Social media marketing for dental practices is a key component of a dentist’s communication strategy. Many patients procrastinate or forgo dental care for several different reasons, and a broad approach that includes dental marketing is an effective way to address this issue with both current and prospective patients.
Social media is many things, and people tend to focus on only one aspect of it, usually their own personal entertainment but in this blog, we share what dental practice social media marketing is all about.
Why Social Media Marketing for Dentists Is Essential
One survey found that 73% of dental patients expect the dental practice they use to have a social media presence. Dentists who are absent or inactive on social media may give the impression that the practice is lagging behind in either modernization or in operations. This is probably an unfair judgment of your practice, but as patients now behave more like consumers when evaluating providers, how you appear online holds much weight.
Social media marketing for dental practices builds brand visibility in your respective market, reaches the kind of patients you want to attract and supports connection with your current patients while capturing positive sentiment.
Dental practice social media marketing achieves three core purposes.
- Educates the public by dispelling myths or providing sound advice for common issues.
- Humanizes the practice with entertaining and get-to-know-you
- Engages with patients to maintain relationships and begin new ones.
Connect With Your Patients Where They Are
The survey also found that dental patients are highly engaged on social media – 98% on Facebook, 60% on Twitter, and 56% on Instagram. Statista reports that time spent on social media has increased every year, now with an average of 147 minutes per day in 2022. Dental social media is clearly an opportunity to connect with patients.
- Connect with the community – One key benefit of social media is digital public relations. Showcasing your community involvement builds awareness of how you help your neighbors.
- Connect with current patients – You may see a patient only once a year, if that. Staying connected with patients on social media maintains that connection and repetition of content views keeps your practice top of mind.
- Connect with prospective patients – Dental advertising through social media allows you to select your audience with surgical precision. Social media knows a lot about its users and that data helps chisel down to who would be most interested in your services, geographically and otherwise. Facebook advertising is a more budget-friendly option.
With the help of social media marketing for dental practices, engagement of current patients can influence prospective patients.
READ MORE: Dental Marketing Strategies to Implement This Year
Generate Word-of-Mouth Referrals
Social media lives up to its name, as it is social. Being connected to others on platforms like Facebook and Instagram gives you a window into what someone likes, recommends, and values. While “word of mouth” has traditionally referred to an in-person conversation, online interactions multiply word-of-mouth frequency.
You would not think of your patient as a social media influencer, but certain actions they take have the same effect as one. Their endorsements can sway a prospective patient’s decision between your practice or another.
Ways current patients can be influential on Facebook are:
- Liking your page or checking in: When someone looking for a new dentist comes to your Facebook page, they will be able to see if someone they are connected to as a “friend” likes your page or has “checked in” there. This could initiate a dialog between these two people about if they would recommend you or not triggering that word-of-mouth referral.
- Commenting on your posts: If a visitor comes to your Facebook page, they can browse through your posts and read the comments. Sometimes a patient will leave a flattering comment about their experience, particularly when they see photos with the dentist or the practice staff as the subject. Also, leaving comments on posts can sometimes route the post to the feeds of the patient’s friends, showing it to people who may not have ever heard of you.
- Sharing content: Of course, the more common way your practice would end up in a non-follower’s Facebook feed is if someone shares something you published. This could be a funny meme or a posted article that discusses something they care about.
- Reviews: Facebook users can leave reviews on your page.
For best results, dental practices should ensure that their Facebook account is optimized. This means that practice information is complete and correct (such as operating hours), the direct messages inbox is set up, and that patients can leave reviews.
Encourage your patients to follow your social media pages, share your social content, and leave reviews on your Facebook page.
What Social Media Platforms Should Dentists Use?
As mentioned earlier, Facebook is the most popular platform among dental patients, according to a survey. But to maximize your reach, dental practices planning social media marketing may consider being active on a few, or perhaps most social media platforms. Below are some demographic insights about who uses each platform the most (figures from Statista).
Facebook has a plethora of business page features, and customization so you can accurately configure your dental advertising.
- 91 billion active monthly users.
- 25-34 as the predominant age group.
- 43% female, 57% male
Twitter is hashtag heavy and has an enormous audience size, but keep in mind that it does not allow you to edit once a post is made.
- 217 billion active monthly users.
- 18-29 as the predominant age group.
- 38% female, 62% male
With Instagram, the image takes center stage, so posts will need to convey the main message visually.
- 13 million active monthly users.
- 25-34 as the predominant age group.
- 48% female, 52% male
TikTok
TikTok is an entirely video-based platform, and with short videos, you can get the point across concisely in a manner compatible with short attention spans.
- One billion active monthly users.
