How to Grow Your Practice Using Dental Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing for dentists is essential to any dental marketing strategy. In dentistry, social media is used to connect with both current dental patients and new patients in a personal way that isn’t always available through other means. It allows dental professionals to build trust and awareness by providing helpful information, responding to questions from potential patients, and engaging in real conversations rather than just selling their dental services.
A social media platform is a way for dental practices to tell their story through pictures and videos rather than words on a page.
That said, let’s dive into some of the dental best social media marketing strategies that dental professionals can use to reach more local patients and grow their dental practice.
7 Top Strategies to Grow Your Dental Practice
1) Post Quality And Informational Content Consistently
As far as social media strategy and marketing go, creating content is the name of the game.
There are a few different schools of thought on what’s most effective for dental social media posts, but it’s clear that for success with dental social media, you need to create engaging content – textual, visual content, and video content that informs your followers about dental care, dental health and other important information related to oral health, your dental office, dental hygiene and the dental industry in general. In order to connect with the most potential patients, it’s also important to create content to target specific audiences and to post to the correct social media channels.
When you create content that’s high quality and relevant, it helps build trust because you’re showing both your existing patients and potential patients that you’re an authority on dental health by providing helpful information. You don’t want to simply post links back to your website; instead, aim for informative blog posts (like this one!) or share photos or videos that will give people value without leaving your Facebook page, Instagram post, or whatever social media page you’re posting to.
And since people love visuals, it’s essential to feature photos and create videos, as they will always perform and attract patients better than plain text social media posts—especially regarding engagement.
That being said, there are still instances where it’s best to post text updates on social media platforms. For example, if you’re hosting an event or want to provide some helpful tips on the topic of your social media posts, use text posts for those updates instead.
The reason why people follow brands on social media is that they want more information about the product that’s being sold. And if you don’t give them valuable content that helps solve their problems (e.g., how to prevent tooth decay), they won’t follow you anymore. According to Marketo, 77% of buyers rely on social networks like Facebook and Twitter when researching products before purchasing them online!
2) Post According To Your Audience’s Interests
When creating content, it’s essential to take note of the types of updates people share on social media. To generate engagement in dental social media success, follow what your competitors or brands in your industry are doing.
For example, if they’re regularly posting photos and videos with tips on brushing teeth properly, that might be a good topic for you to focus on as well. Chances are that most of the posts you create will be shared with your followers because they find them helpful and informational—which is great news for generating awareness about your dental practice’s name!
3) Post Frequently On Popular Days And Times Of The Week (But Not Too Often!)
You’ll probably notice that some days perform better than others regarding social media engagement. If you want more likes, comments, and shares on your posts, ensure you schedule posts during peak hours.
For example, according to Buffer, these are the best days and times for Facebook engagement: Monday at 5 PM; Tuesday at 11 AM, 2 PM, or 3 PM; Wednesday – Thursday at 4 PM, 7 PM, 8 PM, or 9 PM Saturday at 1 PM Sunday at any time Chances are that certain days of the week will perform better than others because people have their smartphones with them throughout the day—so they can check in whenever they have some downtime!
4) Make Sure Your Posts & Profiles Are Consistent
You’ll also want to ensure that your profile picture, cover photo, and bio are consistent on all your social media accounts. When it comes to social media, prospective patients want to know what they’re getting themselves into before they follow you—which is why your social media pages (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) and your dental website need to have similar branding elements.
Another thing is that the photos you post should be high-quality; Instagram especially prefers larger images because of their square shape. You can create this type of image using a program like Canva, which makes it easy for anybody to edit photos with templates! Hundreds of free templates are available on Canva, so you can use whichever one fits your brand best.
5) Get Attention By Using Hashtags & Participating In Trending Conversations
Another critical thing to note is that you should get involved in current discussions by using hashtags, which are keywords used to categorize photos and videos on social media sites. For example, if you’re talking about a new product you launched, consider including the hashtag #NewProduct!
Using hashtags can help people find your posts because they’re searching for them—which means more exposure for your business! However, there are times when people use hashtags without understanding how it works. For example, if someone’s post has nothing to do with photography or travel but includes the hashtags #photooftheday or #Travel, their post will not be found by the people they’re hoping to attract.
Before you start using hashtags, ensure you know how to use them effectively so your posts are more visible to your target audience!
Another way is to participate in trending conversations by tweeting key topics or phrases before they go viral. This can help you get ahead of what’s coming next—which means that if someone searches for the topic online, your tweet might show up at the top for everyone to see!
For example, if a dental practice tweets, “We’re excited to launch our new #dental implants,” before anyone else does, it has a better chance of being found and retweeted. But make sure that you only use trending topics to promote your products and services if they align with your company’s mission and values!
6) Share Patient Testimonials
Patient testimonials of your dental office are a powerful form of social proof that contribute significantly to the quest for new dental patients. So, it’s important to encourage patients to leave reviews of your dental practice on a review site, with the best choice typically being your Google Business Profile. These patient testimonials and reviews should be prominently displayed on your dental website and all of your social media platforms, as they are beneficial in converting potential patients into new patients. Furthermore, there are online reputation management services that can help make the entire patient testimonial process quick, easy, and effective.
7) Post Frequently On Instagram (And Consider Social Media Ads)
Last but not least, consider posting frequently on Instagram. While Facebook is more text-based and Twitter is quick snippets of information, Instagram falls somewhere in between as a visual platform where images play a significant role in presenting ideas.
Since there are no character restrictions on posts like on Twitter, you can share extended captions about what’s going on with your brand! This is also why we recommend using the bio section to provide links to your website since this will encourage users who see your picture or video to click through to your website.
Pro Tip: Organic marketing, like SEO for dentists, is also essential for patient acquisition, but you have to keep patience for it. On the other hand, if you have money to invest, you can get quick results by running paid ads, such as Instagram ads, to get the word out about the new products and services you’ve launched! We suggest testing Instagram ads because they can be very effective when done right. For example, a dental practice might promote posts that include pictures of what makes them stand out from their competitors or why people should visit their dental office instead.
Final Words
As a dental professional, digital marketing for dentists, including dental social media marketing, is becoming increasingly popular to grow dental practices. Promoting your dental practice on various social media channels is an ongoing process that requires regular posting and engagement—especially on platforms like Facebook and Twitter, where businesses must maintain a consistent presence to build relationships to create loyal patients.
These social media marketing strategies for dentists aim to increase your dental practice’s exposure and help potential patients find you when they need you.
Do You Need Help with Your Social Media Marketing Efforts?
No time to develop a social media marketing plan? NewStar is an experienced and accomplished full-service online marketing agency, and we can help by providing an effective online marketing strategy for your dental practice. With substantial experience and a strong track record of success, including SEO, social media, Google Maps marketing, and website design and development, we can help you grow your practice, as we have done for many healthcare professionals. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation online consulting session.