As a dentist, you know that Dental health is a chore that most people can't wait to be over and done with. Fortunately for dentists, it is a chore people must do at least once every year.
But how do you ensure these yearly visits are to your clinic? Dentists and dental practices tend to be somewhat lax about marketing. And we don't blame them. Caring for patients, managing staff, and keeping up with best health best practices takes most of your time.
So, here is the bad news. In a world that is essentially a digital village, you need an online presence and a strong marketing strategy to remain in the green and keep your practice afloat.
The good news is with the numerous tools available to you, and you can build an online presence and expand your reach. In this guide, we will list some of our best marketing ideas for your dental practice.
What Is Dental Marketing, And Why Do You Need It For Your Dental Practice?
With dental marketing, your goal is to attract new patients and retain old ones. With a dental marketing strategy, you seek out new dental patients and convert them into loyal returning patients.
And no, getting a website or running a few ads is no longer sufficient. And it won't matter that you are the best or offer excellent customer service. If you are not actively marketing your business in the digital space, you are losing potential patients to your competitors.
You need a focused and targeted digital marketing campaign to put you ahead of your competitors.
A great thing about the dental practice marketing ideas in this guide is that they are easy to implement and manage once you get the hang of them. With just a little elbow grease and the right amount of dedication, you will push your dental practice into the green.
Let's look at some of the best marketing strategies and ideas you can try in your dental practice.
Find Your Target Audience
The first and most important tip is to target the right demographic. For dental practices, the perfect potential patient would be a woman. Surveys show that women make 90% of all dental service-related decisions, including choosing the family's new dentist.
With this information, you can curate a dental marketing plan targeting this demographic. Women make buying decisions after they have found the best answer. Ensure your marketing strategies include ideas that target and market specifically to women. Provide them with enough convincing information, and if you use a digital marketing service provider, ensure they know how to market to women.
Optimize Your Dental Website
A functional website might not be enough anymore, but it is still the basic foundation for all marketing attempts. Ensure you have a fully upgraded and optimized website, and you will be giving a solid foundation to your marketing strategies.
A great website has a user-friendly design and works well on mobile devices. A user-friendly website will keep visitors on your website longer, giving you more time to convert them.
And since you run a dental service, you should optimize your website so users can find it on local search results because these are the people most likely to book an appointment.
Join Online Dentist Directories
Do you remember those paper directories? Those huge books that contained contact details for everybody? People would look through these directories to find different services, including a dentist.
While paper directories are not as popular anymore, online directories are becoming popular. A dentist directory is just like a paper directory but online and exclusive to dentists.
A dentist directory (aka dental directory) is a great way to promote your business and attract patients. Using the right directories, you can expand your online presence and place your business and expertise in front of the right people.
When you create a profile on a dental directory, you increase your chances of ranking higher in Google, which means you will be discovered faster. And if your profile contains accurate and relevant information, it will reduce conversion time.
Online dentist directories are perfect because a potential patient would not need to type your business name into the search engine. All they need to do is search for "Dentists near me," and you will pop up in the results. Some great online dentist directories include the following:
Dentalcenter.com
Mydottore.com
American Dental Association's Find-a-Dentist.
Register on one of these online directories and increase the chances of a potential patient finding you when they search for dental services.
Email Marketing
If you have a patient intake form, it probably has a section that collects email information. This is all you need for a successful email marketing campaign. With this, you can stay in touch with your clients after their appointment.
It is a great way to ensure you stay on their minds and a tool to remind them of their appointments. This might not sound like much, but imagine the number of cancellations you would avoid.
Email marketing does not have to be complex. It can be as simple as a monthly or weekly reminder.
Email marketing is a powerful digital marketing tool, but it can easily backfire. Nobody wants to get bombarded with spam emails from their dentist. Seek permission before sending the first email, maintain a consistent email schedule, and comply with HIPAA standards.
Optimize Your Google My Business Page
A fully optimized Google My Business profile is a superpower for every dentist. It is a great way to market your dental practice, gain visibility, and find potential patients.
An optimized business profile will ensure you are found on map search results. The higher your rank, the more likely you are to appear in the 3 Pack. The 3-pack is three businesses displayed at the top of local search result pages.
