Attracting New Patients is Easy With the Right Dental Practice Marketing
Most dental practices understand the need for good marketing. It attracts new patients and reinforce relationships with existing patients. Just as with any business, marketing is what can make or break a medical practice’s revenue. While this much may seem obvious, not everyone knows how to implement successful dental practice marketing. There are so many different approaches to marketing – how do you know which one is best for your practice? While there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution, here are 8 commonly effective dental practice marketing strategies.
The 8 Keys to Effective Dental Practice Marketing
1. Get Involved in Your Community
As a dental practice, it’s critical to get your name out in the community you serve. As the epitome of a local business, your practice depends heavily on reaching the people in your city. Try sponsoring community events or a local little league team. This will give you the opportunity to build relationships and marketing your practice through posters, t-shirts or jerseys. You could also host community education events, such as speaking to elementary students about dental hygiene or even providing an e-learning course for the local college. These are all great ways to not only shape how your community will remember your practice but to establish some direct marketing as well.
2. Use Social Media
Social media is excellent for dental practice marketing. By gaining followers on different social media platforms, you will be able to provide them with a consistent stream of communication, keeping them up-to-date with your practice’s latest news and deals. This is a great way to build relationships with both new and existing patients. You can also use these platforms to show off your latest awards or certifications, and positive reviews. Using direct messaging on social media also provides another point-of-contact for patients, where they can ask questions and get quick, direct answers. Not sure how to begin your social media marketing? Start by creating a business Facebook page for your business. Facebook is the #1 platform for social media marketing.
3. Focus on Local SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is essential for all businesses, but because of the local nature of dental practices, it is crucial to focus on local SEO. This means your dental practice marketing should include keywords like “Atlanta orthodontist” instead of just “orthodontist,” or “best Atlanta dentist” instead of “best dentist.” This will make sure that your website will show up for people who are searching in your area. It will also give you an advantage when people use voice searches, like Siri or Alexa, to find a dental practice “near me.”
4. Invest in a High Quality Website
Having a good website is one of the most important keys to your dental practice marketing. Studies show that 48% of online users report that good website design is the #1 factor for deciding the credibility of a business. Your site needs to look clean, organized, and professional. It also needs to run smoothly, without bugs, interruptions, or dead links. This will determine how new patients view your practice for the first time. If it looks like you can’t keep your website updated, people may question your ability to stay up-to-date on the latest healthcare practices. If nothing else, investing in a well-designed website is always worth it.
5. Maintain a Blog
It’s a fact – companies that blog get 55% more web traffic. Blog posts can bring visitors to your site by regularly adding local keywords, as discussed earlier, to your website. Creating on-site content will make you more visible in search engine results, which will help you attract new patients. Blog posts are great ways to share your expertise, offer your patients helpful tips, and discuss the latest industry news. Keep your website current and strengthen relationships with your patients by posting regularly to your company blog.
6. Use Appointment Reminders
Although targeting new patients is an important goal of dental practice marketing, it is equally important to maintain relationships with your existing patients. Show your patients you care by sending them appointment reminders or reminders to schedule their next appointment. This will re-engage them and show them that your practice doesn’t forget about its patients once they walk out the door. You can send reminders in emails, texts, phone calls, or post cards. Sometimes it’s best to use a combination of reminders to make sure you reach your patient.
7. Send Newsletters
Newsletters function a little bit like blog posts, except this content gets delivered directly into your patients’ inboxes. This is an opportunity to send little bits of valuable information to your audience, rather than hoping they find it on your blog. For optimal dental practice marketing, it’s best to keep your newsletters concise, relevant, and infrequent enough that people don’t mark them as spam. If you’re taking care when creating your newsletters, people will be happy to see them.
8. Plan Re-marketing Campaigns
Re-marketing is when you reach out to existing patients and ask them to take a specific action. This can look like a lot of different things. You can remind patients to schedule their six month checkup. You can also reach out to people who visited your website but never booked an appointment. Facebook ads are a great way to target people based on their online activity. You can also use re-marketing campaigns to advertise new services, like a safer tooth whitening procedure or new invisible braces. By targeting people who have already know interest in your dental practice, you have a greater chance of conversion.
The Mauldin Group Knows What Your Dental Practice Needs
The Mauldin Group understands that not all healthcare messaging is the same. We use our experience, research and training to develop a customized marketing strategy that is unique to your particular needs and budget. At The Mauldin Group, we understand the mystery of SEO. We are ready to not just get your business to the top of those searches but KEEP YOU there. Learn more by Contacting Us Now or calling us at 866-438-7756.