the thought of a dental appointment can be stuff made of nightmares for a lot of people so much so that they try to do away with it altogether. Hence, to make sure that people feel comfortable, you can utilise social media to establish an image of security and comfort. From customer testimonials to experiences of your clients, friendly images of the office and of course the results of your work – all of these go a long way in establishing better relationships with your patients both existing and potential.
- Attracting Your Target Clientele: We all know that people take healthcare seriously, and to this end, they like to conduct adequate research before narrowing down on the service. From Google search to looking for practices on social media, having an online presence can help you in attracting new clients. Statistically speaking, in a recent survey more than 70% of people admitted that they have gone for a service or product, just because they saw it on social media and found the reviews to be favourable. Hence you can leverage social media to attract new clients for your dental practice.
- Show Your Expertise: We have all heard the term ‘Going Viral’ and this is precisely something that you can utilise for your advantage. Coming across as a leader by writing articles, posting videos, sharing information, etc. The great way to showcase your leadership and also your experience and professionalism in the industry.
Utilizing Social Media Platforms: Having talked about how social media platforms can be leveraged to advantage for your dental practice, let’s take a look at how you can utilise a few of them.
- Facebook: One of the most popular social media platforms out there, the reach of Facebook advertising is phenomenal, and once you fine-tune it to your requirements you can put your practice out there. Apart from that, you can cultivate a better relationship with the audience by sharing photos of your team and office as well as clients, linking to blog posts, providing updates, running promotions, having live Q and A sessions, etc.
- YouTube: The visual impact of YouTube is something that can work in your favour, quite massively. With things like giving a tour of your facility, patient testimonials, demonstrations, tips, etc. you can put out content that will help you in building a better relationship with your audience.
- Twitter: Owing to its appeal to a wide selection of audiences, when you want to engage with your clients quickly, and attract attention – Twitter is the way to go. You can utilise best practice such as sharing relevant content from peers, using hashtags effectively, responding to questions regarding dental care, live-tweeting from any conference, etc. all these will help you in gaining quick attention on social media.
- Instagram: Instagram can be leveraged in a variety of manners giving you the option of re-sharing content from your patience, BTS scenes, showing before and after photos, running promotions and competitions, etc. Just make sure that your pictures are professional and your content is crisp and you will be good to go.
A few key best practices to keep in mind would be:
- Utilise your workforce, and let them post and share content on their own personal social media channels that can give you a wider reach.
- Try to create a professional yet comfortable image, and or Joe coming from time to time, can you help in making your practice seem more relatable.
- Helpful content, that is going to be useful for your clients, from tips about dental hygiene to keeping disease at bay etc.
- Checking in with your audience from time to time is a great idea, encourage them to ask questions and make sure you answer them.
- Engaging in live Q & A videos can be a great way of getting your audience to interact with you and show interest.
Apart from this, going the regular way of asking for review and referrals that you can utilise on social media is a great way to make sure that your practice is getting the attention it needs. Utilising all these points that we have mentioned above can help you in upping your social media game and use it to help your practice grow.