There was once a time when TV/radio commercials, billboards, and newspaper ads are your best shots at drawing attention towards your dental practice. But oh how time flies. LED screens now hang in places where billboards used to be. Even seniors in the subway are reading the news off their iPads. The world has moved forward; so should you. And when it comes to promoting your dental practice, perhaps it’s time to ditch the old and embrace the new. It’s time to bid traditional marketing adieu!
More than half of the country’s population is hunched over their mobile phones at any given hour. You can bet that a good percentage of these people are using the Internet to find a local business. So just imagine the number of people who are looking for local dentists or searching for cosmetic dental services online daily.
Digital marketing has opened doors for dentists all over the country by providing dental professionals with a platform to showcase and promote their practice.
If you’re hoping to do the same for your dental services brand, these are the strategies you ought to give a try.
1. Search Engine Optimization
Ranking on Google is one of the best ways to gain exposure. As such, SEO is one of the most reliable methods for dental care providers like you to obtain and attract new clients.
You may not grasp the weight of being number 1 in a Google search for now, but know this: it makes a lot of difference. When potential clients search for local dental practice online, they won’t scan back and forth to see which one is better than the other. Typically, they’ll check out the first five on the list, and that’s it.
People trust Google. And more often than not, they will equate your SERP ranking to your credibility. If your website is lost somewhere in back pages, then your chances of getting found are slim to none.
2. Social Media Marketing
Many dentists steer clear of social media. For them, these platforms are unnecessary and don’t produce expected results. Well, we beg to differ.
When you use it the right way, social media can be your greatest marketing ally. It’s one of the best channels for building and stimulating your patient community. The casual vibe of social media platforms also makes your practice more approachable and relatable and takes it closer to the public.
Should you wish to use social media to grow your client base, you can take advantage of paid promotions that can be customized to target specific demographics and prospect patients near you.
3. Content Marketing
Catchy phrases and flashy ads don’t pique the interest of modern-day patients anymore. What they want, more than anything else, is to be informed. Every time people take an interest in a cosmetic dental procedure or experience some sort of dental discomfort, the first thing they usually do is try to learn more about it online. This is where content marketing comes into play.
Blog posts, videos, infographics, and online quizzes contribute to patient-education. Effective content marketing involves the ability to predict trends and anticipate the need of your target market, in order to deliver information that is current and in demand.
4. Reputation Management
The Internet can be both a blessing and a curse to businesses. As efficient as it is in building awareness around your brand, it’s can also ruin your name in a snap.
A couple of bad reviews can overshadow 100 good ones, and that’s why you need to keep track of what people are saying about you online. If your business has already sustained blows because of negative comments and reviews, reputation management can help.
If the extent of the damage is too big for you to deal on your own, you can hire digital marketing experts to take charge of the situation for you and clean-up your name in the world wide web.
The main goal of digital marketing for dentists is to attract more patients and increase revenue. By allowing you to target people and specific demographics, each lead that is directed to your pages can bring more clients to your doorstep.
About The Author
Dr. Megan Peterson Boyle is a cosmetic dentist with Dental Studio 101 in Scottsdale, Arizona. She is focused on providing anxiety-free dental services, including veneers and dental implants. She enjoys spending time outdoors with her friends and family.
