The Secrets of Social Media for Dental Marketing

Combining your dental practice with social media may not seem like a natural pair, but every business benefits in today’s culture from going where the people are – and they’re on social media. If your dental marketing plan doesn’t include the likes of Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or any of their friends, you’re missing out on a large audience of potential patients.

Make Social Media Work for Your Dental Practice

You understandably don’t want any marketing plan that’s labor intensive. Social media can seem like something that will suck up your time, but if you have a dedicated DSO guiding you and managing the workload, it will work to your advantage.  

Truly, you could select one social media platform and stick with it – you don’t have to be everywhere, but you do need to be somewhere. Determine what kind of outlet works best for you – do you like one-liners (Twitter) or photos (Instagram) or fun videos (TikTok) or a little bit of everything (Facebook)? There is no wrong place to be as long as you’re out there mixing with the community.

Dentist-Friendly Social Media Platforms

If you’re not sure where to start with social media, consider Instagram. For many dentists, this is the ideal platform for promoting their business for many reasons:

• Photos are the thing: Instagram is all about images, and as a dentist with plenty of before-and-after photos of teeth and smiles, you automatically have a ton of interesting, attractive content available.
• Descriptions encouraged: When people see your patient photos, they want to know what was wrong with that person’s teeth and how you fixed it. It’s easy to explain your methodology in a few sentences so patients know just how much you can do for them too.
• Create your own hashtags: Hashtags not only help people find you, they help you catalog your own posts. If you create your own hashtags, like the name of a procedure plus the dentist’s last name, you’ll be able to find similar posts anytime you want – and so will visitors to your account.

Reputation Management Through Social Engagement

One of the most critical parts of any type of social media, of course, is engagement. You’re not just posting photos and descriptions, you’re encouraging followers to comment too. There are plenty of apps that make it easy to create social media content. You can ask questions like, “What do you dislike about your smile?” or give advice like, “There are three ways to fix a broken tooth.”

When your followers chime in, respond as soon as possible, whether they post a comment, ask a question, or send you a direct message, whether they complain or praise. This is reputation management 101 and it’s happening in real time. Think of your social media account as another version of your front desk – be kind, prompt, informative, and do it all with a smile.

Boost Your Social Media Presence

Remember too that having a great website is essential. Make sure you’re sending people who find you on social media to an information-filled, easy-to-navigate website. Feeling overwhelmed? Need help? Find out how a dental service organization can be your biggest champion. Contact Independence Dental DSO to learn more.