The digital revolution has ensured that most of the public relations activities are carried out online. It increases the reach dramatically and reduces the costs of a PR exercise to nearly zilch. However, PR activities can still be time-consuming, and as a busy dentist you may not be able to spare enough time and attention to this vital component of dental marketing.
It is important to find ways to keep your dental practice both visible and positively perceived by your target audience through effective PR. Here are three useful tips that you may consider to achieve your PR goals without investing much of your time.
Seek Patient Testimonials
Patient testimonials are the strongest endorsement that can influence a new or potential patient in favor of your practice. Apart from helping build your reputation and your trust capital within the local area, online testimonials can also enhance your dental website’s visibility through increased SEO authority and external links.
Reach out to your old or loyal patients to seek their online testimonials for your website. Arrange to build video testimonials wherever possible because these can make a much greater impact. Encourage patients to write reviews and testimonials about your practice on their social networks, websites, forums, and blogs. Consider offering small rewards to your long-time patients in return for their forthright reviews and testimonials.
Optimize PR through Press Releases
Whenever your dental practice introduces a new product, technology, technique or procedure, it is a newsworthy happening that ought to be announced publicly. If you are running a special treatment program, engaging in a community activity or initiative, or have won an accolade or honor from an organization or a local publication, it is an event that deserves to be informed to the world.
You can make use of free PR distribution websites such as PR.com or PRLog.org. Whenever you have a major newsworthy story relating to your practice, you may even consider paid press release distribution services such as PRNewswire.com for more intensive exposure.
Submit Articles to Local Media Organizations
Whenever you create an informative article, research paper, opinion piece, or even an interesting blog post, you may first consider submitting it to some of the targeted local magazines and newspapers for free publication. Journalists are usually keen to receive original, newsworthy articles and informative opinion pieces for their readers that have been written by eminent professionals who are an authority in that area.
Readers across the board have a keen interest in dental and other healthcare subjects because it directly concerns their health. That makes the task easier to have your original write-up published locally for wider visibility. Such write-ups stay longer on the Internet, add value to SEO, and have the potential to go viral.
Make full use of these simple strategies that require very little of your time, but can deliver outstanding results in terms of public relations and image building personally for you as a dental professional as well as for your dental practice.
Author’s Bio
Naren Arulrajah is President and CEO of Ekwa Marketing, a complete Internet marketing company which focuses on SEO, social media, marketing education and the online reputations of dentists. With a team of 130+ full time marketers, Ekwa.com helps one doctor in an area dominate their market and grow their business significantly year after year. If you have questions about marketing your practice online, call Naren direct at 877-249-9666.
