Want to market your dental practice online? Then think outside the circle.
Wait.
What?
To thrive and grow, you need to go beyond the boundary lines of your usual routine and comfortable circle to reach new markets. That means more than having a staff member post a few photos of smiles on social media once a month and creating a full-scale marketing strategy instead. Here are 7 tips to up your game and land it like an Olympic gymnast’s gold medal winning dismount.
Dental Marketing Tip Number 1: Keep Up!
Today’s online market is frenetic. Keep up with it. Can we talk? It’s about your website. It’s a little well…outdated. Like hyper-fast closing elevator doors, you have at the most, 30-60 seconds to grab your reader’s attention.
Does that sound bad? It’s actually worse because I lied. You only have eight teeny, tiny little seconds.
Yup.
Your audience has an attention span shorter than a gold fish, per a study by Microsoft which highlighted the effects of an increasingly digital lifestyle on the human brain. To cut through the clutter, you need to encapsulate your message, values, brand et al, in one brief view. Your page needs to load fast, be mobile friendly, and resonate- all at once.
Dental Marketing Tip Number 2: Optimize Mobile
Not to beat a deceased equine here, but if your site is not uber-user friendly, you are going to lose out before you even start. If you take nothing away from this article but that, you will be head and shoulders above the dental practice down the street. An optimized website builds trust, making you seem more relevant and up-to-date. If your site shudders to life, has hinky mobile graphics, or freezes, there goes your potential new patient.
Dental Marketing Tip Number 3: You Should be Blogging
There are what, a bazillion other dentists out there? Okay, maybe not that many, but there are a lot. Which is why your online marketing needs to carry a clear message that sets you apart.
Target your online message for patients for specific kinds of services such as pediatric dentistry, implants, emergency dental care, or tooth whitening. If you offer discounts, have a credit plan, or offer free oral cancer screenings, tell people about it.
Better yet, blog about it. In-depth, planned, informative blogs get read. People want information and providing it not only boots your rankings, it creates trust.
Dental Marketing Tip Number 4: It’s a Wonderful Day in the Neighborhood
One of the best ways to connect with potential new patients is to become more engaged in your local community. This is not digital marketing per se, but it can become part of an overall dental online marketing strategy. Besides giving back, local events are ideal for social media posts. Consider a community-based event where you might provide free oral cancer screenings, or the like. Being a good neighbor feels good and boosts your profile at the same time.
Dental Marketing Number 5: Facebook Expanded Marketing
According to Facebook, the US audience alone is over 214 million users; and the average user has over 130 connections on their platform. That means a sizable chunk of your target market is likely to be there too. Besides creating a Facebook account to promote your dental practice, you might want to consider investing in Facebook digital marketing campaigns. You can create very specific advertising selections based on your target demographics, location and the personal interests of your target audience using ads, pages, customized news feeds, and groups.
Dental Marketing Tip Number 6: Offer Freebies
Who doesn’t like free stuff? Consider offering coupons and small eBooks (on subjects like dental whitening, gum disease, dentures, implants, customized TMJ treatments, or other targeted topics). These can be coordinated with your blogs and social media presence. If you do add these kinds of offers, make sure they stand out on your site, and that you capture emails when they are downloaded.
Dental Marketing Tip Number 7: Automated Email Campaigns
If you want to market your dental practice online, you may want to add automated email campaigns to the mix. To be effective, automated email campaigns need to be highly polished. They work well with the offers and eBook freebies above. If a visitor to your site, for instance, downloads a book on how custom made dental mouthguards can help prevent concussions in kids, you can follow it up a week later with a message about discounted mouth guards. The point is to stay relevant and use calls to action about topics of interest to your potential patients. One caveat though, if you are a so-so writer, make sure you hire someone to craft your messages for you.
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