WELCOME TO THE ERA OF DIGITAL DENTAL MARKETING
Since most traditional dental marketing strategies will no longer work, you need new dental marketing ideas. The good news? We’ve cracked the code on what to do to win more patients online.
BELOW ARE THE BEST DENTAL MARKETING IDEAS THAT HAVE BEEN PROVEN TO ATTRACT NEW PATIENTS TO YOU
You should leave with a firm grasp of how modern patients behave online and what they seek in a new dentist, and actionable ideas you can implement immediately.
Need help implementing your dental marketing strategy? We have what you need. Contact us here”.
THE FIRST IMPRESSION
Here’s the thing: your website is often the first interaction a patient has with your practice, and patients will judge you on how it looks and works. 48% of people cited the healthcare website’s design as the number one factor in deciding the credibility of a business, and once your page loads, users form an opinion in 0.05 seconds.
Need some ideas to make your website not so backward? Here are the main features your website needs to attract more patients:
- Online programming
- By Online bill payment
- With Online prescription renewal
- Messaging capabilities so patients can quickly communicate with dental providers
- Profiles for every dentist
- A good offer of videos (see below)
- Content that helps patients keep their mouths and lives healthy
But having these features and capabilities on your website is not your only task. For example, to make your website attract more new patients:
- Be quick – Patients need to see something happening on your website within three seconds of arriving. Nearly 50% of patients will hit the “back” button if it takes longer.
- You need to secure it – It’s a no-brainer for dental care (and health care in general), but if your website isn’t secure, you’ve got a problem.
- Need to make your mobile phone user-friendly: 62% of smartphone owners use their device to search for health information, and 82% of smartphone users use a search engine when looking for a treatment center or healthcare facility locally.
- Must need to code it for SEO – The best dental websites are coded so that search engine software can easily find, crawl and index them.
START A DENTAL BLOG
“Is activated charcoal effective in whitening teeth?”
Which toothbrush is the best for sensitive teeth?” “How often do I have to go to the dentist?”
Do you have articles on this type of subject on your website? If not, you’re missing out on many visits that could turn into new patients. Patients are looking for answers to everything from how often to brush to what type of toothbrush they should use (searches for the “best toothbrush” have increased more than 100% in the past two years, and more and more patients are turning to search engines to solve their health questions.)
You must have content on your website that attracts these curious patients. Hungry for dental blog topics? Here are some ideas:
- Correcting a mistaken assumption – Asked about the main obstacles preventing them from going to the dentist, 40% of participants in the Cigna survey said they did not need to go to the dentist because they were not in pain. Again, this is a stat you could use to your advantage.
- Adopt a trend – In the interest of “natural” whitening, I googled activated charcoal as a bleaching agent. Activated charcoal is a huge topic of debate – I must have read six different blog posts about it on various dental websites. Of course, I’m not the only one researching beauty trends, so grab them and share your expertise.
- Help Build Healthy Habits – Healthy living is all the rage, so take advantage of it. People are constantly on the lookout for simple ways to improve their health, and brushing and flossing are as straightforward. Create health-themed blog posts not only for the mouth but also for the body.
PERSONALIZE YOUR BLOG POSTS AND DENTAL WEBSITE PAGES FOR SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING
SEO stands for search engine optimization. It is a process of editing your website content and code so that search engines can understand it better and rank your web pages higher in search results for related queries.
The ranking of Google’s search results is determined by a complex algorithm carried out by “spiders.” These “spiders” crawl your web pages and look for metrics, keywords, and other factors to determine what to search for and what queries it best answers.
This is where SEO comes in: these spiders speak HTML in a different language than humans. It’s like someone who speaks Russian trying to determine the content of an English web page. So the technical elements and indicators that we add with SEO are like subtitles for robots to help them better understand, categorize, and rank your web pages.
CREATE SHAREABLE IMAGES AND POST THEM ON SOCIAL MEDIA
What do I mean by “shareable”? People share things for a few key reasons, as Co-Schedule points out:
- To provide useful and entertaining content to others, 49% say sharing allows them to educate others about products that interest them and potentially change their minds or encourage action.
- Define themselves concerning others –68 percent of respondents stated that they wish to educate others about who they are and what things bring interests in them (or, rather, who they want to be perceived as).
- Develop and nurture our relationships – 78% of them consist of staying in touch with people they wouldn’t be with
- Personal growth – 69% share the information because it makes them feel more involved.
- To raise awareness for causes or brands – 84% do so because it’s a way to support causes or issues they care about (or publicly say which side they’re on).
Here are some ideas for dental social media posts:
- Remind them of the dental benefits they pay for but don’t use – Over 25% of people with dental insurance don’t get the full benefit. Therefore, we must be economical and take advantage of the products that consumers have already purchased.
- Create Simple Infographics – Infographics are great because they’re easy to read, enjoyable, and sway potential patients. You can create simple and easy ones for free with Canva.
- Create videos showcasing patients and your work – People want a dentist they can trust, and testimonials and reviews from other people will reassure them.
- The before and after the show – People always want to look like an ‘after,’ and seeing someone with a ‘before’ smile that looks just like theirs could be the quick kick to the rear they’ve been craving. They need to go after this “after” for themselves.
