How should dentists market themselves in 2022?

Many dentists are still going the traditional route with direct mail marketing. These campaigns can target area newcomers by mailing them to apartment complexes. They’re also a wise way to tell patients about upcoming appointments or simply remind them you exist.

Although direct mail is making a comeback, it doesn’t stand on its own for modern dentist marketing. It’s important to implement a variety of techniques you can use consistently. Consistency is the secret to brand awareness, and brand awareness makes you the dentist of choice for those with no preference.

This is crucial, given that the average patient often has trouble telling one dental practice from another. To compete, you need to ensure you don’t look just like the other dentist’s office across the street. Your marketing needs to differentiate your brand in a matter of seconds.

Social media marketing is the fastest and most effective way to do it.

Here’s Why Social Media Is Ideal For Dentist Marketing

Social media works for two distinct, but closely related reasons:

• It lets you be there when prospective patients have a question about dental health
• It gives you the opportunity to entice and interest them so they will schedule you in

Both these benefits matter, since dentistry is something that often slides down the priority list if life gets hectic. Everyone knows they should go to the dentist, but outside of situations where they’re working on a treatment with multiple follow-ups, it’s easy to forget.

When people actively look for information about dentistry, it usually means they have a specific concern they want advice on. Far better for them to get it from a friendly local dentist they can find on their favorite social media platform rather than a website that could be written by anyone.

Do a quick search and you’ll learn not all the dental health information out there is accurate. Even if they haven’t visited you recently (or ever!) locals are more likely to trust your social media presence because they know your reputation stands behind everything you say on the social media platform.

What’s more, social media doesn’t need to take forever.

We all know the feeling of getting involved on Twitter or Facebook and falling into a social media rabbit hole. This is one thing dentists are often wary of when they first get started with social media marketing.

The key to social media success is simple – having a proven plan that leads to real ROI.

With guidance from a Central Florida marketing agency, you don’t have to worry about scrolling your feed for hours on end to “maybe” connect with someone in your audience. It’s all done for you in a fraction of the time, based on techniques that work to grow and scale dental practices like yours.

The Social Media Posts Every Dentist Should Be Familiar With

No matter what social media platform you choose, there are some basics everyone should know.

These are the building blocks you can use to create a trusted, compelling social media identity.

Luckily, they’re simple and straightforward.

They include:

Blog Posts From Your Dental Website

Posting helpful, informative content to your website is the best way to raise your visibility in the search engines. But that content doesn’t simply sit there once you’re done with it. You can promote it to all of your social media channels so a whole different audience will see it.

Many people of all industries worry about “being annoying” by sharing a post that a follower might have seen already, but this rarely happens. Visitors don’t read every page on your site, but only choose what’s relevant to their needs in the moment. By sharing, you’re pointing them toward useful resources.

Testimonials, Reviews, and Case Studies

Dentist marketing has two core audiences, current patients and those who might become patients. Of the latter, millions of Americans suffer from dental anxiety. Not only are they more likely to delay before they seek out a dentist, but they’ll also take a longer period of time deciding on one.

These tough cases are worth it – they can turn into life-long patients.

The magic ingredient is social proof: Reviews, testimonials, and case studies.

Together, you can think of them as “success stories.” A success story allays patients’ worries by showing them someone who had similar concerns and got amazing results. Include long, direct quotes from the patients showcased whenever you can, and strive to use video or before-and-after photos.

Reviews from sites like Yelp also give you more material to share easily.

Visual Content – Video and Infographics

Across all social media websites you can name, visual content outperforms plain text by a long way.

Not only are people more likely to look at and remember visual content, but they’re also far more likely to like, share, and comment on it. This effect is especially critical for health information, where whether or not a detail is remembered clearly can make a major difference.

Video storytelling turns basic information into a trustworthy, doctor-led narrative. But if you aren’t comfortable in front of the camera yet, photos and illustrations can inspire enough interest to stop scrolling eyes. That’s especially true for infographics, which explore data in interesting ways.

Original visuals take time and skill to create, especially if you’re aiming to post 3-5 times a day. That’s one more reason why it’s a good idea to choose a Florida marketing agency with strong skills in brand identity. Every visual should be immediately identifiable as coming from your practice.

Adjusting Your Dentist Marketing According To Platform

For dentist marketing success on social media, two elements come together:

• Consistency: Being sure you’re posting frequently enough to be seen
• Timing: Making your best posts at times when users are most active

What counts as consistency varies by platform. Twitter is lightning fast, for example, because so many people post ten times a day or more. Facebook and Instagram tend to be slower.

It also changes based on which audience you’re focusing on. Facebook lets you set up Pages where you can communicate directly with past customers, while Twitter is usually used to attract new ones.

One thing that remains more predictable is timing. People are most active on social media platforms around lunchtime, after work, and over the weekend. Central Florida digital marketers can give you more precise insights into what’s most likely to work for the audience you want to reach.

Once you know your way around social media, the rest is a little bit simpler:

• Create great content – blogs, success stories, and visuals
• Post consistently according to the rhythm of the platform
• Use the right timing to net attention from your audience

At New York Ave, we developed repeatable processes that deliver reliable results in dentist marketing. That includes social media marketing that hums along like a well-oiled machine, bringing you more social media followers and ultimately more patients for your practice.