Guided by accomplished dental marketing experts, dental practices can harness the power of social media to reach, engage, and attract patients like never before
Growing up with a dentist father and dental assistant mother, Meredith Harris learned the ins and outs of dental marketing firsthand. “A lot of modern dentists don’t understand why a social media presence is so important,” said Harris, who is a social media expert for RAMP Results, a full-service dental marketing company. "Right off the bat, there are 2 leading reasons: increased visibility for your practice and easy, effective engagement with both current and prospective patients."
Make a Social Media Plan
Dental marketing companies such as RAMP Results provide an array of social media marketing services tailored to any practice’s needs. Specifically, RAMP offers a free strategy session to gain a deeper understanding of a practice’s vision and develop a customized social media plan that aligns with its goals and target community, Harris said.
“RAMP does a great job advising dental practices how to maintain a consistent, professional presence," she said. "We are equipped to help because we know dental terminology and how to remain HIPAA compliant online. We have marketing expertise backed by real-world dental industry experience.”
The Personalized Approach
“The key to standing out on social media is adding a personal touch to your content and encouraging organic, real-time interactions with your practice on the platform,” she added. She also explained that practices can use social media to educate patients, promote certain services, and build trust through testimonials.
“In August, dental practices can post reminding parents to bring their kids in for checkups and cleanings before school starts, and that type of content can vary depending on the season,” Harris said. “Now, many patients want to know if a practice offers IV sedation, which can be worth sharing, too."
Patient testimonials are one of the best types of posts, she said. "They might get less engagement, but they tend to have the highest reach, letting others know that a patient had a really good experience in your office.”
Maximize Your Impact
By tracking engagement and performance metrics, Harris also said it is easy to identify which types of content resonate with certain demographics on different platforms, and then refine social media plans to maximize impact of both paid and organic posts.
“However, no one in the dental office has time to create, schedule, or analyze the success of social media content, unless they are hired to focus solely on that,” Harris said. “The best part about hiring a social media marketing company is that practice teams don’t have to think about it; our experts make sure the practice remains relevant to its audience.”
