Why should your dental practice be using social media?
The power of social media has grown so much and social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram allow for excellent marketing opportunities for dentists, who are looking to promote their dental practice. Like any business, if your dental practice doesn’t have an online presence in this digital age then you might as well not exist.
Why Social Media?
- It increases awareness of your dental practice
- It widens your audience reach and potential for new patients
- It allows you to connect with your target audience
- It encourages you to build relationships with your current patients as well as new ones, which provides a richer experience for patients
- It improves patient retention as the practice is always visible and at the forefront of a patient’s mind
- It allows you to gain valuable customer insights through reviews and testimonials
- It increases traffic & conversions to your website
- It allows you to share content faster and easier – such as special offers and practice news
- It allows you to run targeted ads with real-time results
Action Plan
1. Create Followers
- You could hand out cards with your social media details listed
- Include targeted messages to “like and follow” the practice on social media when sending email or SMS appointment reminders to patients
- Display posters in the reception area with your social media details listed and ask patients to “like and follow” the pages
2. Create Engaging Posts
The more engagement you have on a post, the bigger the reach. The greater the reach – the more like, comments and shares you’ll have!
3. Post/Engage Regularly
The best way to do this is to produce a social media calendar which outlines what you will be posting and when. You can also schedule posts to make it a lot easier for you to manage.
4. Always link back to your website
Every link/share/mention of your website on social network sites (including reviews and testimonials left by patients) is viewed by the search engines as an endorsement of your website and will help with your “social media signals”.
Post ideas:
- Photos of your practice and team members – “Meet The Team” Profiles
- Details of upcoming events at the practice, Staff Courses, Qualifications and Training days
- Events that may be happening in your community – Any local businesses/shops that you think we could follow/interact with
- Links to blogs from your website especially about dental tips or oral health advice.
- News and information about any changes to your practice
- Seasonal messages to your patients and followers
- Special offers
- Patient Testimonials / Video Testimonials
- Tip Videos / How-to and tutorials
- Before and after images of patients teeth
- Patient of the month/week or a Smile of the Month
- Positive or inspirational quotes especially around healthy wellbeing
- Run a competition
- Answer FAQ’s / Question Time
- Unique points about the practice – Parking, Disabled Access, Empty Appointment times, Patient reminders by SMS/Email, Online Booking, Emergency Information, Payment Options, Direct Access
If you would like any further information then give the Dental Design team a call on 01202677277.
More posts from our team
Five Star
Reviewed Marketing
"Would definitely recommend to a friend"
"I cannot recommend Dental Design highly enough"
"Really great company to deal with"
"Very professional, efficient & adaptive to new situations"
"I cannot recommend them highly enough"
"Has been invaluable and gone out of her way to help us"
"We love the look of our practice website. Very professional!"
"Dental Design stood out both in their knowledge of the industry and their professionalism"
"The team and package offered at dental design was unrivalled"
"absolutely fantastic and are always on hand to help"
"Dental Design are fantastic to work with"
"always met with a swift and professional response"
