You can’t deny the sway and influence of social media on people, and that goes for your dental patients too. In fact, many people in need of dental care turn to social media platforms to look for and check up on dental practices in the area.
By now, you should have several social media accounts as a part of your marketing strategy, but have you made the most out of them?
If you’re keen about taking your dental social media game to the next level, these tips on social media marketing for dentists will lead more patients to your practice’s doorstep.
Consistency is key.
Consistency is a common problem among brands that market their goods on social media –
not just dental practices. Many companies start off with strong social media presence, but then fail to keep up after several months until their posting frequency dwindles to a trickle.
As dental professionals, it’s easy to get caught in the daily frenzy of your practice, but you must also make time for social media if you want to reap its benefits. The success of your social media marketing strategy heavily relies on your ability to maintain an active social media presence and engage with your audience regularly.
You don't have to check on your social media accounts every single day, but it's vital that you keep a consistent cadence. You can start with two or three quick but convenient posts per week and then slowly increase your engagement rate.
Stand-out through cohesive brand experience.
Most consumers won’t recall a brand until they see it several times. Thus, you need to work on making your practice stand out if you want potential patients to remember you the next time they need a dental service.
Creating a unified and distinctive image for your practice allows customers to distinguish your brand from that of your competitors'. It also gives your practice a personality and helps in easier name-recall.
Building a more cohesive brand experience can be as simple as using the same profile photo and maintaining the same feel across different social media platforms. You can also create your own branded hashtag and then use it on all your social media posts.
Color is another crucial aspect of creating a unified and distinctive brand image. You can put more emphasis on your brand color or colors by subtly incorporating it on the photo, infographics, and relevant videos that you share.
Use your colors as frequent as possible, so they become associated with your practice. The next time people see them, they’ll remember you.
Use live and limited-time content to pique interest.
Live content develops a sense of urgency in the viewers because they're only available while they last. In a society where the fear of missing out is all too real, the more limited a content is, the more people will want to take part in it.
Top social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram allow users to share live videos or stories that are only available for 24 hours. You can use these features to stream dental procedures or do a Q&A with your audience, which in turn generates a buzz around your practice and builds stronger brand-awareness.
Invest in paid advertisements and sponsored content.
Sponsored social media contents are becoming more of a necessity because organic content doesn't have the same reach and impact as before. Despite being paid advertisements, sponsored content appears on people's newsfeed the same way organic content does. Viewers can react, comment, or share them all the same.
What's great about sponsored content is that it allows you to reach people who do not follow you, or even heard of your practice. You can also focus your ad to a specific area or location and pick a target demographic for higher conversion.
Paid advertisements are likely to have a massive impact on the success of your social media marketing campaign. They drive a bearing awareness towards your brand, so that even those who don't need your services now may remember you when they require dental care.