Gone are the days when relying on your reputation and best practices were enough to attract new patients. The idea of how dentists should grow their practices has changed dramatically over the years. Promotion strategies have become very sophisticated in today’s competitive market. A good reputation is still the backbone of a successful practice, but branding has become very important.
To grow your dental practice, you must think outside the box, and market yourself in a unique and interesting way. My practice is located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, so I need to take into consideration that Canadians are very knowledgeable about their dental health, and they maintain excellent dental health, according to the Canadian Health Measures Survey. So I have a lot of competition.
To attract patients, you can’t use the same old rhetoric about dental hygiene and flossing. Instead, you need to approach people in an engaging way. Social media channels have gained a lot of traction lately, and they’re key to making your practice seem new, modern, and desirable.
Here are five ways to make your dental practice more visible:
You can use Vine to present a service or product, and you can be sure that it will reach a large number of people since it’s shareable with Twitter, for example. The catch with the six seconds method is that it can trigger curiosity and lead prospects to want more. Because the information is not complete, it gives viewers a feeling of deprivation. As a result, they might visit your website to find out more about your services.
But you shouldn’t limit yourself to promoting your services. Be adventurous and make teaser videos, announce discounts or special events, or provide quick answers to frequent questions on your website.
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2. Instagram your way to success
With more than 130 million users, Instagram is a huge advertising opportunity. But where do you start? Instagram recently added a new feature—15 seconds of shareable video. Since these are longer than the ones provided by Vine, you can use these videos to make promotional campaigns that are a bit more complex. One smart way to tackle this is to create a series of short videos that explain how people should take care of their dental hygiene.
3. Organize a contest
Use a social media platform such as Facebook to hold a contest and grab people’s attention. For example, ask questions about dental hygiene and offer a free package with full services to the winner.
There are two reasons this is a successful way to attract customers. First, people love small contests, and second and most important, they have the opportunity to have access to good quality dental services for free.
4. Use Groupon
Did you know that there are more than 650,000 local businesses that use Groupon to promote themselves? Are you using it? As you probably know, people are drawn to discounts, even if it’s only 10%. In the longrun it is better to have 10 customers who come to you with their Groupons and possibly turn five of them into regular patients, than have three or four who will pay the full price for your consult and then never return.
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5. Consider Google Hangouts
Another way to engage current or potential clients with Google Hangouts. This way you can connect at the same time with up to 150 people. It’s a great way to answer questions or start a roundtable discussion where you can talk about all sorts of things about dental care.
People will choose your dental services based on trust and the personal bond created through various social outlets. Reaching them through social media channels is very important in today’s competitive environment, and if done correctly and successfully, it can turn your business into a very well known dental practice. So don’t miss out on all the opportunities discussed here and all social medica has to offer.
