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How to Do Social Media Marketing for Dentists Like a Pro

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Written by Raluca

Content Writer

As the impact of social media marketing for dentists continues to intensify, most dental practices are finding it increasingly important to develop an effective marketing plan

After all, social media for dentists is all about using the best platforms available in order to successfully engage with existing and new dental patients. Furthermore, dental practices have the chance to advertise their latest services, enhance brand awareness, and become top-of-mind within the dental community.

If you’re a dentist looking to expand the reach of your practice, we’ve got the solution for you. This article is specifically designed to help you master dental social media marketing and manage multiple accounts seamlessly with optimal impact.

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What Is Dental Social Media Marketing?

Dental social media marketing is a promotional practice that relies on the use of social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to reach and engage with local patients. To achieve this, you’ll need to establish a solid presence across multiple social media sites. This implies posting content consistently, doing community management, and leveraging your analytics in a way that informs your current content strategy.

Why Do Dentists Need Social Media?

Dental social media marketing is an essential tool for practices that wish to promote their services and reach new patients. It’s an affordable way to promote your business, connect with patients, and establish a positive online presence. 

Practitioners can easily increase their credibility, drive more traffic to their websites, and engage their target audience.

To achieve this, they must focus on creating content that engages target audiences either through organic posts, doing community management, or running influencer campaigns. Dental social media marketing allows you to share information about your dental practice in a way that is fast and effective.

Here are three reasons why you need to leverage your social media pages:

  1. Reach new patients
  2. Establish an online presence for your brand
  3. Stay connected with your existing patients

1. Reach New Patients

Having a brilliant social media marketing plan has become fundamental for businesses that wish to connect with new patients. As a dental office owner, you are surely busy with other daily tasks that take up most of your time. However, you need to find effective ways to reach prospective customers.

Here are three easy ways to connect with new patients:

  • Use paid ads to boost your existing dental social media posts
  • Collaborate with influencers or other dental experts 
  • Leverage the power of user-generated content (UGC) and patient testimonials 

2. Establish an Online Presence for Your Brand

Most dental professionals need to build their brand before they start pursuing digital marketing. This is easier said than done. However, we have some tips that could prove helpful.

Here are three ways to build your dental brand:

  • Focus on your social presence ━ Create social media accounts on the platforms that matter most to your target audience. By doing this, you’ll build social awareness and make it easier for potential patients to find your business online. Fill out each social media channel profile by including up-to-date contact information, photos, and dental office descriptions.
  • Post relevant content ━ Regularly post content that adds value to your followers’ feeds, such as industry news or educational content. If you want to keep it fun, try posting tips, tricks, or quizzes related to dental health. You should consistently post content and try to respond as professionally as possible to comments, messages, and reviews from followers, regardless of how negative they may be.
  • Utilize paid social adsPaid social media advertising allows you to reach your target audience with minimal effort. Before you decide to make this investment, make sure that you have a budget you’re willing to spend. Use analytics in order to track the engagement of your paid ads and keep an eye out for what could be improved.

3. Stay Connected With Your Existing Patients

Dental marketing can be impactful when you figure out a way to provide relevant content for both new and existing patients. To achieve this, you’ll have to master the most commonly used platforms and use them mindfully.

Here are some ways to keep in touch with your existing patients on social media:

  • Feature video testimonials on a visual platform to show off your excellent dental services
  • Answer questions and respond to comments in a timely and professional manner so that your current patients know that their feedback means a lot to you
  • Share educational content related to dental hygiene, such as how to brush or floss correctly, nutrition advice, etc., so that existing patients can become knowledgeable on all things related to dental care 
  • Go live and run a Q&A with your followers about dental topics that matter
  • Ask questions and share polls regularly as a way to stay connected to your patients

10 Marketing Tips for Your Dental Practice

Dental clinics must make full use of digital marketing in order to build their brand and reach patients. We know just how confusing it can be to have no idea where to start, so we’ve compiled a list of useful tips that could help dentists get a better idea of what’s expected of them.

Here are 10 social media marketing tips for dentists:

  1. Outline your social media strategy
  2. Use a social media management tool & post consistently
  3. Focus on social media interaction
  4. Create evergreen posts
  5. Leverage user-generated content
  6. Make the most out of video marketing
  7. Share lead magnets and grow your doctor email list database
  8. Run contests and giveaways
  9. Collaborate with influencers
  10. Monitor & adjust your social media marketing efforts

1. Outline Your Social Media Strategy

Use dental marketing strategically and watch the benefits roll in. Yes, it’s time to develop a social media strategy for your dental practice. Why? Because we’re certain that you’d like to take communication to the next level and promote new services.

A. Set Your Marketing Goals

Before devising your social media plan, make sure that you first set some clear goals. By doing this, you’ll quickly identify the best platforms for your dental marketing efforts. 

