How the global pandemic has drastically redefined the way dental practices are viewing and using marketing tactics.
It’s no surprise that COVID-19 has changed the way patients view visiting their local dental offices. Hesitancy regarding safety protocol, cleaning efforts, and rising infection rates have made it hard for some dentists to boost business. When it comes to providing exceptional dental care, clients need to be reassured they’ll be in the safest environment possible. They need to be given information about the safety of receiving dental services during a pandemic.
That’s why COVID-19 is the perfect opportunity to overhaul and revamp your dental marketing strategy. More and more people are turning to the wonderful world of the internet to determine which businesses best meet their needs. Dentistry experts and practices can benefit from using these unprecedented times to build on dental marketing strategies and build their client list for post-COVID opportunities.
COVID-Friendly Dental Marketing Tips
There are a few things that clients are looking for in a dentist they can trust. From industry awards, patient reviews, and thorough information regarding specific dental services, a dental practice can convince a patient to choose them over their competitors. But what are some other ways that a dental practice can boost its marketing plan throughout the pandemic?
Social Media Management
Engaging with potential clients on social media has been a great way for dental offices to connect with their community. If you’ve been looking for an opportunity to shift to digital marketing by creating and building social media accounts for your dental practice, this is it. Creating accounts on platforms like Facebook or Youtube can allow you to share success stories with others and can give you the opportunity to communicate directly with your ideal audience.
You can post interesting and unique stories to your various accounts to engage with your patients and potential clientele on a daily basis. Even a silly picture like a dentist holding a giant toothbrush can get you lots of likes and social media engagement that ultimately boosts business. It’s also a great place to run marketing campaigns for potential patients. In addition to posting videos, photos, and other marketing materials to your social media channels, you can also run fun contests to really get people following your accounts and interested in your dental practice.
Communicative Expert Email Marketing
Communication with patients about changes in the industry and other COVID-related changes is just one of the ways dental practices can provide comprehensive communications with patients. Business owners know that companies that use the most accessible ways to speak with patients see a boost in their overall success. Using email marketing efforts to connect with community members about their situation or any changes in the care they may receive is useful information that patients should definitely know about ASAP.
Email dental marketing can also let patients know when you’re having special promotions and sales on dental products. It’s important to remember that emails don’t always have to be about boring COVID-19 updates and new services coming to your practice. It can also be fun newsletters about celebrating achievements or engaging blurbs that allow your patients to get to know your team better. Have fun with your dental marketing strategies and others will enjoy engaging with them!
Engaging Website Content & Web Design
One of the things dentists can do to further engage patients on their website and social media is by creating excellent content. For example, video content can be used to outline dental techniques and to introduce the staff to your patients. Having a solid website design that is easy to navigate is also a great way to get people to learn more about your dentistry services.
A lot of patients looking for emergency services will research different dental practices online before choosing a practice for emergency care. When dental professionals create easy-to-navigate webpages and combine them with professional advice and informative content that allows users to contact their dental office, they create more foot traffic and business. People like engaging with content that can provide them with advice on where and when to seek professional dental care. Use it to your advantage!
Creating Ad Campaigns
Some of the most successful marketing strategies have come out of curated marketing advertisements. Targeted ads can boost your marketing success by targeting people in the market for a new dental practice or who require quality services. A potential patient could be scrolling through Facebook, and their first impression of your team could be from a targeted advertisement on their news feed. These first impressions matter and help bring in clients.
Targeted ads aren’t just for a business that wants to use a plus-size model to preach inclusivity. They’re also for dental practices looking to boost their dental marketing strategy and make the most out of the market. They help form the idea in a potential client’s mind that they need a specific service. If you scroll through your Facebook feed, every fourth post is sponsored by a company trying to engage with potential customers. If someone sees a product often, they’ll at least be interested enough to check out the website offering the specific product or service.
One Fool-Proof Marketing Method
If you have an idea about things that can help step up your office traffic but don’t know where to begin, use one of the most well-kept secrets in the industry – dental marketing experts! These professionals can help bring your marketing plan to the next level by implementing unique tactics that help you connect with your community. They give expert advice on how to run social media and create content that is engaging to clients.
Something most dental offices don’t consider is how a dentist can benefit from marketing efforts executed by a professional marketing team. Working with advertising professionals can help give you an idea of what others are doing and their success, in addition to creating unique content ideas that boost website traffic. They can also help track metrics and can show dentists the difference that web traffic marketing techniques can make.
Why It’s Important For Your Practice
Dental practices, and any business in general, can benefit from marketing since it provides communication between your organization and clients. For example, patients looking for emergency care are more likely to choose your practice if there’s content explaining various procedures or marketing materials relating to a particular emergency job. It also tells the patient that you care about providing them with information prior to their office consultation.
Dental marketing can be great for getting the word out about a new service, like if your practice recently started providing Invisalign® treatments. A lot of dental professionals also use social media strategies like keywords and hashtags to drive clicks to video content, and ultimately to their websites. In general, any dental team looking to attract new patients can benefit from creating a dental marketing strategy that connects patients to dentists in their area.
Making The Most Of Dental Marketing During COVID-19
When it comes to the pandemic and dental marketing tactics, the best course of action would be to get your practice online. It’s a good idea to revamp your website and social accounts to let each patient know you have the tools and techniques to provide them with quality dental care in a safe, clean dental office. During these unprecedented times, reassurance goes a long way and creates trust between each patient and your dental practice.
There are many marketing tactics that dentists can use to create awareness and trust between clients and staff. Developing a solid plan of action can help you come up with ideas and gives you the tools to implement that idea. Dentistry is a service people need regardless of a global health crisis. Whether you’re an established dental practice or the new practice on the block, thinking critically about revamping and revitalizing your strategies during COVID-19 can ultimately help you provide the best service and gain new patients through increased web traffic and brand awareness.
Things have changed because of COVID-19, and we’re not sure when they’ll get back to normal. Despite this, dentistry is something that will be needed to protect the oral health and well-being of generations to come. This situation we’re in won’t last forever, but you’ll want your practice to be the one that people trusted before, during, and after COVID-19.
Try some of these marketing tips to help increase your presence in the dental industry and boost your reach within your community during these unprecedented times. You might be surprised at the results your team will see from simply engaging with current and potential patients online.
