With the creation and growth of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, dental practices are finding a new method of marketing online that generates new patients without the expense of traditional advertising. Your efforts online could correlate to new patients visiting your office when you use strategic marketing tactics with effective management. Therefore, to help you get started, our dental practice consultants are providing three ways to grow your practice using social media. Because, there are a lot of do’s and don’ts when it comes to using platforms like Instagram.
Obtain Patient Reviews
- Make it Simple – Providing easy access for your patients to leave a positive review through multiple channels is a simple way of collecting testimonials that speak of personal experience in your dental office. Make sure the profile is complete with the name of your practice, a photo, hours of operation, address, and other important information so new and established clients could easily find you.
- Focus on Positive Reviewers – Your patients love you, which is why they choose your practice. Ask them for reviews when they are in the office for their appointment. Not sure how to ask? Check out our previous blog where we share three ways to get more patient reviews.
- Ask and be Transparent – Honest feedback and reviews are crucial for determining how comfortable and pleased patients are with your services. Speak with your patients and explain that you rely on reviews to address and improve services to make their experience even better. Also, ask the patient if they mind that you use their testimonial on your website or social media accounts.
Create Engaging Social Media Posts
- Provide Value – The most dependable way of building a following on social media is through quality content that provides value to the patient. Sharing a write-up or video about the latest technology in the office and how it could help improve the patient’s oral health helps improves your patient’s life.
- Make it Personal – Dental practice marketing on social media allows your business to establish a sense of community. The closeness of the community will help focus on the interests, needs, and personalities of the team members, but more importantly, the patients. By building the community, you generate connections with one another that go beyond traditional business and develop into trusted friends.
- Invite Interaction – Engaging activities on your posts, such as likes, shares, and comments will increase your exposure on Facebook and Instagram. Therefore, brainstorm some ideas that could get your online community to talk back to you. For example, you could run a drawing for movie tickets that would require a comment stating which character is the favorite and why. Or perhaps one of your staff members could dress up in a costume if a post reaches a certain number of likes or shares.
Get Your Team Involved
- Talk About Social Media with Patients – During regular patient interactions, share the latest news about your social media channels. Ask questions like, “Did you see the information about how to protect yourself from COVID-19 on Facebook this week?” If not, then follow up with an invitation to “Like” the page.
- Offer Something for Participation – Promoting a 30-Day Flossing Challenge where your patients enter to win a prize if they submit a photo requires each team member to ask the patient if they have signed up for the challenge. The win is two-fold with better flossing habits and the possibility of winning a prize.
- Encourage Team Members to Engage – Team members should be part of the online community you build on social media. From liking and sharing posts to engaging with patients through comments, social media no longer remains a job for one person, but an opportunity to build relationships with your patients through your entire team.
Dental Practice Marketing Specialists
Social media may seem overwhelming at first, but with consistency and dedication, you could experience exponential growth in your practice both in relationships and financially. If you would like to learn more about social media or schedule a complimentary one-hour consultation, please contact Bryant Consultants by calling (877) 768-4799. If you want to learn how Instagram can help attract new patients to your practice, check out our latest blog. We provide consultation, training, and coaching and will continue to post relevant updates regarding dental practice management. To ensure that you receive the latest updates, please follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
