Suppose someone told you more than 20 years ago that the then-emerging technological innovation called social media will become an indispensable business tool in the future. In that case, you’d probably just shrug it off. After all, in its early days, social media was a cool platform for connecting and communicating with friends online, and not much else.
Today, social media as we know it is no longer optional for businesses. The benefits of having a presence on social media are too great to ignore. Countless businesses across all industries have jumped on the social media bandwagon. So should your dental practice.
With the ever-intensifying competition in the dental industry, your dental office can sure use the advantages that social marketing for dentists can provide. Here are eight reasons why your dental practice should be on social media.
Social Media Can Help You Attract New Patients
Billions of people have social media accounts, and reaching just a tiny fraction of that figure will be great. When you consistently post engaging and informative content about dental procedures and oral health in general on social media, you will earn the trust of people who come across your page.
These same people, particularly those who reside in the city where you’re practicing, will likely remember the name of your practice and decide to drop by for a visit, all because they saw you share your expertise on social media on a regular basis.
Social Media Helps Increase Brand Awareness
Being on social media increases the visibility of your brand. As you put your brand in front of so many people, you’re opening your dental practice up to interactions with them, regardless of whether they’re looking for dental services or not. The more you engage with your social media audience, the more aware they will be of your brand and keep it in mind when they need dental services.
Social Media Allows You To Connect With People On A More Candid Level
Your social media page is an excellent platform to show audiences what your dental practice is all about. Aside from sharing quality content related to dentistry and oral health, posting videos and photos of your dental office and the members of your team gives your audience a closer look at the very soul of your dental practice, making it more relatable. You can even conduct Q&A sessions or interviews.
Social Media Can Help Establish Your Credibility
All the knowledge you share on social media about dentistry and oral health will help boost your reputation in the field, especially if your content accurately answers any questions your audience might have about specific dental procedures and taking care of their teeth.
Social Media Helps Build Relationships With Patients And Potential Patients Alike
The fact that social media allows you to engage as candidly as possible with audiences makes it an excellent tool for forging and strengthening relationships not only with your existing patients but also with those who have yet to set foot in your office.
With your social media posts, you can convince people that no matter how frightening some procedures may seem, they will be given the utmost care when they get them done in your clinic. You can feature images of the results of your work and testimonials from satisfied customers. You can answer comments directly and give potential patients the assurance they need that everything will be fine.
With the attention you’ll be giving your audiences, it’s only a matter of time before you forge strong relationships with them.
Social Media Marketing Is More Affordable
There was a time when dental practices that wanted to attract new patients had no other marketing options than traditional venues like TV, radio, print, and billboards.
Suffice it to say that traditional platforms cost them a pretty penny. And for all the money they spent on traditional ads, there was no assurance that they would reach the right people, the ones who need dental services as well as reliable information on oral health.
Social media, on the other hand, is a cost-effective way of promoting dental practices. Aside from the extensive reach it provides, it also allows dental offices to target the right market, all at a cost far lower than what dentists have been spending on traditional marketing.
You Can Track Your Dental Practice’s Performance On Social Media
Social media allows you to communicate with customers and potential customers alike, but it provides you more than that. With all of the feedback that you get from comments and reviews, you will learn if your dental practice is doing things right or if there are areas that may need improvement. Given that people on social media are generally upfront about their opinions, your engagements with them will help paint a clear picture of your dental practice’s performance.
Your Competitors Are On Social Media, Too
If you think that the competition for dental patients is limited to the physical world, know that social media has become a virtual battleground as well.
Think of all the dental practices operating in your city, and the chances are great that they are also marketing themselves on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms. That means if your dental practice doesn’t have a social media presence, your competitors will be the ones enjoying everything it has to offer, and you will be the one missing out.
How to Get Started
In all honesty, social media marketing requires a lot of effort on your part. Then again, you don’t have to do it alone. You can always engage the services of social media marketing professionals who will do everything within their power to make your dental practice as visible as can be on the platform of your choosing.
The results you want may take some time, too. However, once you get started, it will only be a matter of time before you find success on social media, which will eventually spill over onto your real-life dental practice.
Mr. Byrne, founder and CEO, started My Digital Dentistry after years of developing and executing successful marketing strategies for venture capitalists and business owners in and out of the medical field. He saw a growing need for quality digital marketing specifically in dentistry, and he had the foresight to create an agency specializing in understanding and solving the unique problems of dentists and their practices from general dentists to endodontists.
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