Here are five social media goal examples you should set for a dental business:

  • Generating new patient leads and incentivizing referrals
  • Enhancing the reputation and visibility of your practice
  • Maintaining the trust of your current patients
  • Educating followers on relevant dental health topics
  • Increasing patient engagement with an active presence

B. Understand Your Target Audience

Before you tend to patient engagement, make sure that you first discover and understand your target audience.

Here are three ways to understand your target audience:

  • Define your existing audience ─ Firstly, review your current patients. Then, sort them based on their age, gender, address, hobbies, and interests. By doing this, you’ll have a much easier time determining what types of content would make the most sense to your target audience.
  • Analyze the clinics they follow ━ This could take a while but it’s surely worth it. You should stay informed about the influencers and dental clinics that your target audience follows and observe how they engage with them. 
  • Gather information ━ Leverage analytics to better understand the interests and patterns of behavior of your target audience. Make use of this data to tailor social media campaigns and optimize them accordingly.
  • Monitor activity ━ An all-in-one social media management tool should allow you to easily monitor how your target audience chooses to engage with your content. SocialBee provides this valuable information by allowing you to explore your social media analytics and demographics.

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C. Research Your Competitors

It’s important to know who you’re up against. For this reason, you should do a thorough research on your main competitors. Observe what they do well and what needs some improvement and use this information as a way to inform your own strategy.

If you keep an eye your competitors’ social media accounts, you’ll be able to see what kind of content they share, how often they post, and what promotions or offers they’re running. Also, make sure to look at the comments and likes on your competitor’s posts and figure out what works and what doesn’t.

D. Build a Social Media Content Calendar

Although dental marketing is gaining momentum, many dentists don’t know that they also need to build social media content calendars. Besides, we all know how hectic it can get to manage social media without proper planning.

To put it briefly, content calendars are essential for planning out your social media content. Another important detail is that planning content in advance ensures that the messaging is consistent across all social channels. 

SocialBee's content calendar

Dentists use content calendars to create memorable content, set goals, measure success, track performance, and adjust campaigns as necessary. They can also use content calendars to manage multiple social media accounts simultaneously without becoming overwhelmed.

Social Media Content Calendar

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SocialBee social media content calendar with templates and post examples

2. Use a Social Media Management Tool & Post Consistently

Dentists need a social media management tool that can help them effectively manage their various social accounts and ensure that they are delivering the right content at the best times. Using social media effectively and efficiently should be a top priority for dentistry leaders.

Here are three benefits of using a social media management tool:

  • Saves time ─ Social media management tools can save you time. They allow you to automate tedious tasks such as post creation, scheduling, and posting. Additionally, a social media management tool can monitor conversations and provide you with insightful analytics. Last, but not least, it allows you to crosscheck content with team members. This way, dentists can focus their energy on providing high-quality dental services.
  • Enhances visibility ─ Using social media management tools ensures that the dental practice is top-of-mind for countless social media users. Analytics dashboards help dentists track engagement data across multiple platforms so that they can maximize their social media reach.
  • Reduces costs ─ Social media management tools are also much more affordable compared to hiring a social media manager. The attractive offers for various subscription plans are fit for any budget and having an all-in-one social media tool is more convenient than investing in software that only tackles specific parts of social media management.

SocialBee is a comprehensive tool that not only assists in content creation but also enables users to plan it ahead of time – allowing dentists to optimize their schedule while honing efficiency like never before!

SocialBee's main app dashboard

SocialBee allows you to plan and share all your social media posts from one place—save time and energy while managing all your accounts with ease.

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3. Focus on Social Media Interaction

Social media interaction has become an essential part of a successful dental practice. It allows dentists to connect with their patients and increase their engagement levels.

Here are three ways you can focus on social media interaction:

  • Engage with followers ─ Social media allows dentists to build relationships with their existing and potential patients by providing prompt replies to questions, comments, and reviews. This kind of social interaction contributes to the loyalty among your current patients and will potentially help you connect with new ones as well.
  • Educate patients about dental health ─ Use your social media profiles to educate patients on important dental topics. Incentivize them to show up for regular check-ups and develop optimal dental hygiene practices. They will surely be grateful.
  • Run Exciting Giveaways ─ Enhance your engagement levels by announcing your special giveaways or contests from time to time. This should keep your target audience on its toes at all times and help them trust your brand.

4. Create Evergreen Posts

Evergreen posts are the kind of social media posts that don’t have a short shelf life. Basically, it’s content that remains relevant and stands the test of time. It’s a good idea to share it regardless of time frame or fleeting trends. Social media marketing for dentists should make use of evergreen content whenever it’s possible.

