Not too long ago, dental marketing campaigns took weeks to plan and required investing thousands of dollars before you had a hope of recouping a single dollar. With that level of investment required, it took a lot of new patients to even hope to break even.
The thought of achieving returns of 1,500% and 5,000% returns on investment with a marketing campaign like I’ve done using Facebook wouldn’t have even crossed most dentists’ minds.
Today, between Facebook for dentists, the amount of information available, and unprecedented ways to connect with people, we can take marketing campaigns live with the click of a mouse, learn more and better information from people in and outside the dental industry, and build mutually-beneficial relationships with people to help each other grow.
Here are three dental marketing ideas you can get started with today to start building your practice fast.
1. Facebook for Dentists
Facebook is the most powerful online tool for connecting with potential patients. With the new algorithm changes announced in January 2018, it will be difficult for dental offices that don’t create compelling content to achieve organic reach. Although that created a lot of angst in the online marketing world, it creates opportunities for dentists who create compelling Facebook posts or use Facebook’s powerful advertising network to post highly targeted promotions to current or prospective patients.
Depending on your experience with Facebook, here are three things you can get started with today that can pay off big in the future.
Set Up a Dental Facebook Page
If you don’t have a dental Facebook page already, you can set up a great Facebook page in five easy steps today.
If you already have a great Facebook page, start content that shows people your dental practice vision and story, shares community events you’re attending or hosting, highlighting great things about your team members, or testimonials for happy patients.
Cost: Free
Create Engaging Facebook Posts
Images and live or prerecorded videos are the most engaging types of Facebook posts. If you’re comfortable on video, jump on a Facebook Live and give an office tour so people can see how great your office is. Ask a team member to talk a bit about the great culture in your office. Or just snap a picture of some things that make your practice so great. Even one post a day can help you build connections with current and potential patients to attract them to your office. Here are some more ideas for how to create the best Facebook posts.
Cost: Free
Place a Facebook Ad
If you already have a great Facebook page and regularly post compelling content, you might benefit from a targeted ad campaign on Facebook. With just a few clicks of a mouse and less than ten dollars, you can start testing Facebook ads for dentists. That’s right, no stuffing envelopes, no paying for postage, and no postcard design needed.
If you’re searching for ideas to get started, consider using Facebook ads with a budget of just $3–5 per day to advertise a previous successful offer and adjust the budget as desired after letting it run for a few days.
For the best results, here are some of the best groups of people to present your ad to on Facebook.
Cost: As little as a few dollars.
2. Promote a “Service of the Month” to Current Patients
A great way to generate revenue is to designate a “service of the month” and promote it to current patients.
Basically, the way it works is you offer a promotion relating to a service you want to promote. A good service would be something that’s cosmetic, like teeth whitening. You can even set a limit so only a certain number of new and existing patients can take advantage of the promotion.
Once you decide what you’ll promote that month, email your patients, tell them about the promotion, and let them know how many spots you have open.
Many people will see it as an opportunity to get a great deal on something they’ve always wanted but couldn’t get themselves to invest in at full price.
Cost: Free
3. Create a Strategic Alliance or Host Beneficiary Program
Strategic alliances and host beneficiary programs are similar to a service of the month but promoted to a local business.
With a strategic alliance, you partner with another local business that serves the same people as you to promote each other. To form a strategic alliance, you can reach out to local businesses you like, introduce yourself, and let them know you would like to form a mutually beneficial relationship. You can even offer a service discount or other promotion to their customers to encourage them to promote you. That benefits their customer, makes the business owner look great, and gets you new patients. It’s a real win-win-win. For example, we offered brides a deal on teeth whitening as part of a strategic alliance with a local bridal shop. That went over very well!
Similarly, with a host beneficiary program, instead of offering something to another business’ customers, you offer it to their employees. We often offer a discount for new patient cleanings to employees of local banks, investment firms, association, and even bakeries. Again, it creates a great win-win-win. The new patient benefits, the other business looks great, and we get new patients.
To get started with a strategic alliance or host beneficiary program, decide what promotion you’ll make, pick an easy local business to get started with, such as one you or a team member is already connected with, and give them a call. Let them know what you want to offer them and offer to email them something they can easily share, like an email they can forward to employees or a simple flyer they can print and post on their wall!
Cost: Free
Dental Marketing Ideas Don’t Have to Be Complicated Anymore
Dental marketing used to take a lot of time to set up and a lot of money to build momentum. With these three ideas, you can get started for as little as nothing. You can even start with the dental Facebook ads for just a few dollars. Your only additional cost is whatever you offer as a discount or enticement, but that’s a cost you can control and would be required for any marketing campaign. Only with these ideas, you get to deliver it to people for as little as free!
If you want to learn more about these and other dental marketing strategies, sign up for your 14-day trial to Delivering Wow U. You can also join my free Dental Marketing and Profits Facebook group where thousands of dentists and I help each other build better practices. Finally, for more free info on using Facebook for dentists, check out my free guide: Facebook for Dentists: The Definitive Guide to Regularly Attracting New Patients to Your Dental Practice right here.