15 dental marketing strategies to help you grow your dental business online!

I remember when I started in the dental industry 15 years ago it was against the rules to advertise your dental practice, how times have changed! Not only is the dental clinic a brand but so are the individuals working within the dental clinic. Dentist, it’s another hat you must wear along with all the others but it is how you grow your dental practice in the current times. I know this has caused a lot of frustration for many but unfortunately, there is no way to avoid it if we are to keep up with the times. I have carried out marketing for dental over the years and honestly, I enjoy it but I understand how time-consuming it can be for a dentist who just wants to focus on their clinical work. As such I have put together 15 Dental social media posts ideas, tips and tricks that will help you implement a successful social media marketing strategy and aid content creation planning. Especially helpful for cosmetic dentistry marketing which is the most popular topic viewers want to know more about.

There are three main goals for social media marketing for dentists, one is to drive leads to the clinic resulting in increased revenue, the second reason is to drive more of the work you enjoy doing into your schedule and lastly to build your online reputation. For example, if you love doing cosmetic dentistry, specifically composite bonding the more you post about it on your social media, the more potential patients will request that service & for you to provide the treatment, when they call the clinic. This is important to note if you are trying to establish yourself as an expert in a certain area. Your audience will connect to the visuals you upload online much more than reading text on a website. I’m not saying to neglect your website content but it’s a two-pronged approach. Generally, potential patients will see your posts online, next step is to visit your website which will hopefully result in a booking if they like what they see online. It will also help patient retention as they will be more aware of all the services you provide.

Social media can grow organically or you can run a paid marketing campaign to promote your dental services. Personally, I believe this is a no-brainer for every clinic to do both. Running paid social media ads can help you reach your ideal patient. Paid social media ad's are measurable so you can track your return on investment and you can set the budget to suit. If you put an ad in a local paper a person in their 80’s with dentures won't care about your cosmetic bonding solutions. Plus you can't measure the return on investment on traditional marketing compared to online paid campaigns. Again I am not saying traditional marketing is a no-go, far from it, it certainly has its place but there is a step-by-step process to follow. Whatever advertisement you are placing in traditional media, ensure there is a correlating message across your social media channels and your website, as they are the first places the reader will go to, and if there is a breakdown in messaging across your channels you will probably lose that patient and waste money. Also, it's important to note that traditional marketing works better in some areas than others so it's good to test it out once all the previous steps are in place.

Time to maximize your marketing efforts using the following strategy and formats.

1)      Firstly, start by thinking about what you want to achieve and what is your marketing strategy i.e To raise brand awareness, drive traffic to the website, build trust or grow an interested community.

2)      As part of this goal decide how often you want to post. At the beginning once a day is preferable but that may not be realistic depending on your time frame so set a schedule that aligns with your availability or you will give up. Try and aim for 3-5 times a week if possible.

3)      Think about who can support you grow your online presence. I hear of dentists spending hours putting content together but is this really a valuable use of your time? Only you can answer that but I’m hoping you just said no.  Yes, if you want to grow and raise brand awareness social media is a must, but you must find a strategy that works with your overall clinic goals and doesn’t negatively affect your chair time. Lots to consider, but it’s all possible. That is why it’s beneficial to have someone else in the clinic who can support your efforts or use an external dental marketing company.

4)      Supporting resources - What editing tools are you utilizing when creating content? Dental branding is important as patients will become familiar with it and that will increase the chance of them converting into patients. A person needs to see/hear the advertising message at least 7 times before they take action, so branding is key to that process. PRO TIP – Canva is an amazing content-creating platform and one I could not live without. I pay for the pro version which is around €12 a month and personally, I think it’s worth it's weight in gold. Second to that is Capcut for editing videos. You may use other ones and that’s fine but I wanted to share my top two in case you are just starting out.

5)      Your social media dental content must hit 5 pillars – Educational, Emotional, Inspirational, Entertaining & Call to Action.

Pillar 1 Your content must create an emotional connection. If you say something along the lines of “Would you like a better smile” it comes across too vague and general. Think of a patient’s specific pain points and how you have the solution. i.e Does your old silver fillings make your smile look dark in photos? It's personal, realistic, and really relatable for many. Think of all the services you provide in your dental practice and create a few topics for each. Even create stories around these issues from previous patients you have treated, and how happy they were with their results. That will really help you to build content to get you by for weeks! Before you run with that idea there is more to consider.

