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How to Get the Word Out that Your Dental Practice is on Social Media

As you already know, dental marketing has dramatically evolved over the past decade. It’s now more important than ever for you to be where your current and prospective patients are, and that’s on social media!

Once your practice takes the initial step of getting on social media, the next step is growing your follower base. Gaining new followers on social media is not something that will happen overnight. It will require a thoughtful strategy, dedication and consistency, but over time you will see the results.

Here are six key ways that you can grow your followers on social media:

1. Send an email to your patient base. Let your patients know that your practice is now on Facebook and/or Twitter by sending them an email that encourages them to “Like” your page and follow your profiles. Make sure to give them a reason to do so, such as “Follow our page to get weekly dental hygiene tips!”

2. Post signage in your waiting room. Print out a sign and put it where all of your patients can see it while they wait. Ask your front office staff to tell patients upon check-in that they can now find you on Facebook and Twitter, too!

3. Use #hashtags in your posts. Hashtags are a word or a phrase preceded by a pound sign and used to identify a specific topic of your post. This way, people can search for relevant hashtags and find your practice. For example, if someone searches #teethwhitening and your practice just posted a special offer on cosmetic whitening trays using the same hashtag, your practice would appear. The more applicable hashtags you use, the more visible your practice is on social media.

4. Post often and consistently. By posting reliable content on a consistent basis (e.g. every Monday), you will grow a more steady following because they’ll become accustomed to seeing your posts each week. Conversely, if you get on social media and people can see that you’ve only posted once or twice, they may not see the value behind why they should take the effort to “Like” or follow your practice.

5. Be social! People want to see that there’s benefit to following your practice on social media. Offer specials to new patients, educational content, and incentives for people to interact with your pages. You should also make it a point to always respond when someone comments on a status or leaves a review on your page.

6. Utilize shared content. You can also grow your audience by listening to what is being said in community groups, local news, or industry trends. If an article or video is published, you can then repost that article and add your perspective.  This helps establish you as an expert in the field by providing an informed opinion to your online community.

To learn more about marketing your practice in the age of social media, download ProSites’ free whitepaper, Running a Dental Practice in the Age of Social Media, today.