June 5th, 2019
Digital Marketing for your Dental Practice
Digital Marketing for Dentists and Dental Practices
As a professional dentist, you may be thinking about getting your digital marketing in shape. The dream of setting up a website or social media presence that actually sends you patients is tougher to achieve than many claim. Here are some basic things to consider and know before diving into it:
Social Media
Social media is a fantastic and low cost method to begin forming an audience and following. The key on these platforms is to post frequently and consistently. You will also want to send traffic back to your website through a link to boost your overall marketing and SEO efforts.
But... you're probably asking the question "who in the world would even care about my social media posts? I'm a dentist, nobody wants to see posts about dental health". We've heard this before and the answer lies in your local community. Check out the local events and news so you can create posts around them! You can also mix in a tiny bit of dental advice once in a while too. Another great option is to check for latest news in your industry and write your thoughts on it in the form of a 5 sentence blog. It doesn't have to be long! Then, you can post this blog on your website and announce it on your social media.
You can also check on competitors to see what they are posting to get an idea of what followers are reacting to. Regardless, make sure your content is valuable. Do not make it about your services all the time. If you don't provide value, your social media marketing will suffer.
SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This is a process that allows your website to show up higher in Google's search results. SEO is usually applied to websites in order to achieve this result. In the early stages, it requires a lot of research to find out what and where people are searching. These methods usually take a long time (at least 6 months) to take effect. If you're reading this, you're likely a local dentist office. You'll certainly want to focus more on local searches such as "dentist office (city name here)".
PPC and Google Ads
Google Ads have become nearly synonymous with PPC (pay per click). These are ads that show up during a search on Google in a "sponsored" section. This is a great digital marketing effort to gain initial leads and patients as a dentist office. Search ads usually have a call to action and can drive valuable behavior such as sending a contact form, booking a consultation, or requesting more information. Again, like SEO, you can focus these ads on your local area to bring your cost to acquire a patient down and be more relevant for those who are searching online.
Google ads also offer other options such as video ads or display ads. Display ads create general awareness for your dental practice and you are charged based on impressions. Impressions are basically how many people see your ad. Video ads can do either - create calls to action or generate awareness for your dental office. You just need to have the equipment to film a high quality video.
Social Media
Social media is a fantastic and low cost method to begin forming an audience and following. The key on these platforms is to post frequently and consistently. You will also want to send traffic back to your website through a link to boost your overall marketing and SEO efforts.
But... you're probably asking the question "who in the world would even care about my social media posts? I'm a dentist, nobody wants to see posts about dental health". We've heard this before and the answer lies in your local community. Check out the local events and news so you can create posts around them! You can also mix in a tiny bit of dental advice once in a while too. Another great option is to check for latest news in your industry and write your thoughts on it in the form of a 5 sentence blog. It doesn't have to be long! Then, you can post this blog on your website and announce it on your social media.
You can also check on competitors to see what they are posting to get an idea of what followers are reacting to. Regardless, make sure your content is valuable. Do not make it about your services all the time. If you don't provide value, your social media marketing will suffer.
SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This is a process that allows your website to show up higher in Google's search results. SEO is usually applied to websites in order to achieve this result. In the early stages, it requires a lot of research to find out what and where people are searching. These methods usually take a long time (at least 6 months) to take effect. If you're reading this, you're likely a local dentist office. You'll certainly want to focus more on local searches such as "dentist office (city name here)".
PPC and Google Ads
Google Ads have become nearly synonymous with PPC (pay per click). These are ads that show up during a search on Google in a "sponsored" section. This is a great digital marketing effort to gain initial leads and patients as a dentist office. Search ads usually have a call to action and can drive valuable behavior such as sending a contact form, booking a consultation, or requesting more information. Again, like SEO, you can focus these ads on your local area to bring your cost to acquire a patient down and be more relevant for those who are searching online.
Google ads also offer other options such as video ads or display ads. Display ads create general awareness for your dental practice and you are charged based on impressions. Impressions are basically how many people see your ad. Video ads can do either - create calls to action or generate awareness for your dental office. You just need to have the equipment to film a high quality video.
View How Well These Strategies Work Here
What If You Don't Have Time?
If you don't have the time to learn or apply some of these strategies, you can look into various automation softwares on the market. Otherwise, you can hire a digital marketing agency to help you out. Here are a couple things to ask:
1. Are they active on social media themselves? And do they follow digital marketing news and trends?
2. Do they have experience and are they willing to share their success?
3. Are they transparent about their digital marketing practices?
4. Do they claim to have any "secrets" or "formulas" that they promise will yield results?
5. Do they communicate well with their clients?
6. Are they willing to give you references?
7. What is the contract term?
Hopefully you found this guide useful for your online marketing as a dentist! If you have any questions, feel free to fill out a contact form so we can help out!
If you don't have the time to learn or apply some of these strategies, you can look into various automation softwares on the market. Otherwise, you can hire a digital marketing agency to help you out. Here are a couple things to ask:
1. Are they active on social media themselves? And do they follow digital marketing news and trends?
- If the digital marketing agency is active and keeping up on industry news, this likely means that they have updated and high quality methods that can help your dental practice succeed online.
2. Do they have experience and are they willing to share their success?
- If they aren't willing to share their success stories, this is a red flag.
3. Are they transparent about their digital marketing practices?
- If the marketing agency does not share their methods with you, this is a red flag.
4. Do they claim to have any "secrets" or "formulas" that they promise will yield results?
- If so, that's a red flag. This is most common in the SEO field.
5. Do they communicate well with their clients?
- You want a digital marketing agency that works well with your dental practice. Ask and see how they plan on communicating and working with you so the business relationship can be as smooth as possible for each party.
6. Are they willing to give you references?
- If the marketing agency does not give you references, it could mean two things. One is that they are brand new. The other is that they have had dissatisfied clients who are not willing to be referenced. Getting a reference and calling them can help show the marketing agency's quality of work - so it's a good idea to check on this before moving forward.
7. What is the contract term?
- You never want to be locked in on a 12 month contract with a low quality marketing agency. At that point, it's not doing any good.
Hopefully you found this guide useful for your online marketing as a dentist! If you have any questions, feel free to fill out a contact form so we can help out!