Here are three ideas of evergreen content for dental practices:

  • Share timeless oral hygiene tips, such as how to brush correctly, how to floss, or how to use mouthwash
  • Post before-and-after images and video content of dental treatments you performed
  • Use social media Q&A sessions to answer questions and concerns related to dentistry topics 
  • Publish patient testimonials that reinforce your authority in the industry and increase your conversion rate

evergreen post dental

If you’re looking for a way to create and distribute your evergreen content with ease, then SocialBee is the perfect tool. Not only can you plan out when to share each piece of content in advance, but it also conveniently categorizes everything so that related posts are kept together under one topic area.

SocialBee's content categories

Plus, if desired, there’s even an option to re-queue post from within the built-in editor itself. With all these options available at your fingertips via SocialBee, managing and sharing your evergreen content has never been easier or more efficient.

5. Leverage User-Generated Content

UGC can come in the form of photos, videos, reviews, comments, polls, and other forms of content that are generated by social media users. 

Look out for UGC and don’t forget to repost it once you get the approval of the creator. 79% of consumers said that UGC is an important factor that influences their purchasing decisions. It’s best to put it to the test.

Here are some ways to find UGC:

  • Regularly search for hashtags and keywords that are relevant to your brand and industry
  • Always check your mentions across several social channels
  • Look for location tags that match your business’ address

UGC content works so well for brands because it adds value to your products and services. Plus, it costs you nothing and it is much more convincing compared to the promotional content you usually create.

6. Make the Most out of Video Marketing

Video marketing refers to creating and sharing social media videos online with the goal of promoting a brand’s products and services. Video is an increasingly popular medium that allows brands to showcase their products and services in a visually compelling manner. 

Establish yourself as an expert in the field of dentistry with the help of videos and show your skills for the whole world to see. 

Here are some ideas for your video marketing content:

  • Patient testimonials (Best suited for YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn)
  • How-tos (Best suited for YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram Stories)
  • Dental office tours (Best suited for YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn)

7. Share Lead Magnets and Grow Your Email List

Email marketing is one of the best ways to grow your patient list and keep your clients updated on community events, sales, and announcements.

Did you know that 92% of online adults check their email inbox? What are you waiting for? 

Here are three ways to grow your email list:

  • Promote your email sign-up forms through your social media posts, stories, and links in bio 
  • Offer attractive freebies, such as dental products, guides, or free consultations
  • Use tailored ads to reach prospective followers and incentivize them to subscribe to your newsletter 

8. Run Contests and Giveaways

Contests and giveaways are perfect for dentists who wish to engage with new and existing patients and improve their social presence. 

Contests can be used to drive traffic to your website and increase your followers across your social media accounts. Giveaways are great for improving brand awareness as well as for building strong relationships with existing customers.

Here are three contest and giveaway ideas for dentists:

  • Online Photo Contest ─ Asking your social media followers to photograph their favorite dental products for an online photo contest should help you increase your dental practice’s reach and authority in the industry. As a thank you for sharing photos, the winners could receive free teeth whitening appointments or enjoy a special gift.
  • Referral Giveaway ─ One of the best social media marketing ideas is to use referral prompts as a way to grow your following. For example, you could ask users to refer two of their friends to your social media page through tagging. By doing this, they will enter a giveaway and have the chance to win exciting prizes, such as free appointments or gift cards for various services.
  • Quiz Giveaway ─ Create a fun quiz related to dental health care and give your followers the chance to win awesome prizes.

9. Collaborate With Influencers

Social media influencers can help you reach your target audience and persuade prospective patients to book an appointment with you. In addition to increasing brand awareness and engagement, influencer marketing can also lead to more patients, referrals, and business growth. 

Choose to work closely with social media influencers that match your brand image and values. Influencers can add to your brand credibility and connect you to new patients. For example, you could offer influencers free appointments and have them share the photo or video content directly to their social channels.

10. Monitor & Adjust Your Social Media Marketing Efforts

Social media can be a powerful tool for dentists who are looking to expand their reach. However, dentists should monitor the performance of their social media efforts, not just post content regularly on social media. 

Do this regularly and understand why your social media campaigns are performing the way they are.

Here are three metrics that reflect your social media marketing efforts:

  • Followers ─ Dental professionals can measure the effectiveness of social media marketing campaigns and social media content by tracking the number of followers over time.
  • Reach ─ Analyzing reach will allow dentists to see how many people their social media posts are actually reaching.
  • Engagement ─ Regularly monitoring engagement metrics (likes, comments, shares, and click-throughs) reveals which types of content engage patients and get new leads. 

It’s never been easier to measure the success of your social media campaigns and use those insights to drive your strategy forward; SocialBee is here to help!

