Dentists are not known for their marketing efforts. Most practices are happy with enough patients to keep their dentists busy and simply rely on word of mouth to get their names out.
This is fine, but it will not lead to business growth or expansion. Imagine if, with a little help from marketing, you could keep your schedule the same, but bring in patients that need higher-paying treatments, sending profits soaring.
With the right marketing strategy, you can. Targeting these five dental marketing channels will allow you to increase your new patient flow and target the audience you want walking through the doors of your practice.
User-Generated Content
Not many patients think to jump online and review their dentist as soon as they get off the chair, but if you are doing a good job and keeping patients happy, you want them to leave a review.The better your reviews, the higher you will rank on Google.
Consider running a discount promotion where patients receive a discount on their next visit in exchange for a review on Google+. This should see you jump up the search listings fast and get more new patients.
Personalized Content
According to digital marketers HubSpot, personalized content is 42% more effective than generic content. As a dental practice, you also have a head start. You already have patients phone numbers and email addresses and their treatment history.
Use this information to send personalized content about new treatments or products that they may be interested in, or by sending them discounts that might entice them directly to their inbox.
An Increased Social Media Presence
Trust is a big component in the dentist-patient relationship. One way to establish that trust for new patients is through your social media accounts. If you have a large social media presence, with a big following and significant post engagement, it shows you have a loyal patient base and gives prospective patients the impression you are trustworthy.
Having a marketing program that can manage your social media profiles and get your message out to patients will mean you can achieve a strong social media presence without putting your team of staff under extra pressure. A program like Patient Prism helps dentist succeed with their social media accounts and drives practice growth.
Video Content Marketing
Producing video content is one of the best ways to connect with patients. It is more engaging than text and photo content, delivering 1,200%more shares and likes than both, and is an excellent accompaniment to a social media marketing campaign.
A behind-the-scenes video of the practice meet the staff video, or patient testimonial videos are all great ways of using video content to connect with more potential patients and build trust.
Pay-per-click (PPC) Advertising
Pay per click ads are the ads that appear at the top of the search listings when you search for keywords on Google. For example, you could take out an ad for the keywords “dentist in Boston, Massachusetts” and whenever a user searches for those terms, a link to your website will appear.
The benefit of this marketing channel is that the leads it generates are already searching for a new dentist. This means many of the visitors to your site that come from this marketing avenue are ready to be converted into new patients. Just ensure your staff are responsive in responding to new queries and you will quickly turn website visitors into feet in the door.
A savvy marketing strategy which incorporates all five of these channels will send your profits soaring and offer ample opportunities for your practice to expand. Why settle for the status quo when you could be growing?
