Successful Social Media: Advice from a Marketing Expert

This article originally appeared in the May/2024 issue of the Academy of General Dentistry’s AGD Impact magazine.

Dental practices everywhere have discovered the marketing power of social media. They use their creativity to gain followers and likes on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. For dentists who are not social media savvy, the idea of creating a Facebook page may seem intimidating. Still, any practice can build a successful social media presence by following some basic principles.

The first step on the road to social media success is to build a proper profile so that followers and patients seeking information about the practice can easily find it. An engaging profile with captivating imagery conveys a certain level of professionalism and attention to detail, which people who engage with the page will remember when they are ready to make contact.

The biggest factor in the success of a practice’s social media is custom content that is posted consistently. Team members and doctors should be regularly creating content to post. Patient video testimonials, short educational videos, and scripted and unscripted content all fall under the umbrella of custom content. Whenever possible, images should also be custom. Posting pictures of the team and doctors at work, having fun and interacting with patients humanizes the practice and shows its unique personality.

Variety in content is also key. Creativity will work in the practice’s favor and help keep the content from getting stale. Content should be on the patient’s level to keep people engaged and attract new followers. Content that is too technical and focuses only on clinical aspects will not resonate with an audience of laypeople. An abundance of content overtly selling treatments or services will also turn people off.

Keeping an eye out for trends that translate well to dentistry is an effective strategy for adding variety to social media content. Some trends are easily adapted to dentistry — such as satisfying videos — and, with a little planning, can be quite successful.

Keeping an eye out for trends that translate well to dentistry is an effective strategy for adding variety to social media content. Some trends are easily adapted to dentistry such as satisfying videos, a cousin to ASMR depicting something mundane that results in visual and/or audible satisfaction. With a little planning, they can be quite successful.

When a social media page gains followers, they will naturally want to engage with the content. To let people know that their comments and engagement are appreciated, the dental practice should reciprocate, responding to comments and interacting with followers who take the time to engage with the content. This not only lets followers know that there are real people behind the scenes, but it also shows that the practice genuinely cares about its patients and followers.

Building a successful social media presence takes time. It is easy to get discouraged, especially in the beginning. However, with consistent work, followers will come. It is important to keep the goal in mind and continue to post fresh content every week. It may be slow going at the start, but, with dedication, the page will gain traction.

While some dentists may prefer to develop their social media on their own, others may wish to enlist the help of a marketing agency.

Lee Brown, DDS, is a client of My Dental Agency, owned by Jackie Ulasewich Cullen, and utilizes the company’s social media development services. He answered some questions about his approach to social media:

How/why/when did you start on social media?

Brown: We’ve had a Facebook business profile for many years, but we became more consistent and really started using it when we started working with My Dental Agency in 2019.

What is your platform of choice?

We utilize Facebook, Instagram and YouTube the most. All three are equally important to us for different reasons. Facebook traditionally was our platform of choice, but, with Instagram’s growth in popularity and our increase in video content, we have been using it and YouTube more.

How do you attract new followers?

We do a few things. We run a specific ad that attracts new followers, and we engage our existing patients to follow us and share our content with their friends and family. The more content that gets engagement, the more chances we have to reach new followers.

Do you run ads on social media?

We only run an ad to attract new followers, and it’s only a small portion of our overall budget. We have tested ads on Facebook/Instagram and YouTube in the past, and we will continue to look for new opportunities to test on these platforms, but for now we only have one ad.

Does good social media need to cost money?

It does not. If you or someone on your team can regularly post for you and keep your social platforms managed, it would not technically cost any additional investment.