Pillar 2 - Your content needs to also be educational. For example, inform the viewer of all the options for missing teeth for example and the pros and cons for each so they can make an informed decision i.e dental implant, dental bridge or denture. Demo videos are so beneficial for the viewer, as anything visual makes it easier for the patient to understand what is involved. Never underestimate the power of before and after photos. Describe what steps were taken to achieve the dream smile so the patient understands the journey.

Pillar 3 - Inspirational content. Patient testimonials or online reviews are powerful in relaying a message to potential patients. Patients love to hear from people who have gone through something they are considering doing, it's as relatable and authentic as you can get. With AI on the increase, viewers are craving more and more authentic content!

Pillar 4 - Ensure some of your posts are also entertaining, such as a dental influencer documenting their journey or you can get creative in house on this pillar. Get your internal team involved and perhaps do some behind the scenes videos/imagery.

Pillar 5 - there needs to be a call to action to drive patients to call, book in or visit your website. i.e "If you want to find out more", "call today/ book now". "Call the clinic to arrange your personalised consultation today”.

6)      Your content needs to vary between video reels (which are the best to use), static images, carousels, and stories. Ask questions and carry out polls in your stories. This encourages engagement with your viewers. The more your audiences interact with your posts the more of your follower's social media will show it to. Always keep that in mind.

7) Let's talk 'Hooks' – You have between 3 – 5 seconds to catch the viewer's attention…sometimes less. This is where ‘hooks’ are essential. i.e Do you want whiter teeth but are not sure of the best option? There are loads you can include, and tailor them for the different treatments you provide.

8)      Ensure your page is being monitored and that any responses on messages or comments are responded to. Instagram, TikTok tok and Facebook look for this interaction and reward you by showing your content to more people if you are active on your page. This is called the ‘reach’. If you have 500 followers, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook may only show it to 100 of your followers. If they see that your followers are liking, commenting and interacting with your content they will reward you by extending your reach, and that is the goal! Warning the social channels will penalise you if you do not put content up that people interact with and will reduce your reach. So this needs your thought and consideration – non negotiable when planning content.

9)      Always look at your metrics – Make sure you Instagram and  Facebook are set as business pages so you have access to the analytics. You can also do this on Linkedin which is a powerful social channel also so don’t over look it. See what demographic is on your page, how many engagement each posts get and peak times that your audience is online.

10)   Work smarter not harder. I appreciate keeping up with content on different channels can be a full time job in itself but there are scheduling tools out there that means you only need to post once and it shows your content across multiple channels. They can be challenging to set up but once created it can make your life a lot easier. An example of one is Hootsuite but it is pricey so do some research on the different options available to suit your budget.

11)   If you don’t want to complicate things with a scheduling tool I would advise to pick two platforms i.e Instagram and Facebook and put your efforts into running them properly. Before deciding thing about where your ideal audience ‘hangs out’ online and focus on that.

12)   A content planning calendar is very helpful and can help create structure in your posts aligned with the 5 pillars mentioned earlier.

13)   Pay attention to the views, saves and likes each post gets so you can understand what content is resonating with your audience then rinse and repeat.

14)   Don’t be afraid to ask your followers to send in ideas of content they would like to see. Feedback is a gift. Ask your dental office manager, dental treatment coordinator and reception team what are the most common queries they gets as this will really help with your messaging online.

15)   Always remember social media needs to be entertaining but ensure you remain professional at all times. Although the aim is to grow your audience and gain leads to the clinc you also need to ensure patients feel comfortable, confident and trust that your clinic is a reputable place to have treatment carried out.

I appreciate there is a lot to consider so pick a realistic strategy aligned with your time & goals. Something is always better than nothing so don’t be hard on yourself if you cannot stay consistent. The marketing experts would agree that consistency is key for many reasons but just do what you can and be as active as possible to improve your online visibility. Please do think of who can support you with your social media growth. It’s a long-term plan but one that will definitely bring it a lot of revenue, leads and more of the work you enjoy if done properly. Lets be honest, dentistry is stressful so doing more of what fulfils you day to day is worth the effort. You can do it!

As always I am here to support,

Best wishes,

Lisa