For decades, dentists relied almost solely on word of mouth marketing and reputation to help them build their practice. But it's 2020, and more likely than not, our world is revolving all day around social media. You can do the simple math - the majority of your patients and prospective patients use social media, which will most likely only expand as technology and the way we use it to continue to progress. With the current technology boom and increased impact of social media, people are more inclined to look for dentist recommendations online.
Are you utilizing social media for the good of your dental practice? Whether it's blogging, video marketing, paid social ads, or even podcasts, you have to learn the specifics of social media marketing for dentists.
So why is social media important?
Establishing patient relationships
If your dental practice doesn't have an online presence in today's digital environment, people may not even come to know its existence. You wouldn't want your physical clinic location to be difficult to find or far away from the places frequented by the average patient in your target market. One should have a user-friendly, optimized practice website, and then you should establish links between your website and your presence on social media platforms and review outlets. More traffic to and from your site and dental social media profiles means more new patient opportunities. The more people see of your practice online and in-person, and the better it looks to them, the more apt they are to contact your clinic.
Showcase your cases and spread oral awareness
By sharing photos of clinical cases and posting videos that demonstrate your expertise, new patients will be at ease when consulting you. Follow the 80/20 rule—80% of your posts should be useful and entertaining, while the other 20% can promote your dental services. Attract your audience's attention by sharing oral health tips or dental jokes. Tell the success stories of your patients with before-and-after images. Give them a glimpse of what it's like to be your patient, and make them feel comfortable about having you as their dentist.
Building reputation and credibility
People take their healthcare decisions very seriously, and a lot of patients turn to Google for help to find a dentist and then go to the dentists' websites. When people find your practice online, they will see recent reviews from satisfied patients and activity on your dentist's social media pages (Instagram and Facebook).
Online consultation
In times of emergency or maybe a pandemic, when dental practices are at higher risk, social media plays an important role. With the help of a website and social media, as a dentist, one can always stay in touch with their patients and help ease their dental pain. Online consultations have recently started in dentistry, which is trending fast in the market. When you engage with your patient base on your dental social media, you add another line of communication with them and, consequently, a more excellent feeling of availability to them. Sure, they can call your clinic; yes, your website is there for them to visit.
So embrace this development and adapt your marketing strategies to be competitive in today's changing market. Get ahead of the dental practices that still do business the old-fashioned way and watch your market share grow.