When it comes to social media marketing and brand building, dental practices are in a unique position compared to industries such as restaurants, clothing stores, and software companies.
Most industries strive to convince their target audiences that what they are selling is worth buying, whereas dentists don’t need to convince their audience that they should have their teeth and gums checked every year.
Rather, the challenge that dental practices face is helping prospective patients choose to trust their practice over similar ones in the area. Let’s take a look at why dental posts from social media help patients and which types of posts to use on which platform.
The Importance of Social Media & Dental Visits
Social media marketing is an excellent way to build a relationship with your audience. You can engage with them, set the narrative, and open up the discussions around topics that your audience may have questions about. You can showcase your track record, highlight your industry experience, and let your prospective patients know that they are in good hands.
The personality you build around your dental practice builds trust – making your patients feel more comfortable before they step through your door.
How does a website do this? By selling more than just teeth whitening products and cosmetic repairs. You are providing good oral health, comfort, and confidence. You are telling your clients that you will help them achieve that winning smile and in turn, you’re providing them with a great experience. The right social media posts on the right platform will attract new clients, build better relationships, and showcase your leadership in the market.
What Type of Posts for What Platforms?
When you start posting on social media, you are likely to find that some platforms work better for dental practices than others. This also means that certain kinds of posts may work better for you depending on what platform you are using. Let’s go over the Big Four.
Facebook is a fantastic platform for dental practices because of its massive pull of daily users. With billions of visitors every day, combined with the Facebook Ads Manager tool, you can find out more than ever before about your audience.
In addition to understanding your audience better, Facebook is all about intimate relationships with friends and family – allowing you to build a similar trust with potential patients.
Below are post types that do well on Facebook:
- Relevant blog and news articles.
- Shared photographs of your dental office, team, and happy clients.
- Updates about your dental practice.
- Feedback and customer discussion.
- Promotions and contests.
- Facebook Live + Q & A Sessions.
- Providing dental tips and reminders.
If you are looking to demonstrate the visual side of your dental practice, then Instagram is the perfect platform. In fact, if your practice is primarily cosmetic, then an Instagram page is an absolute must.
Below are post types that do well on Instagram:
- Videos or photos from behind the scenes at your dental practice.
- Promotional events.
- Campaigns that encourage your audience to show off their best smiles.
- Using branded hashtags to pull in engagement.
- Providing before and after images of procedures/treatments.
- Reposting pictures of your dental office.
- Video testimonials from patients.
If you are looking to share more compact messages that are refined and direct in their message, then Twitter is the platform to be on. Similar to Facebook in its broad collection of audiences, Twitter allows you to engage clients quickly across a broad spectrum of demographics.
Below are post types that do well on Twitter:
- Branded hashtags to draw attention.
- Sharing relevant, high-quality content from industry peers & academics.
- Live-tweeting dental conferences.
- Answering customer service questions or general concerns about dental care.
YouTube
If you have the time to create videos, YouTube is a great platform to expand your content creation as a dental practice. Videos around office tours, procedures, patient testimonials, interviews, and more all are great uses of video.
When creating the content for these social media platforms, make sure that you are providing a comfortable, professional experience that is personal rather than clinical. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution to marketing with social media – as long as your brand is credible and trustworthy, your audience will approve.
About the Author:
Clayton Patterson is the founder and CEO of Digital Space Marketing. After spending nearly a decade developing websites and launching successful marketing campaigns for medium sized companies and startups, Clayton knows what truly drives conversions and brings growth to an organization. In addition to his extensive marketing experience, Clayton is a lawyer with a deep understanding of website accessibility laws and the technical requirements that all websites should abide by.
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