Leveraging TikTok to Promote Your Dental Practice

Whatever your opinion about TikTok, there’s no denying it’s a popular social media platform with a growing number of content creators and users. Small business owners, especially, are finding TikTok to be a useful tool for promoting products and services and educating customers. You might be surprised to learn that a number of dentists have successfully created accounts, attracting thousands of followers. I know that TikTok is not for everyone, but for practices looking to grow their social media following, it can be an excellent addition.

TikTok May Not Be What You Think

First and foremost, despite its reputation, TikTok is not just for young users. While it’s true that TikTok users tend to skew young compared to Facebook, with over a billion active accounts, TikTok spans every age and demographic. This means there is plenty of opportunity for dental practices to reach people. People of all ages rely on TikTok for information that will help them decide what to buy and from whom. Why shouldn’t that include their dental care?

TikTok has evolved from its origins as a place for kids to post videos of the latest dance moves to a platform that hosts diverse content, including educational material. The nature of the platform makes interaction feel more personal, like face-timing a friend. It creates an intimate relationship between the creator and the audience, building loyal followings that don’t exist on other platforms.

TikTok for Dental Professionals

Healthcare professionals, including dentists, are successfully using TikTok to reach patients more authentically and transparently. It takes time to build a following on the platform, as it does with all social media channels. With the right strategy and some patience, any dental practice can find an audience that will engage with its content and boost its online reputation.

Here are a few tips for starting and building a TikTok account for your dental practice:

1. Decide what you want the account to be. Your TikTok account should have a voice and point of view, whether the dentist or another team member will be managing it. TikTok users like having a “one-on-one” relationship with content creators and will be more likely to follow an account with a recognizable face. It’s part of what makes the platform unique. It also helps boost your content on the platform.
2. Focus your content. Whether the main purpose is to promote the practice, educate people, or just have fun, the content you post should have an overarching theme. This does not mean all content has to be the same. However, most TikTok accounts have a central theme running through most of the content. This works because users like knowing what to expect from a creator but also because focused content makes SEO on the platform easier and more effective. Using keywords in captions and trending hashtags is a good strategy and helps users find your account when searching specific topics.
3. Be as creative as you want. Creativity counts on TikTok, but it’s not the only thing that matters. Anyone can find a niche by consistently posting engaging content people find useful and interesting. There are plenty of healthcare creators on TikTok who have built a strong following by sharing and explaining research that laypeople either don’t have access to or may have difficulty interpreting. Others are great at counteracting misinformation or common myths, and others use their account to show the fun side of their profession. The choice is yours.
4. Hop on trends that speak to you. Not all trends work for dental practices, but there will be some that do. Don’t be afraid to try them out. Trending sounds and formats can be hot for weeks or months. Posting dental content in the form of a new trend can boost your visibility on users’ For You Pages and could even take your account viral.

TikTok’s popularity has made it an interesting marketing tool with a lot of potential for dental practices. Building a following on the platform may take time, but it also gives your practice another way to reach the types of patients you’re seeking. With more TikTok videos showing up in Google search results, the platform is essential for increasing your practice’s online visibility and engagement. Having a clear voice and general theme, adding a little creativity, and keeping up with the trends will help you start and build an account that will engage followers.