The competition among dental practices these days has become incredibly intense. It seems like cities have a dental practice every few blocks, which makes getting more patients significantly tougher for dentists. From all indications, it has become necessary for dental professionals to market their business online to get a leg up on their competitors.
So they put up websites for their dental practice. For some of them, however, that would be the extent of their dental marketing efforts. Somehow, they don’t realize how adding content to their website regularly and marketing it can help their dental practice in many ways.
Content marketing
Most dental marketing strategies include search engine optimization or SEO, and content marketing is a crucial aspect of optimizing your dental practice website. It focuses on using content geared towards raising awareness about your brand, retaining existing customers and attracting new ones, getting visitors to act, or simply accomplishing the business or marketing goals of your dental practice.
For your content marketing efforts, you can put up just about any type of quality content that provides valuable information to people who visit your website.
If your website has a blog (and it must have one), regular blog posts would be great. So are infographics and videos, which are even more engaging. As long as the content you post proves useful and relevant to users, the likelihood that they will become patients of your dental practice becomes higher.
How content marketing helps your dental practice
Reaching the right people - Unlike TV ads and billboards and other traditional marketing methods, content marketing specifically targets people who are actually searching for dental practices in a given area. That makes them more likely to walk through your practice’s doors to avail of your services.
Improving visibility - More people are going to find you on the Internet if you create or share more quality content. When people use Google and other search engines for information about, say, teeth whitening or proper oral hygiene, the content you have posted will show up in the search engine results pages or SERPs, that is, if they’re well-optimized.
You should also make good use of social media platforms for your content marketing efforts. Don’t forget to share your website’s quality content on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and the like.
Fostering relationships - Every piece of content you post on your practice website and share on your social media accounts is an opportunity to establish rapport and eventually, a relationship with existing and potential patients. Your readers will likely comment on those posts, giving you a chance to actually interact with them. Soon enough, you should be able to build a loyal following and customer base.
Building your reputation - Content marketing puts you in a position to become a trusted authority in the field of dentistry. With the valuable dental health-related information you’re providing potential patients, you will eventually gain a reputation as an expert or thought leader in your industry. With that kind of reputation, it won’t be long before those potential patients become actual, paying patients.
Standing out from the competition - You may be offering the same services as the dental practice a couple of blocks away from yours, but a constant stream of quality content on your practice website and social media accounts can help set you apart. When your content provides information that users ultimately benefit from, it would be easier for those users to choose the dentist that helped them in the past, and for free at that.
Content marketing is an effective strategy that can help you grow your practice. So take the time to create and share content on your website. Take advantage of social media as well.