CREATE DENTAL VIDEOS AND INVEST IN VIDEO MARKETING
If you look at the most popular dental social media profiles, I’ve included them above. In addition, you’ll notice that they all incorporate an extremely valuable type of media: videos.
Consumers love videos.
You’re in a leading industry for using video because pretty much everything you do has a visual element. Do you create hour-long crowns with state-of-the-art 3D technology? Take a snapshot. Do you have patients who like your work? Have them filmed to get a testimony.
Here are some videos your dental office should use:
- Website welcome videos: No one wants to walk into a sleazy dental practice, so create a welcome video and introduce your facility ahead of time. Coastal Dental Arts have an excellent welcome video that speaks to the human side and builds empathy, two incredibly important aspects.
- Doctor Profile Videos: Profile videos are a great way to increase trust in your dentists and dental hygienists.
- Patient Examination Videos: Over the past two years, videos with the word “examination” in the title have been viewed for over 50,000 years on cell phones alone. By having testimonials and reviews from previous patients, you build confidence in your abilities and build a patient’s confidence in your staff.
- Overview of procedures and treatments: If you perform dental procedures, create overview videos of the procedure and aftermath.
- Educational videos on common questions or dental conditions: “Should I use activated charcoal to whiten my teeth? “How long does Invisalign take?” How do I determine whether I have a cavity?” These types of questions are easy to answer in the form of videos. By supplementing your YouTube page with these kinds of videos, you will not only be an authority figure but also clear up any confusion about your services.
GET LISTED IN RELEVANT DENTAL DIRECTORIES
EVERYONE desires one thing from their daily lives:
bad decisions. Well, thanks to search engines and the mainstream Internet, they can. Research by Google has shown that today’s consumer is obsessed with search, in large part, to make decisions with confidence. This includes reading online ratings and reviews for 90% of consumers – Consumers place an equal amount of trust in online reviews in personal recommendations.
TAKEAWAY PAY-PER-CLICK ADS FOR YOUR TOP-CONVERTING DENTAL KEYWORDS
About 44% of people say they don’t go to the dentist because it’s too expensive. One way around this problem is to post-paid search ads and advertise special offers and prices.
HERE IS AN EXTREMELY SIMPLIFIED DESCRIPTION OF HOW PAY-PER-CLICK ADS WORK:
- You choose the keywords you want your ads to appear for
- Someone is looking for your keywords Here’s what they look like in action:
By announcing your prize in advance and labeling it as special, you address one of the consumers’ biggest pain points.
If you decide to run pay-per-click ads, seek professional advice. Google makes it look easy. Unfortunately, this is not the case. This is why we pay our experienced team to take care of such a task.
ASK DENTAL PATIENTS FOR EXAMINATIONS. THEN ASK FOR MORE.
You need reviews, and you need them constantly. In 2018, 72% of patients took the first step when looking for a new doctor to request tests. Additionally, 88 % of consumers trust online reviews as much as recommendations from friends or relatives. And if that weren’t enough, 48% of patients would leave their insurance network to find a doctor with excellent reviews.
HERE ARE THE PLACES WHERE YOU NEED TO DO REVIEWS:
- Yelp
- Yellow Page
THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO GET PATIENT FEEDBACK:
- Have them give a quick video testimonial after a date
- Ask them on Facebook
- Question them by email
- In short, ask for them all the time
USE EMAIL MARKETING TO STAY TOP OF MIND WITH PATIENTS
Chances are, you use dental marketing postcards. Of course, you shouldn’t refuse them, but you should consider adding a corresponding email item. Checking email is the first thing 66% of people do after waking up. Greet them by reminding them of their upcoming appointments, giving them tips for keeping their teeth white and healthy, and motivating them to stay mentally healthy. Over 90% of adults want better email communication from their doctor, which goes for the dentist.
There are a few types of email that your dental practice should take advantage of:
- Appointment reminders
- “It’s time to…” reminders that let patients know when they’re due for cleanings or x-rays
- Ask a friend to recommend you
- Latest dental news and expert commentary
- Announcements about the latest technologies in your office and their usefulness
- Tip Sheets on Seasonal Beverages to Avoid Stains on Teeth
- Dental Health Product Reviews
IT’S TIME TO IMPLEMENT YOUR DENTAL MARKETING STRATEGY. YOU CAN ALSO HIRE ONE OF THE BEST DENTAL MARKETING COMPANIES TO DO IT FOR YOU.
Implementing your marketing strategy is no picnic. It takes impeccable timing, a lot of dedication, and hyper-consistency. Unfortunately, many dentists mistake arming themselves with creative dental marketing ideas but fail to realize that these ideas need to be executed flawlessly.
If you lack time to devote to marketing, you should designate someone to do it or hire a professional. You can’t do much DIY before you start looking unprofessional, and looks are key. Another caveat is marketing regulations in your industry. If you’re unsure of what you may or may not say or what data you may or may not use, you should at the very least seek assistance in complying.
The best dental marketing companies, like, Healthcare Marketing Agency, wrap all the above with a nice bow and deliver it to your doorstep. If you’re working with a failing dental marketing company, switching now will be less of a pain than six months from now. If you need advice, call me, and I’ll help you set up your dental marketing strategy.
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