The success of a dental practice depends on a steady flow of new clients. Acquiring new patients is therefore essential for dental practices. According to statistics, each dental clinic needs at least 20 new patients per month to ensure its growth.
However, the problem is that dentists are great at helping their clients achieve beautiful smiles and may not be skilled enough at finding new clients. After all, marketing isn’t what they studied in dental school. Anyway, marketing wasn’t studied in dental school, marketing strategies to increase the number of patients is necessary for dentists who want their practice to continue to thrive in today’s competitive market.
Whether you’re starting from scratch or already have a digital presence, here are some helpful tips to improve your marketing:
#1. Optimize your website
Think of your website as the digital door to your dental clinic. When people research online before visiting a business, the website is the first point of interaction with potential customers. In your case, they will judge your dental clinic based on the performance and appearance of your website.
So it is necessary to have basic knowledge of web design. This could help you develop a professional-looking site to advertise your dental practice. Additionally, it should be optimized for mobile devices and have a responsive design, especially since most people use their smartphones to browse.
Additionally, it helps to add convenient features such as online appointment booking, prescription refills, and bill payments, among others.
#2. Prioritize local SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most important digital marketing strategies. When done correctly, SEO can help your dental clinic appear in online searches. However, for businesses located in a specific location, such as dental clinics, it is better to opt for a more specific category: local SEO.
Local SEO is almost similar to SEO. The only difference is that local SEO targets audiences located in a specific geographic area. If your dental clinic is based in Los Angeles, CA, it makes sense to attract clients to this area. Local SEO can help you with this.
The first thing to do is create or claim your Google My Business (GMB) listing. Besides GMB, it is also necessary to list your business on sites such as Bing and Yelp. When listing your dental clinic, make sure the basic information is consistent, including name, phone number, and address.
Additionally, it helps to learn how to optimize your dental clinic website and content for localized search results using the right keywords. For example, you can add your city or state to your favorite keyword, like « dental implant in Los Angeles. »
#3. Use the right social platforms
If you want to attract new customers, it is best to create visibility on social media. That said, there are plenty of social platforms to choose from. However, it would be best to determine which social platform is suitable for your dental clinic to help you reach your target market.
Here are some tips for using social media to improve your marketing efforts:
- Use Facebook for marketing and advertising. You can also use this platform to position yourself as an authority in your niche by discussing different dental procedures.
- Create a professional page on LinkedIn. However, be sure to separate your personal profile from that of your dental clinic.
- Participate in forums like Quora or Reddit. You can answer user questions to establish your authority while attracting potential customers.
- Follow dental industry leaders on Twitter. Make sure you engage in meaningful, thoughtful conversations.
These tips can help you promote your dental practice on social media platforms.
#4. Leveraging Video Marketing
Marketers believe “content is king.” However, in terms of content types, video is considered the most effective option. Video is therefore the king of digital marketing. As a powerful tool, your dental clinic can do video marketing to maximize its commercial potential.
There are several ways to use video to improve your marketing efforts:
- Create a video to introduce and welcome potential patients to your practice.
- Make animated videos of your dental procedures and treatments to give your potential clients a glimpse of what they can expect.
- You can create a video about your staff members, describing their areas of expertise, training and education level.
- You can use the video to give advice on dental care and oral health in general.
Once you have a video, you can market it across multiple channels, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
Take away
Strategic marketing is essential to increase brand awareness and increase the number of customers for your dental clinic. By implementing proven strategies and the tips above, your dental practice can thrive and grow amidst intense competition.