By Fahim Chowdhury, Upadated March 10, 2024 in Dentists Marketing Compnay
A recent study shows that 90% of all dental patients start their search for a dentist online. Which means that without a strong online marketing strategy, dental clinics are immediately reducing their patients by 90%.
Now the question is, “How can you create a digital marketing strategy that helps your dental clinic stand out and get patients?”
And how will you know you’re getting a good return on investment (ROI) for your marketing investment?
We’ve put together this guide about marketing strategies to help you get started.
A digital marketing strategy is a plan for establishing a digital presence through online channels, such as website, SEO, email, social media, and more.
Your digital marketing strategy will differ depending on whether you’re marketing yourself as a dentist, or marketing your dental clinic as a whole.
When marketing yourself as a dentist, you’ll want to focus on what experts call your “personal brand”. You want to show that you’re credible and trustworthy to both potential patients or dental clinics that may want to hire you (if you choose not to start your dental clinic).
Make sure your LinkedIn profile, dentist biography, and any other personal online profiles all feature professional photos and achievements, approach, and values. If possible, include positive reviews from patients or dental clinics that you’ve worked for in the past.
When marketing a dental clinic, having a personal brand is still important. According to branding expert Katy Goshtasbi, a clinic’s brand is highly dependent on the personal brands of all the dentists within it. Having your dentists understand how to market themselves is an important component of any digital marketing strategy.
Another important factor to keep in mind is ethics. Whether you choose to market yourself or your clinic as a whole, there are ethics you need to follow when creating an online marketing strategy. A good rule of thumb to remember is to provide patients with accurate information, placing the patient’s interests first and promoting reciprocal respect among members of the dental profession.
Having a comprehensive digital marketing strategy is one of the biggest levers you can pull to build trust and credibility with potential patients to grow your dental clinic.
Whether you do your own digital marketing or hire an agency for your dental clinic depends on your level of interest and expertise with digital marketing channels.
If you’d prefer to focus on dental practice, it makes sense to hire an agency.
If you’re able to and interested in investing several hours per week in digital marketing, you might find some success marketing your clinic online on your own.
However, some channels, such as SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and PPC (Pay Per Click), require more expertise and consistent management to avoid cost overruns, so you should still consider outsourcing this component of your marketing strategy in whole or in part.
Be pragmatic about how much time you can spend on digital marketing, and about the level of investment you’ll need to reach your goals.
It can be tough for dentists to know where to start with digital marketing strategy.
There are many different tactics to pursue within digital marketing including Website Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and Paid Digital Ads.
The most successful dentists invest in a few areas that make the most sense for their practice areas, their clinics, and their patients.
Before you even start thinking about choosing channels, you need to understand where your target patients spend the most time online and what type of content and messaging resonates best with them.
Start by reading up industry research for your practice area, interview past patients on how they found you, and look at any data to understand who you’re marketing to.
For example, as a pediatric dentist, your target audience is parents who are making health decisions for their children. They often look for information and recommendations on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, where they connect with family and friends. Therefore, your digital marketing strategy should emphasize building a strong presence on these platforms.
Marketing for a pediatric dental practice will require engaging, trustworthy content that appeals to both parents and children, highlighting your friendly, child-centric care and services.
By investing time in creating relatable and informative content, you can effectively reach and attract more families to your practice.
Effective digital marketing starts with clear, measurable objectives. As a dentist looking to enhance your online presence, consider these critical questions to shape your strategy:
Your digital marketing efforts should ultimately drive new patient acquisition and improve your practice’s online visibility. This focus will guide you to use your marketing budget effectively.
It’s important to set achievable goals. For example, committing to daily social media posts might be challenging if you’re new to that marketing channel. Evaluate how much time and effort you can realistically dedicate to digital marketing activities, and set your objectives accordingly.
The effectiveness of different marketing channels for dentists will vary depending on your specific target audience. It’s important to conduct thorough research to understand where your potential patients are most active online. This insight will inform which digital marketing channels are worth your investment in terms of time and resources.
Here are some commonly successful online marketing channels for dental practices:
Given the competitive nature of dental online marketing, it’s wise to start with a focused approach, investing in one or two channels initially. Once you understand what works best for your practice, you can consider expanding your efforts.
A website is typically the main component of a dental practice’s digital marketing plan.
Unlike directory listings or social media profiles, your website is a piece of property you own, and it’s key for credibility—a patient who searches for you online and finds only a healthgrades listing but no website might just keep on looking.
Your website is key to branding yourself and your practice. This is where potential patients will find information about your staff, credentials, achievements, and the types of services you offer.
SEO is key to being found in search results and driving organic (free) traffic to your dental practice. This is a thriving, competitive field within dental digital marketing, with entire agencies focusing solely on SEO for dentists.
Start by following the basics, and you’ll already be halfway there:
In addition to bringing in website visitors, you need to actually turn them into paying patients. Convince patients to choose you by featuring reviews, professional images and writing, and a clear idea of what to expect in terms of services and price.
Make it easy for patients to choose you by featuring your contact information and clear calls to action (CTAs) throughout your website (think “contact us” or “schedule an appointment”).
Once you’ve documented key information about your target patients, your goals, metrics for success, and channels to invest in, as well as areas of improvement for your website, check in regularly to ensure everything is on track.
Various online tools, such as NexHealth offers features such as online scheduling, review management, and analytics which can be integrated with many EHR systems, allowing for streamlined operations and improved patient communication.
The more effort and strategy you invest in your marketing activities, the more leads you’ll attract, the more patients you’ll be able to serve, and ultimately—the more your dental practice will flourish.
