Unlike a Halloween horror movie, marketing your practice doesn’t have to be scary. The trick is to not be like Freddy or Jason when it comes to digital marketing and scare your patients away with creepy tactics. Instead follow these tips to lead you out of the corn maze and have your patients calling you the hero.
Nightmare on Review Sites
Reviews are one of the best ways to build trust with new patients, however, beware of review companies that only post them to third party websites. It does no good to get positive patient reviews if they only get posted to sites nobody visits.
Instead, ask for patient reviews and give them direct links to sites like Google, Yelp and Facebook. While it’s good to have patient testimonials on your site, people are more apt to trust reviews on pages like these. Don’t think patient testimonials matter? 70% of dental patients say that reading online reviews influenced their choice of dentist.
The Social Media Project
You know those movies where you’re screaming at the kids not to enter the spooky house because you know what’s waiting for them on the inside? It’s just like that with some marketing companies that promise to take the burden of posting to social media off your hands. Don’t go there! What often happens is that they do you a huge disservice because they post once or twice a month, and what they post on your Facebook is the same generic content that they post on hundreds of other dental practice’s pages, too. Patients know better than to engage with such content.
Stay clear of the woods and put a customized content marketing plan in place. Practices should post 3 to 4 times a week with content that is personalized and relevant to your office. Share photos of team member meetings, special occasions, happy patients in chairs and any other fun happenings in your office. It’s also important to engage with your patients online. If they post a comment, make sure to reply in a timely matter. If they leave a review, thank them for their feedback. Social media is your chance to make a personal connection with new and current patients.
Return of the Existing Patient
What happens when you only focus on getting new patients and ignore marketing to your current ones? Existing patients just might start walking away, and have you wondering what went wrong. It’s not enough for them to hear from you twice a year when they see you for a routine cleaning. Building lasting relationships with current patients is the key to growing your practice.
Reach out to your patients with education and information that has them take action and commit to a new service or treatment plan. Marketing regularly to them also increases your chances of them talking positively to their friends and family. Keeping patients happy and in touch with your practice will put a smile on both of your faces.
