Some Orthodontics
will often say, “Why the fuss? I grew my practice back in the day without
Facebook”. While such cynical statements may not be wrong, it is important
for today’s dentist to understand a lot has changed since then, when all
you had to do was put a signpost over your office door.
Today, the healthcare service has evolved. People are taking a more
proactive approach to win customers over. The average time people spend on
social media daily is 118 minutes (almost two hours), it therefore not
business savvy to ignore this medium as a veritable source of customer
reach.
According to the
marketing experts at Orthosynetics
, “Orthodontics can experience significant growth in their practice by
simply adopting proven digital marketing techniques. Customer reach and
engagement can be derived through these platforms, and it starts with
having an online presence.”
Start with an online presence
As a dentist, social media isn’t necessarily the first online medium to
dive into. You can begin with the basics such as
business directories and help with local seo
. There are online yellow pages, Google local and Bing local can improve
the Search Engine Optimisation of your website. You may also register your
business on independent review sites like Yelp. This gives prospective
customers a summary of your practice and its ratings according to your
existing patients.
Registering your practice on these directories will help index your
business on major search engines such as Google and Bing. If you are too
busy, you may hire a professional or assign one of your more tech-savvy
employees to get these done.
Identify your purpose for social media
No doubt, social media activity is great for business growth. But it takes
a lot more than a few pictures on Twitter or posts on LinkedIn to get your
phone ringing. The first thing you must identify is the ‘why’. Why are you
on social media?
List your
social media goals
before you open any accounts. This will form the basis of your online
marketing strategy. Is the goal to increase awareness of your practice in
the Austin area? Or become an authority in your industry by regularly
posting useful content for your audience? Whatever they are, your goals
will help form the social media strategy for your practice. Also, ensure
you are engaging your audience on the right platform.
Use Yelp to build and manage your reputation
We mentioned Yelp earlier mainly as a review site. It is also valuable as a
listing site because it has a high priority in major search engines. This
means if your business is listed on Yelp, it will easily show up on search
engine results when customers are searching for services related to your
practice. For example, “dental implants Austin” could bring up your
practice if it offers the service or something similar.
Additionally, Yelp users can gauge the quality or experience from your
practice by reading the number of reviews and stars awarded. While some
businesses shy away from this because they fear negative reviews might hurt
them, it is only reasonable to imagine the benefits if your patients are
genuinely pleased with your service.
Create YouTube videos
YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. It is the go-to
place for most video tutorials and people spend time watching videos that
engage them on various topics. As a dentist, you can win over a significant
number of potential customers with a YouTube channel.
Get creative with your videos. Make them engaging and humorous, while
maintaining your professionalism. A simple demonstration on “Different
types of Brace” or “Keeping your braces clean” can inspire many subscribers
towards your channel. What’s more, it can earn you a reputation as an
authority in your industry. Before long, you may start receiving new
patients via your YouTube Channel.
Be human
Relationship building is major key. Before making your online interactions
about profit, ensure you establish some kind of relationship with your
followers first. It is good to maintain your professionalism as a
healthcare provider, but it is also necessary people perceive you as
“human”. The online platform is usually a laid-back medium, and people
quickly establish a relationship with businesses they can relate to.
As an Orthodontic, your practice can grow successfully by effectively
engaging its online publics. The key is to build a balance between your
offline and online customer interactions and your practice is on its way to
growth gold.