Do you remember dental marketing before the digital age when it was made up of TV commercials and print advertising? Back in the latter half of the 20th century, the big dental consumer companies used catch phrases and jingles in their advertisements, some you would probably remember today if you heard them again.
Last month in Part 1 of our Capturing New Patients series we talked about the challenges of following up with new patient leads when you and your team are busy juggling the day to day activities of your practice.
This article originally appeared in the July/2020 issue of the Academy of General Dentistry’s AGD Impact magazine.
If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s that marketing your dental practice online is more important than ever, but that the message may have changed. The crisis has trained people to reach for their computers for information, products and services instead of heading out to Main Street. It has also reframed how we interact with the world and each other; what is safe and what is not is still a question in many people’s minds.
Were you one of the practices that continued to engage with patients while your practice was shut down? If you weren’t, you have some catching up to do.
Bad reviews can really hurt your practice, especially when the bad review is for another practice but ends up on your Google or Facebook page. Check out this case study to learn more and how you can build your reviews back up.
We get it. Your team members wear many different hats in the practice, and contacting a lead can fall to the bottom of the to-do list. Yet, this activity is extremely important to growing your practice. Check out how you can capture new patients.
In just a few short months, our lives have changed dramatically. How we grocery shop, do schoolwork and visit the dentist is going to look very different for the time being. As we venture back into the public, many are still unsure how to navigate this new environment, despite the dos and don’ts we receive through the news. One thing that provides comfort during these uncertain times, however, is hearing from our local officials, and health professionals like you. Keeping up communication to your audience is critical now more than ever not just for your practice but for the well being of your patients, too.
Search engine optimization (SEO) — making your website appear as a top search result — is a must for practices that want to be found online when patients are searching for your services. However, many factors affect how your site ranks within these results, including the rest of your marketing strategy. While SEO is an important part of your marketing, it shouldn’t be your only focus. SEO, like most digital marketing tactics, is always changing. One day your site can be ranked highly on Google, and the next it can drop in rank because of a change to Google’s algorithm.
Even as the country starts to open up, and we venture back out into public, people are still spending time on their phones and computers. As one of the biggest online platforms, Facebook should always be a priority when it comes to building brand awareness for your practice. Especially now, people want connection and are going to the platform to find it now more than ever. Facebook is a place where you can chat with friends and family, get information on local restaurants, and catch up on the news. Sharing about your practice and communicating with your audience helps you build that connection with them, as well.
Are you getting ready to open your doors again? If you are gearing up and getting prepared you might have some questions as to how to keep your patients up to date or even how to reach new patients who are looking for a dentist. Despite all the changes, what is certain is that people…
