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Jul 5, 2022
Keeping up with the latest dental trends on social media might be the last thing on your mind as a dentist.
However, finding new ways to reach out to your target market and establishing a strong online presence is more critical today than ever. They’re how you’re going to attract and retain patients this 2022.
With that said, here are the five latest trends you need to know to boost your social media marketing for a dentist strategy.
Your focus in 2022 is to attract new patients and bring back existing ones to your practice. To do this, you need to prioritize your patients’ needs and cultivate a one-of-a-kind patient experience.
So, how exactly can you achieve this? According to reports, the three trends that emerged for increasing patient experience in 2022 are:
What you need to do is to build trust, make it incredibly easy for them to find you and book an appointment, and offer cashless payments.
Delayed gratification is the name of the game. It’s how you can successfully grow your practice in today’s highly competitive business landscape.
And, social media can help you achieve this.
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Meta Business Suite is a free tool you can use to manage your Facebook and Instagram business account from a single, easy-to-use dashboard.
You can reply to comments, respond to messages, create and schedule posts, run ads, and many more.
But what’s amazing about this tool is its appointments feature on Facebook. It allows your page visitors to set an appointment directly from your Facebook practice Page.
By eliminating the need to click on a link or head to your website, you’re making it incredibly convenient for people to book an appointment. The convenience is what’s going to help you attract new patients.
What’s even more amazing about Appointments on Facebook is that you can automatically send out reminders or confirmation messages to patients via Messenger or text.
This helps reduce no-shows and encourages return bookings.
This means you no longer have to manually schedule patient appointments from Facebook on your calendar. All you need to do is use this FREE feature and you can start doing the following:
A lot of people discover dental practices through social media, specifically on Facebook.
By allowing people to book from your Facebook business page right away, you’re expanding your practice’s ability to accept more appointments and turning page visitors into life-long patients.
You should also consider integrating posts with online booking and then boosting it!
The foundation of a successful patient-dentist relationship is trust.
But, how exactly do you gain patient trust in dentistry?
Communication is key to patient trust and loyalty. And, we’re not just talking about the conversations you have with your patients in-office but also the constant interaction and engagement you have with them on social media.
Social media plays a huge role in a patient's perception of you and your practice and may even influence their dentist of choice.
Aside from being an expert, you also need to be likable. This is why it’s not enough to educate your patients, you also need to build an online persona that resonates with your target patients.
Create a compelling personal brand and be the face of your practice!
By sharing expert tips, leveraging social proof, letting people in behind the scenes, joining conversations, and showing before and after pictures, you can build confidence in your practice and make patients feel at ease.
This is how you build rapport with new patients and keep your existing ones loyal.
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Educating patients in a fun and entertaining way can make them more engaged.
Engaged patients are more interested in their oral health, which motivates them to actively look for information online and reach out to you.
What better way to educate patients and show your expertise than to share expert content online?
However, it’s no longer enough to just publish long-form blogs, whitepapers, and case studies, you also need to make use of videos.
Yes, that’s right! People love consuming videos, especially short-form videos. They’re highly engaging, attention-grabbing, and optimized videos can easily go viral on social media.
Plus, humans are visual creatures. There’s a greater chance that your message will stick with a patient if he/ she heard or saw it through video.
So, aside from writing an article and sharing them on social media, make sure to also create videos sharing expert dental tips, before and after results, patient story time, a walkthrough of a procedure, Q&A, debunking myths, and answering FAQs.
Remember, when educating patients about their dental health, don’t be too technical or rigid. Instead, relay information like you’re talking to a friend. Make it fun and entertaining just like the dentists of TikTok!
Patient referrals, positive reviews, and user-generated content are some of the most powerful marketing tools you have. They help you build authority, establish trust, and convince potential patients to choose your practice.
89% of consumers read online reviews before buying or booking an appointment with a service provider. This proves that reviews are indeed important in helping you get more patients online.
This is why you need to create an online review system to encourage your patients to share their thoughts about your practice and leave feedback.
Share your patient’s posts on your Stories and feature their positive reviews on your site and social media accounts to show people that a lot of patients are satisfied with the services you provide.
It’s also crucial to monitor your online reviews and respond to them promptly, especially the negative ones.
Doing so allows you to appease an angry patient, possibly win them over, and prevent your practice from getting defamed online.
94% of consumers say that a negative review online has stopped them from buying products or visiting service providers.
Feedback also provides you with insights on what to improve and double down on what already works with your existing patients to maintain satisfaction.
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Micro-influencers are online influencers who have more followers than the average person but less than macro-influencers. They have an average of 10,000 – 50,000 followers.
Tapping into micro-influencers allows you to connect with patients on social media in new ways. It also gives you the opportunity to reach new audiences and boost your brand awareness.
49% of consumers feel incredibly confident about an influencer’s recommendations that they rely on them on what to purchase or who to buy from.
Influencer marketing campaigns also generate an average ROI of $5.78 for every dollar spent.
The key to using micro-influencer marketing effectively to advance your dental practice is to identify the best person to speak to your target patients.
Depending on who your target patients are, you want to look for someone who is well-loved in your local community and has a strong following since your ideal patients are those within neighboring areas.
We're just halfway through the year, which means you still have enough time to boost your social media marketing strategy and get the best results possible from your social campaigns.
By using the Facebook Appointments feature, becoming the face of your practice, educating your patients in engaging ways, leveraging positive reviews, and tapping micro-influencers in your local community, you can secure more appointments, get new patients, and grow your practice faster!
At Digital Resource, our team of social media for dentist experts will work with you to create a custom social content plan that will build your practice’s reputation.
Contact us today to stay on top of social media trends and ahead of your competitors!
Think you've got what it takes to hang with the pros at Digital Resource? Check out our Careers page to browse current job openings!
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