Like many things, growing your dental practice is easier said than done. A large part of success starts with getting the word out about your practice – and getting yourself noticed by potential new patients at the ideal time.
To help you start brainstorming new ways to enhance your dental marketing strategy, use these four ideas below to get started.
1. Collect positive patient reviews. Before calling, prospective patients will do their own research first – such as reading online reviews about your practice. In fact, BrightLocal found that 85% of consumers read 10 reviews before making a purchase decision with nearly half (47%) believing online reputation is important specifically for doctors and dentists.
To grow the amount of reviews about your practice – simply, ask! When patients express gratitude or sing praises, thank them and ask if they’d be willing to share their experience via a online review (and provide them an applicable link of where to go once they agree). You can also post signs in your practice and send personalized emails. For additional ideas on how to garner more online reviews, read this free whitepaper about dental reviews.
2. Build your social media presence. Social media isn’t just about funny meme’s; 42% of consumers use it to access health-related reviews with the goal of choosing a better provider.
Social media marketing gives your practice the opportunity to engage and interact with current and potential patients in a more relaxed and personable environment. It also opens the door to help you increase referrals and website traffic.
To get the most out of social media, make sure you complete your profiles with practice information, website URL, hours, specialties, and quick descriptions. Then, post consistently and frequently with content that will resonate with your audience. For example, if your patient base consists of young families, share articles or games that parents can use to teach their children about oral hygiene.
3. Claim Google My Business and Yelp listings. These sites are some of the most popular review sites out there. And, even if you haven’t claimed your listing, patients can still review your practice, so you might as well monitor what’s being said. By claiming your listing, you signal that you’re a real practice and help get verified by search engines. Claiming your listings may also positively impact your rankings within search results.
To claim your listing, you only need 15 minutes. As a result, you’ll be able to update profile information, load photos, respond to reviews and more. You can also access analytics to learn how many people are reaching you via the listings.
4. Update your profile within dental-specific directories. Look at sites like Vitals.com to ensure your practice information is up-to-date. This is additionally important as dental-specific directories are more likely to appear within search results when someone searches your exact name.
To get more ideas and recommendations on which marketing strategies may be best for your practice, fill out a form to get a call with one of our internet marketing experts.