- 10-19 as the predominant age group (a quarter of users)
- 61% female, 39% male
How To Use Social Media to Engage and Attract Dental Patients
Agenda item number one is to build your audience by gaining followers. You encourage patients to follow your social media posts and invite those who interact with your posts to follow your page.
Not having an audience yet does not mean that you should not start posting content. Having regular and recent posts show that you are active on your account and gets you in the habit of posting consistently.
While these are not hard and fast rules, the list below gives some idea of how often to post by channel:
- Facebook: One to two posts per day.
- Twitter: Five “tweets” per day.
- Instagram: One to two posts per day.
- TikTok: Three videos per week.
Having a dental marketing strategy with a balanced mix of post types keeps all bases covered for what patients want to see.
Encourage Conversation and Engage with Comments
Interactions help patients see your posts in their feed organically (meaning you did not pay Facebook to boost it). Posts such as polls and games are effective for compelling engagement.
Comments, likes, reactions, and shares all signal to Facebook that your content is getting attention. Facebook wants to keep users’ eyes on the feed, so they prioritize posts that get more interaction.
Engaging with commenters also gives onlookers the impression that you are a friendly, and responsive dental practice. These engagements also help your audience feel seen and heard which may make them more inclined to engage with future posts.
Also, remember to monitor your inbox for direct inquiries from social media users. This may not be the most common way a patient makes contact with you, but you would not want to leave a patient ignored.
Share Images of Staff, Your Practice, and Graphics
One thing we have noticed as a dental marketing agency is that posts with familiar faces typically get great engagement. When you post photos and videos of your dentists, hygienists, and staff this can get scrollers to stop and see what is being said about people they know. These posts are also likely to get reacts and comments because they feel personally connected to the subject of the photo.
As for prospective patients, seeing original photography of the practice and its staff humanizes the practice and builds familiarity. Feeling like they have already met the staff and the dental providers makes the new patient process less intimidating.
On that note, all the big social media platforms know that video content is the best at getting the user’s attention. Video tours of your facility, presentations by your dentist, and “going live” are all great ways to build interest in your content and your practice.
Post Interesting Educational Content
Social media for dentists is not just about attracting new patients – it is also an opportunity to improve outcomes for patients and serve as a guide through the issues surrounding dentistry.
Tips for curating educational content include:
- Compiling a list of frequently asked questions you experience in your practice and addressing them in individual posts.
- Confronting myths you come across often.
- Sharing your best preventative care tips.
- Issues and dental maintenance relevant to the demographics you serve.
You might consider including a call to action in the captions about how you can help specifically with what dental issues the content refers to.
Many patients are uncomfortable or hesitant to come into the dentist. Letting them know what you can do to make it less intimidating and dreadful can help warm them up to the idea of coming in for a long-overdue visit.
Photos, videos, and other images about sedation, headphones, on-demand program watching, warm blankets, etcetera, all show the patient that if they come to see you, they will experience above-average comfort while in your care.
Add Social Icons to Your Dental Website
More often than not, you will see social media icons at the top and bottom of a website. These icons show that you are active on social media and which platforms. These also encourage more engagement – for current patients to follow you, and for prospective patients to learn more about you. Be sure to represent all social media platforms you engage with using the associated icons on your dental practice website.
READ MORE: How Website Design Impacts Patient Choice
Grow Your Dental Practice with Social Media Management from iHealthspot
A dental office marketing plan may have the grand aspirations and motivation to be active on social media but may not have the capacity to consistently keep up with all that is involved. To remain engaged with your current patients, and to impress prospective ones, you need consistent and regular posts.
Our agency is driven to maximize online visibility, and a key part of this is supporting social media marketing for dental practices.
Dental practice social media marketing services are offered on a tiered basis to fit practices of all sizes:
Basic:
- Branding and setting up for one social media account.
- Six unique posts per month.
- Monthly analytics reporting and consultation.
Pro:
- Branding and setting up for one social media account.
- Eight unique posts per month.
- Daily “likes” campaign.
- Cards and self-standing display for the office.
- Monthly analytics reporting and recommendations for better performance.
Plus:
- Branding and setting up for two social media accounts.
- 12 unique posts per month
- Daily “likes” campaign
- Cards and self-standing displays for the office.
- Monthly analytics reporting and recommendations for better performance.
Deluxe:
- Branding and setting up for two social media accounts.
- 16 unique posts per month.
- Daily “likes” campaign
- Community management and outreach
- Cards and self-standing displays for the office.
- Monthly analytics and consultation.
Contact us today for a no-obligation consultation about how your dental practice social media marketing can thrive with experienced industry experts at your side!
