Why Social Media Is Vital In Dental Marketing


Social media has quickly become an indispensable component of dental marketing, helping practices reach and connect with patients that might have otherwise evaded their radar. Traditional marketing platforms, though super effective, are bound to reach only a portion of consumers. Given the exponential growth of social media over the years and the extent to which it has soared, owners of a dental practice should be exerting themselves to incorporate its powers into their marketing strategies. Our group at Dr. Marketing has summed up the social media experience and how your dental practice's marketing can further evolve through its various platforms. 

What is Social Media? 


Social media is a reference to websites and applications specifically designed to allow users to share content immediately, hassle-free, and in real-time. Although many users constantly access social media through smartphone apps, it is also available on computers and other electronic devices that are connected to the internet. On social media networks, users are permitted to swiftly create, personalize, and share content with the public after they create an account. Each time a visitor comes to your page or profile, they will inevitably see what content you have produced. You can also edit your privacy settings on these social media platforms, restricting or enabling precisely who can view your content once it is released. 

Top Four Social Media Platforms 

•    Facebook (2.9 billion monthly active users): on the most recent count, Facebook saw upwards of 2 billion monthly users, cementing itself yet again as the largest social media platform. Over 200 million businesses, the majority of them being small companies, utilize Facebook's tools, and more than seven million advertisers promote their business on the website. Getting started on Facebook is very simple due to how seamlessly numerous content formats function on the platform, whether that is text, images, stories, or video footage. Bear in mind though that Facebook's algorithm prioritizes content that successfully initiates conversations and interactions between users. 

•    YouTube (2.2 billion monthly active users): YouTube's platform revolves around sharing videos and with users viewing a billion hours of content daily, it is the number-one destination for dental practices to upload marketing videos. Not only is it the second biggest social media platform, but it is also largely recognized as the second largest search engine, trailing only its parent company, Google. Dental practices looking to expand their reach via YouTube can create a channel or advertise on the website. 

•    Instagram (2 billion monthly active users): Instagram is the social media platform that emphasizes visual content, allowing your dental practice to display products or services. Within the app, you can upload several forms of content, including photos, videos, reels, live videos, stories, and IGTV (lengthier videos). For owners of a dental practice, it is advised that an Instagram business profile is created since it supplies detailed analytics of your profile and posts. Also, it lets you schedule Instagram posts through third-party tools, a useful feature for any dental practice owner that is always on the move. 

•    Twitter (436 million monthly active users): Twitter separates itself from other social media platforms because it concentrates on real-time information, no matter what the topic of interest is. In other words, it shows users precisely what is happening and trending at that very moment they are online. Users are limited to 280 characters to get their point across, putting a reasonable cap on their blocks of text. Dental practices, like other businesses, can use the social media platform as a customer service medium for their patients. Already, more than 80 percent of social customer service requests occur on Twitter. 

Which Social Media Platforms are Best for the Dental Industry? 



For those who work within the dental industry, Dr. Marketing recommends implementing all four social media platforms in their marketing planning. Though it might seem a daunting task, each website has a distinct purpose that can benefit your practice: Facebook gathers feedback from your patients and opens up an avenue for back-and-forth conversations; YouTube and Instagram are convenient alternatives for those patients who prefer a visual presentation over a written summary; and Twitter connects with a more diverse audience in real-time. Just in the sheer volume of users, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram should be considered for your dental practice's marketing campaign. 

Building engagement & creating relationships

Your dental practice's social media efforts should target potential consumers for the sake of developing relationships and establishing connections. Receiving tons of clicks and views is encouraging; however, you ultimately want your audience to have a voice and engage in some form of conversation. Educate your audience with resources and critical advice, but also provide a sounding board on that patients can express an opinion or ask a question. Respond as promptly as you can and share relevant links that can further inform them. This will not only be appreciated by that patient; it will also be seen by other visitors and encourage them to follow suit. Showing care towards your patients and their concerns online will be a great way to foster new relationships. 

Growing your audience

After understanding precisely who your target audience is, you can tinker with the tone, language, and resources shared on your social media platforms. It will gradually yield a larger audience because you have taken the time to contemplate what it is you'd like to achieve with your patients and how you can execute a successful strategy for those goals. Think of methods to utilize each of the four social media platforms and be sure to have links on all of them that easily direct patients to your other channels. Your Facebook page, for example, ought to contain easy-to-find links to the Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter pages that encompass your dental practice's overall social media presence. 

Social media advertisements

There is also the option of social media advertising, a form of digital marketing that incorporates social networks to deliver paid ads to your target audience. Fast and effective, social media ads connect with your consumers and add another dimension to your marketing campaign. These advertisements will offer personalized content for your specific audience, focusing on demographics and user behavior. If patients are first introduced to your dental practice through social media advertisements, interactions and conversions are very likely to materialize. Social media ads also happen to be less costly than you might think, which boosts the possibility of huge rates of return. 

How can Dental Clinics use Social Media to Attract New Patients? 

Content and conversations will be the two tell-tale features of your social media presence's ability to gain traction with new patients. Posting content merely to fill a calendar quota isn't going to cut it; your dental practice's online material has to be useful and address patient needs. Get creative with these posts on all of your social media platforms. Some ideas to ponder are polls, contests, questions posed by your dental practice, motivating your patients to send in queries of their own, fun tests that put your patients' dental expertise into the spotlight, animated gifs, highlighting particular consumers for achievement, and customized filters on certain social media websites. Be proactive when engaging with your consumers, especially with those that have yet to send in a question or spark a conversation. Maybe they just need that initial push to discover their online voice. Each of your responses to patients has to be timely and informative. 

Put your dental practice on the social media map 

By now, you have surmised the impressive value that social media can provide for any dental marketing strategy. Contact our team at Dr. Marketing and learn how your dental practice can profit from social media marketing.