I’ve worked with many dentists who say social media just isn’t for them. They didn’t go to school so they could spend time on Twitter. Surely they should focus on patients and not waste time posting pictures to their social media feeds, right?
Wrong.
Just a few weeks ago we witnessed the latest Super Bowl, and 30-second ads were selling for around $5 million. Even a normal primetime slot on CBS (such as during a new episode of “The Big Bang Theory”) can have a staggering price tag of $326,260. Why are marketers paying such enormous sums for a mere 30 seconds of airtime?
Because you go where the people are. We all know that a lot of people are watching “The Big Bang Theory” and that millions more are watching the Super Bowl. It makes sense to advertisers to invest heavily in areas where they know prospective customers will be.
Do you know where you can find most of your patients? We do.
They’re on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Fortunately for you, you won’t need to spend $5 million to reach them. It will, however, take a little bit of time and effort.
Your Patients Are Living in a Digital World
While Google searches and websites are only a click away, we are now seeing a sudden trend in users going straight to their social media channels to assess local businesses. The use of Twitter to recommend a business has increased 250 percent in only a year. Facebook has seen an even greater surge of 276 percent in the same time frame, and Facebook reviews are becoming extremely important to business’ marketing plans.
This shows us that when people are looking for their next dentist, they are increasingly more likely to scout out your practice online through their social media channels. Even when they are looking for personal recommendations from friends and family, in an interconnected world they are probably going to use Twitter and Facebook to get that referral.
Social media has changed the way we communicate, and it’s not going away anytime soon. What began as a way for the youth to connect to their friends has now become the norm, and I recommend that every dental practice make its presence felt online.
What Should I Post on Social Media?
You don’t need to bombard patients with sales messages. (Nobody likes that.) To reach them, you need to engage with them on social media by posting high-quality content.
If you think that just because your practice is a dentist’s office you should only be posting about dentistry-related topics, think again. Imagine the ideal patient persona for your target demographic and then ask yourself, “What is that person interested in?”
If you’re in a bustling neighborhood that has a lot of parents with young children and you want to get Suburban Mom’s attention (let’s call her Anna), what should you post?
I recommend focusing more on quality than on quantity. Perhaps 20 percent of your posts should be directly related to dentistry and/or the operations of your practice. Ideally, you’re producing regular content for your website (blogs), and this is a great place to get engagement for that blog. You’ll see far more hits to your site that way than you will by relying on organic search and those who are subscribed to your content. Anna might be very interested in hearing about special promotions or learning about the dangers of baby bottle tooth decay.
Aside from helpful content related to your practice, Anna may also be interested in content related to parenting, families, and local events. Occasionally, you should even post things that are humorous or culturally relevant. Stay away from controversial topics such as politics—aim to be a source of feel-good news for those who follow you.
It’s an easy, wide net that you’re casting, and it works. You can create your own content or simply find interesting stuff that’s worth sharing with others, providing your own comments on the material.
To make this process easier for you, I recommend spending an afternoon subscribing to various online content sources that hit the target subjects you’re looking for. Use an RSS reader and you’ll be notified of any new content from the source. When it comes time to post, you’ll have a plethora of options in front of you already and you’ll save a significant chunk of time. Also keep a close eye on upcoming community events and be sure to share the noteworthy activities with your followers.
To be even more efficient, use free platforms like Buffer or Hootsuite to schedule your social media posts in advance. Rather than having to constantly stay on top of your social media feeds, you need only find time once or twice a month to schedule regular posts ahead of time. Of course, anything that suddenly pops up (breaking news) you’ll want to post immediately, but scheduling services make it easy to post regularly without having to think about it all the time.
Ideally, you’ll be able to delegate this task to a savvy team member who is knowledgeable and efficient with social media. You want someone you can trust your reputation to, and someone who can be responsive to comments and questions that come through those channels. I suggest assigning multiple people to keep an eye on your feeds so all the responsibility doesn’t fall to a single person. You can also outsource your social media to your marketing agency, which can help you get the ball rolling and show you how to do it successfully.
It Only Works If You Do It
Social media marketing will broaden your reach, helping you to engage the very demographic you’d like to attract to your practice. Unlike traditional advertising, where you thrust your message upon a captured audience, social media is more about having a conversation with your community, helping you to stay top of mind.
When the time comes that they need a dentist and they look to their online community for help, you’ll already be there.
~Brodie Tyler