Social Media Optimization For Dentists

A successful dentist is a visionary, keen on reaching out to valued patients. In today’s era, social media including the various platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram and others, helps in acquisition, retention, and engagement of patients. The medium that will be used for communication in 2019 is social media. With more than 3.6 billion people using social networking sites, the benefits of starting digital marketing for dentists are enormous.

#1: Get New Patients

In the active lifestyle of the modern era, people select their dentist after researching the internet. Google search gives them the benefit of choosing the dentist according to their requirements. With more than 40,000 search queries done on Google every second, you cannot afford to miss having a strong online presence. In today’s world, your work and craftsmanship speak, not only in your clinic but also on social media. If you’re not there on social media, then there are chances your dental practice may mitigate.

#2: Communication

Humans have the innate desire for building relationships and maintaining communication. ‘Word-of-mouth’ has always occupied an important place in dental marketing. For any successful business, effective communication and reviewing between the buyer and seller play an important role. A dentist can reach out to the public, existing patients, and even potential patients through social media.

• Blog: When a blog is added to a dental website, it makes the website an effective platform for communication. A dentist can share dental information, tips and advice regarding dental problems on his/her blog. The access to the blogs is free and as long as the information is informative and interesting, it drives traffic. Research studies have shown that 57% of the businesses get new customers from their blogs. Also, patients can post their questions or share their ideas and reviews on the blog; the latter helping to maintain a two-way communication. The blog assists in brand creation and improves online reputation. Nevertheless, it is equally important to post informative, relevant data on the blog and keep it updated by posting frequently.
• Facebook: In late 2016, more than 68% of internet users had a profile on Facebook and used the messaging application on Facebook. The projected figures are expected to soar up to more than 70% i.e. 1.9 billion users in 2019. These figures are surely difficult to ignore for dentists who are still thinking about starting to use Facebook for social media marketing.
  The first step is to create a Facebook page and then keep it alive by regularly posting content. A dentist can also join a dental community, be a member of different dental groups, post discussions and Facebook-adverts as well as use message bots on Facebook.
• Twitter: One can broadcast short messages of up to 140 characters through Twitter. A dentist can easily advertise about special offers or services through the tweets. With more than 6,000 tweets tweeted every second, the twitter page along with the tweets helps in brand creation as well as in maintaining the online presence. If you have completed a special course or have started new services at your clinic, patients can know the latest updates by following you on Twitter.
• Instagram: More than 400 million people use Instagram in a day and above 60% find new products or services on Instagram. Dentists can use Instagram for social media marketing as it provides a platform to connect with the patients. Visual content is a better medium for advertising and gains more user attention. You can connect, communicate and build relationships with your patients through Instagram stories.

Google+, LinkedIn, Snapchat, YouTube, Pinterest, and other social media tools can be effectively used for dental marketing as well. The traditional ways of dental marketing are outdated and a dentist should also adopt the latest techniques if he/she would like to continue to be relevant in this marketplace.

#3: Brand Creation

Your dental practice has a unique identity and needs to stand out clearly among the other competitors. Social networking sites help to build the brand name by endorsing your services globally. People resonate if you have a brand name and this increases the traffic and eventually the sales. However, brand creation and maintaining an online reputation can be a tricky task as every social media platform may not cater to your needs. Also, establishing a brand name requires hard work in the correct direction for sufficient time.

Thus, a dentist can attract new patients, convert leads into sales, build communications with the current patients, and manage his online reputation through social media marketing. Digital marketing helps your dental business get noticed and drive more traffic. Moreover, the charges for advertisement on social media are nil when compared to the potential Return on Investment. Social networking sites market your services to people who are specifically looking for it. Thus, marketing on social media is the need of the hour and if a dentist does not follow it, he/she may lose the race against other dentists with an online presence. Everyone (current patients, prospects, employees, competitors, dental instrument and material companies, dental laboratories, etc.) is on social media. The sooner you start, the better ROI you can make!

Key elements that can make or break your dental practice on social media include:

Content:

While venturing into social media marketing, it is important that content is posted regularly and frequently. Also, the content should be related to the niche ‘dentistry’ and should be written according to the target audience. Different strategies work on different social media platforms and posting the right content at the right time can boost your dental practice.

Transparency:

The business page on social media sites should represent the values that a dentist practices. Moreover, one should never ignore the audience on social media sites as it may affect the business negatively. Reviews from patients affect the growth of the dental clinic and breaching the transparency online can result in negative reviews.

Correct Partner:

You can hire professionals to create as well as manage the online presence of your brand. You don’t want to spoil your online reputation or decrease your sales. So, it is very important to put your practice in the right hands so that you get a positive ROI on social media marketing.

Are you ready to plunge into the sea of ‘Social Media Marketing’ and want to collect the gems of ‘improved sales?’ Whether you are looking to create your branding, get more online reviews, or improve your SEO and Local SEO, DentalROI can help you market your practice and help you to get more patients.