By 2024 the dental industry is projected to be worth $40 billion approximately!
So, it is clear that the industry has potential & if you as a dentist want to be a leader in the dental industry, social media marketing is very crucial for you.
For decades dentists mostly relied on their expert work to be marketed by their patients through word of mouth. Dentists mostly relied on their patients to be their promoters & the history speaks for itself, it was not the best marketing strategy.
It’s 2023 now & dental industry has a great way of tapping the market through social media marketing for dentists.
Why social media marketing for dentists?
As the nature of the Industry, it allows any dentist for free entry into the market & starts practicing. So what will make you stand out from the crowd?
Unlike other businesses, dentists don’t need to convince people to get their teeth & gums checked, they are already aware of it.
The 3 major challenges faced by dentists are:
1. Standing out of the crowd:
It is a crowded market of dentists, and you need to establish your dental expertise to be the most superior & attract patients towards you.
2. Reminding to schedule appointments:
Once you have a patient, you have shown your dental expertise to him, you need to have a proper system to remind your patients to schedule appointments.
3. Building trust:
Building a relationship of trust totally depends on how you provide service to patients. People feel anxious while visiting a dentist & you need to solve this.
Social media marketing for dentists helps you to portray your USPs. Through social media posts, you can establish what kind of service can be expected from you.
Image Credit: New England Dental
Utilize social media platforms to enhance patients’ comfort prior to their clinic visits. Demonstrate your dental expertise, proven track record, and industry experience to assure clients that they are in capable hands.
Alleviate any negative connotations associated with dental visits through engaging and enjoyable social media content. Infuse your dental practice with a captivating personality that creates anticipation and excitement among people.
Ultimately, building trust is the key focus in establishing strong relationships with your patients.
Here are the top 3 benefits of social media marketing for dentists:
1. Building relationships:
Going to the dentist is often regarded as an anxiety-inducing event by many individuals. In fact, some individuals are so frightened that they actively avoid attending their dental appointments.
It’s understandable why marketing in this context can be challenging, comparable to the difficult task of pulling teeth.
Thankfully, social media platforms provide a valuable opportunity to establish connections with your target audience by showcasing patient testimonials, sharing client experiences, posting welcoming office images, and, most importantly, demonstrating the positive outcomes of your dental work.
For example, when it comes to building relationships, addressing inquiries about dental care through social media indicates your commitment to providing care and expertise. It shows that you’re readily available to assist.
Engaging with patients through tweets, Facebook shares, and liking their Instagram posts demonstrates a more friendly and supportive approach.
2. Attracting new clients:
People take their healthcare decisions very seriously. The first thing any person does is that they reach Google to find nearby dentists.
According to a survey, more than 50% of people who visit dentists have first used Google to search for a dentist & read reviews.
When a patient comes to you for a dental checkup, it’s not a one-time thing or a single product to be sold. It’s a recurring service needed, and returning the patient to the same dentist depends on the value of the service you provide.
Having a digital presence of your dental clinic on social media helps the patients or potential patients to connect or get to know about the services & your expertise according to their comfort.
3. Standing out from the crowd:
The nature of social media allows you to share your information virtually with a wider audience.
Building trust in brands can be challenging, but having tangible evidence to support your assertions can significantly impact the perception.
Image Credit: theduncdent
Consequently, establishing yourself as a prominent figure in the dental industry and promoting it through social media not only attracts fresh clients but also captures the interest of fellow professionals.
What are the best social media platforms for dentists?
Now that we have stated the importance of social media marketing for dentists, let’s see which platform will be the best fit to start your social media marketing practices for your dental clinic.
One of the most popular social media platforms Instagram has currently over 2.35 billion monthly active Instagram users.
It’s simple, be where the public is. Instagram can turn out to be the best platform to start your social media marketing efforts for the dental clinic.
Have a goal that is why you want to post on Instagram?
The most appropriate answer would be, to showcase yourself as an expert professional, who is good in his dental practice & can give patients the healthy teeth they want.
Image Credit: Smile Kochi Dental Clinic
A few things that you can post on your profile can include:
- Operating/consulting photos
- Behind the scenes
- Showing before & after images
- Promote offers/discounts
- Video testimonials
- Reshare the patient’s post
- Share reviews
YouTube
YouTube, is the most famous platform the watch video content & with billions of eyes watching videos on the platform, surely you should be the one using the opportunity to attract patients to your dental clinic.
Video content has proved to be more engaging & can have greater brand recall value. YouTube is the best platform to promote videos that will help build trust in your dental practice.
Image Credit: Teeth Talk Girl
Content that can be uploaded includes:
- Clinic tours
- Consulting videos
- Procedure videos
- Answering FAQs
- Patient testimonials
- Dental tips
Bonus tips to promote your dental practice on social media:
- Encourage your employees or fellow practitioners to post content on their social media profiles that can help to promote your dental clinic
- Share content that is engaging & adds value to the viewer
- Engage with your audience, reply to their comments, answer their queries, and repost their posts related to your service
- Host live video sessions, and transform them into a fun discussions that will add value to them
- Proactively ask for reviews from your patients, and showcase them on your social media profile
- Start referral programs, and promote them through social media. You can also promote offers & events
Similar to any marketing approach, achieving success in the realm of social media as a dentist does not have a universal solution.
Nevertheless, by acknowledging the significance of establishing connections with your audience on social platforms, you can start developing a brand that possesses greater credibility, trustworthiness, and attractiveness to today’s patients.
Demonstrate to your audience that they can rely on you, and you’ll anticipate having a satisfied group of patients who no longer fear dental visits.
Need an expert to handle your social media marketing?
With Socinova, you can promote your dental services across audiences with the help of our social media marketing for dentists.
This blog is written by Pranit Kamble from the Socinova Team. Images have copyrights of the respective owners.
