Did you know that in the United States alone, there are roughly 187,000 practicing professional dentists? In this crowded sea of competitors, marketing via social media is a great way to keep you on the map, by increasing awareness of your practice and building credibility in your brand. If you aren’t convinced that social media marketing is important for your practice, here are some key social media statistics for yon to consider:
- 74% of consumers depend on social networks to guide their purchasing decisions
- Consumers are 71% more likely to make a purchase based on social media referrals
- 38 million 13-80 year olds said their purchasing decisions were influenced by social media
Embracing social media marketing could help your dental office grow, boost your patient base and speed you along even faster down the road to financial success. Here are some points about social media marketing that will guide you in setting up successful campaigns.
Integrate Your Social Media Accounts on Your Website
Know what you want your social media and online marketing to do for you, then get started on at least one (preferably all) of these social platforms:
- Google+
Setting up your social profiles isn’t difficult, but you want to be consistent in your profile, your bio, and your picture. After you have built your profiles, integrate the social media on your website so that every visitor has the opportunity to “Like Your Page” or “Follow You” on Twitter. Integration will also give visitors the opportunity to share content on your website, further expanding the reach of your dental office and brand. You can also put your dental office on smaller social media websites, such as www.StumbleUpon.com …… to further increase and direct traffic to your site.
Re-target Potential Patients
One of the biggest benefits of social media marketing is the ability to re-target potential patients. If someone visited your website and left without converting to a patient, they will receive ads on their Facebook feed advertising your office. Re-targeting clicks on social media are also less expensive than Pay Per Click advertising on search engines. Use the analytics tools that Facebook offers to track your social media activity and conversions, or ask your website gurus to assist you with this.
Build Credibility with a Strong Online Presence
As the significance of social media grows, expect that potential patients will judge the legitimacy and success of your practice by your social media presence. A recent Princeton Review study illustrated that 85% of consumers already expect businesses to be active on social media. To strengthen your reputation as a strong, successful practice, you need to have a social media presence that attracts new patients and retains current ones. When your patients refer you to their friends, it’s vital that their friends can look you up on social media. It makes your patients feel like there’s more credibility behind their referral.
Create Dental Social Media Marketing Opportunities
Learn to capture, create, and share social moments. Spend time talking about social media in the office. Remind each other in your morning huddle to look for moments during the day to document fun and events revolving around the office or the patients. Parents love to see you posting awards and honors their kids receive! Patients love the mix of educational and fun content. Beyond this, take the time to post what you are doing outside of the office. Show how involved you are in the community. Prospective and current patients care about what kind of people you are. They care about what you do to serve and help others. Social media posts that build on commonalities increase patient loyalty and help dissipate some of the fears and anxiety that can be associated with a dental visit.
Establish Stronger Relationships with Your Patients
One of the biggest marketing mistakes you can make is to assume your patients never think about you outside of their six month cleaning appointments. As you see them interact with you through social media, you will better learn about their priorities, and how you can meet their needs. Facebook, the largest of the social platforms, Twitter, Google+, and Instagram, all allow you to talk to your current and (hopefully) future patients in real time as you build relationships. Remember, if you put relationships first, production will come follow.
Incorporating these social media guidelines into your marketing can help your practice stay current and interesting while building your customer loyalty. While every office is strapped for time, investing in creating successful social media strategies is vital for today’s competitive dental practices.