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The Best Social Media Platforms for Dentists

There is an impressive variety of social media channels worth leveraging at the moment. To make your work easier, we’ve researched them and came up with the best social platforms for dentists.
 
Here are the best social media platforms for dentists:
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Google Business Profile
  • TikTok

Facebook

Owning a Facebook page is a necessary addition for the success of your dental practice. This platform will boost your social media marketing efforts by a mile.

facebook dentists

Dentists use it to engage with the local community, reach new patients, share valuable content, advertise promotional offers, and stay informed on industry developments. Facebook boasts approximately 2.91 billion monthly active users and it shows no signs of slowing down.

Here are three best practices for Facebook:

  • Use Facebook Stories regularly to stay ahead of competitors
  • Leverage the power of videos through Facebook Watch and Facebook Live
  • Regularly post creative content that engages your audience, such as questions, contest, or giveaways

Instagram

Instagram is the ultimate visual social media platform for ambitious dentists. With over 2 billion monthly active users, Instagram enables dentists to easily connect with patients and visually showcase their services through feed posts, Stories, and Reels.

instagram dentists

In order for you to leverage Instagram to the max, it’s important to create regular and eye-catching posts for both your existing and prospective clients.

Here are three best practices for Instagram:

  • Make sure that your grid is aesthetically pleasing
  • Use Instagram Shopping to sell your products/services
  • Leverage the power of video through Instagram Reels, Instagram Live, and Stories

Twitter

Dentists usually use Twitter to catch the attention of potential patients, promote their services, and stay up-to-date with the ultimate dental industry news.

twitter dentists

In order for you to make a statement on Twitter, you’ll need to create a professional profile that helps your practice stand out from your competitors. With 217 million daily active users, Twitter is a great channel for better brand engagement.

Here are three best practices for Twitter:

  • Optimize your profile by updating your bio, adding your website, and applying for a Verified badge
  • Join relevant conversations that involve your brand or industry
  • Use hashtags mindfully, not more than 4 per each post

LinkedIn

Dentists can use LinkedIn to better connect with other healthcare professionals. Furthermore, dentists can build strong referral networks by becoming active on this platform. LinkedIn hosts around 810 million users at the moment.

linkedin dentists

The dentist would benefit from creating an effective profile that showcases their skills, credentials, services offered, and patient list.

Here are three best practices for LinkedIn:

  • Limit fun content and have a professional tone of voice
  • Become a thought leader in your industry by posting enlightening content that could help other professionals
  • Promote relevant industry events 

Google Business Profile

Dentists should use Google Business Profile (GBP) as a way to showcase their unique business and showcase their practice online.

google business profile dentists

GBP profiles appear on Google search results and on Google Maps, giving potential patients important information about your practice, such as location, contact information, and reviews.

Here are three best practices for Google Business Profile:

  • Reply to reviews in a respectful and prompt way
  • Optimize your GBP profile by updating your address, description, working hours, phone number, website, services, photos, and videos
  • Incentivize people to leave you reviews through other social channels

TikTok

With 1.2 billion monthly active users, TikTok is quickly becoming the go-to social media platform. This video-first channel can help dentists reach an impressively large audience and become viral.

tiktok dentists

Before you become a TikTok enthusiast, keep in mind that you should always create content that rings true to your target audience first and foremost.

Here are three best practices for TikTok:

  • Optimize your profile by filling in your bio, adding relevant links, and uploading a recognizable profile photo
  • Use hashtags mindfully so that your content ends up on people’s For You page
  • Add captions to all your videos so that they’re easy and engaging to watch

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What Do Dentists Post on Social Media?

Dentists have the opportunity to post a wide variety of content on social media. For example, they usually post educational videos, blog posts, testimonials, before-and-after photos, and videos, or UGC. Videos are especially popular with dentists, as they are both interactive and engaging.

2. How Do I Target Dental Patients on Facebook?

You can target dental patients on Facebook by using targeted ads. Dentists should take a look at their analytics and pinpoint specific demographics and audiences could use their dental services. Furthermore, targeted social media campaigns improve your visibility and connect you to potential clients who might be looking for an expert.

3. How Do I Advertise My Dental Business?

You can advertise your dental business with the help of social media, local events, and email marketing. If your aim is to reach more potential patients and stay in touch with current clients, social media is the place for you. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn are examples of social media platforms used in dental social media marketing to promote dental services.

Improve Your Social Media Marketing Strategy Today

If you’re a very busy dentist, social media management can be overwhelming. In fact, you might not even have time to figure out which channels are right for your practice. If this is the case, you shouldn’t worry. We are here to help.

SocialBee’s 14-day free trial is the perfect way to discover how to effortlessly share content that your audience values! With our tools, streamlining your social media strategy has never been simpler. Try it today and watch as your posts reach more people in no time!

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