Social media is a great way to boost marketing efforts for your practice. The majority of patients use social media on a regular basis with Facebook being the most popular. Once you have created a business account for your dental practice on your chosen platform, what should you post?
There are a few different types of posts you can make such as educational for patients, personal about your life or interactive with followers. However, when asked what they would want to see most from a dental practice on social media, 63% of patients responded saying information on new procedures and services. While it may be fun to share some moments from your personal life with your patients every once in a while, our data suggests that those types of posts would best be left for a personal account.
When crafting content for your social media feeds, think about what would be beneficial to your patients. Highlight the skills that you or your staff possess and focus on treatments provided at your practice. For example, share photos of the new equipment you received and what it will do to enhance your patients’ experience. Post updates reminding patients of the new procedures that have been implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consider posting a snippet of text in your post and then linking to an article on your website for the rest of the information, as 40% of patients would prefer to learn about new procedures from online articles. This will also boost the viewership for your website in the process.
Do not feel limited to use only text or photos. 23% of patients agree they would prefer to learn about technology and procedures from educational videos. Consider filming some short video clips explaining your procedures and services to let patients learn and get to see some of your personality in the process! There are many ways to keep your content fresh while also being educational.
The second most popular type of content patients want to see is changes to the office. Whenever office updates occur in your practice, consider crafting a post regarding that change, such as an improvement to your office design, opening of a new location, or a change in office hours. Finally, 33% of patients would like to see staff updates. If a new staff member has been recently added to the team, take the time to introduce them on your social channels so your patients will recognize them before they come in for their next visit. Another option is to share when staff members retire so patients are aware that they will no longer be seeing them at their appointments.
Despite the allure of posting fun, lifestyle and “day-to-day” content on your social media feeds, remember that patients are most likely following you as a patient rather than a friend. Do your best to post informative content on treatments and procedures as often as possible to continue to form the loyal and trusting relationship between you and your patients.
As seen in the print issue of Oral Health November 2020
*In late October and early November, 2019, Bramm Research, a third-party independent research consulting firm, conducted an online survey on behalf of Oral Health. Based on a sample of 1,000, the margin of error is +/- 3.2%.
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