Looking for new ideas for sprucing up your social media page and how you’re advertising products online?

 

Avoid Bombarding Your Patients

A lot of social media engagement stems from bombarding patients with special offers and sales of certain products online. While there’s a time and a place for this, having ads drown out everything else shared online can detract from social media engagement (especially when people start hiding or unfollowing you.) Instead, focus on quality content that contains a mixture of information, patient experiences, product highlights, and service-specific information.

 

Share What’s New in Dentistry

As dental professionals, we know that oral health is ever evolving. From the latest trends to new developments in technology, those advancements impact everything that we do. But are we sharing that information with our patients?

One of the best ways to enhance the patient experience is to share the knowledge you learn and comparing techniques/products for your patients in a way that they can understand the difference.

As your patients see you’re invested in providing high quality care, they’ll be more likely to bring in new patient referrals. One of the easiest ways to engage patients is by sharing articles and headlines of new developments on your social media accounts. After all, your in-office time to engage patients is limited.

 

Tell-Show-Do

Everyone learns differently. Simply talking about a certain type of toothbrush or telling your patient they need a crown may not communicate effectively and thereby affect patient loyalty. Instead, use a “tell-show-do” approach where you use products or models to engage patients as to why certain methods/techniques/products work the way they do. This is especially important for demonstrating home care strategies!

 

Share Patient Testimonials

One of the best ways how to use social media effectively for your business is by sharing patient testimonials. The more dramatic, the better! Sharing life changing before and after photos along with a written or video testimonial can make patient energy contagious. If you’re promoting a specific type of service or product, have the patient share their testimonial soon after treatment, when they’re the most invested in long-term success of their smile.

 

Promote How-to Tips

Remember the old acronym, “KISS” (“keep it simple, stupid”)? To get the point across, keep information short and sweet. A short social media video or photo with a few easy steps will quickly inform prospective patients and educate the ones you already have. When your existing followers “like” your posts, you’re just broadening your reach for patient referrals!

 

Monthly or Quarterly Giveaways

Depending on what your state dental board allows, you may want to consider having a giveaway or drawing that you promote on your social media page. For example, every “share”, “like”, or “check-in”, you get earns an entry for something like a new iPad or gas grill. When patients pop in for their cleaning or refer a new patient, they earn two extra entries.

 

Offer Loyalty Incentives

Feel free to brag about your patients! When a patient never misses an appointment or makes it five years without a cavity, ask if you can brag about them online and reward them with something like a new electric toothbrush or a whitening treatment.

 

Bundle Home Care Products with Your Dental Savings Plan

Advertising an affordable dental insurance alternative like an in-office savings plan? Add in a few bonuses like home care products to add incentive for joining. Share the benefits on both social media and your business webpage. As items run out, your patients will know where to return for refills/replacements.

Do keep in mind that offering home-care does come with its own hassles. Consider using a vendor to supply your products directly to your patient. Using DentalStores, you can bundle products directly into your own in-house savings plan. It’s really simple. DentalStores provides all the products and ships it directly to your patient so you don’t have to.

 

Reward Patient Referrals

 

Lastly, don’t forget to celebrate your new patients and patient referrals. Set up a #selfie station and have photographs taken with the dental team to share online later.