If a likely patient is looking for a new dentist, they would likely check out the three-pack before other practices.
How do you optimize your profile? First, claim and verify your Google My Business listing if you haven't. Update your information on the profile and ensure it matches the information on all other internet platforms.
The categories you choose, your business description, and the quality of the media you update are also important. Make relevant posts about your practice. Your profile is a great place to post that special offer for new patients. Encourage your clients to post reviews and respond positively to all the reviews you get.
Invest In Social Media Marketing
Social media offers the perfect communication link between you, your clients, and your prospects. Everyone is on social media, and more people use it to find and patronize different services.
This makes social media a perfect marketing tool for your dental business. However, creating many social media accounts without using them correctly would be counter-productive.
The first step is to choose the right platforms. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are great options. Tiktok and Twitter are also great platforms for a dental business.
Once you have chosen the platforms, create and optimize your profile. A few tips on how to use social media to increase lead generation are:
Redirect users to your website using like and blog articles
Post offers, products, and services.
Post relevant and informative content.
Use the ad feature if the platform has one.
Social media is great because it serves as a communication link to old and new patients and is a powerful marketing tool.
Create A Patient Referral Bonus System
In the past, the best marketing was word of mouth. Services relied on their old clients to bring in new clients. While these might not be the case, referrals remain a great way to grow your patient list.
An established dental practice gets 70% of its new clientele from internal patient referrals. But how do you get these customers to tell other people about you?
Simple! You ask them to. Add a bonus to sweeten up the deal. If a patient refers a friend and that friend eventually becomes a paying client, the referrer gets a bonus. This could be a discount on a service or product.
A referral service endears you to old and new clients, creating a chain reaction. Another way to ensure your referral system gets traction is by providing your patients with excellent customer service. If you offer great service, your clients will be eager to refer you to their friends.
Try Video Marketing
Videos are powerful tools when used properly. It engages most of the senses and is great for creating more reach.
You can make and share videos to boost awareness about dental hygiene and your dental practice. Types of videos you could create include the following:
Educational videos that inform prospects about oral health and dentistry.
Promotional videos about your practice and the services you offer.
Before and after videos of some of your procedures (with the patient's permission)
Create and upload these videos to your website, Youtube, And Facebook. Using video marketing properly can increase customer engagement and awareness, convert more leads, and increase overall customer retention.
Don't Match Your Competition; Beat Them!
One of the best ways to set your dental office apart from your competitors is to beat what they offer. Study your competition and watch how they operate, Then create a marketing plan that beats theirs.
If they offer new patient discounts, do not offer a smaller discount. Offer convenience and excellent service. Options like weekend appointments and one-visit treatments are ways to differentiate your dental practice from your competitors.
Another way to do this is by employing competent staff. They should carry out their duties with respect and professionalism. Who welcomes the patient when they walk through the door? Who makes the phone calls or replies to their email? Nothing convinces a prospect to choose you better than the treatment they get on their first visit.
How do you convince prospects to choose you over other dental practices? Give them reasons to do so, and they will.
Content Isn't King; Quality Content Is.
Creating quality content on your website is a great way to draw your target audience's attention. You should have a blog that provides your audience with helpful information. When you do this, you draw their attention and build their trust in your practice.
Do not fill your website with promotional content. That is why you have paid ads. Consider some of the questions your target audience might have and use your content to answer these questions.
Run Digital Ads
If you want more clients, run ads. The digital space offers you so many options apart from SEO. You can run social media ads or create a Google Ads campaign.
If you want to run ads on social media, Facebook ads are the best platform for use. It offers unrivaled targeting options for specific psychographics and demographics.
Promote your best content with Facebook ads to attract new patients. You can also try out other social media platforms if you have the budget.
Pay-per-click search advertising campaigns help place your business on the first page of search results. You might have heard the rumors about these ads not working well. But if you use the right keywords, PPC ads place your business in front of the people who need to see it.
Ask For Reviews
Online reviews tell prospective clients what to expect. If a patient finds a practice with many positive reviews on their website, they would likely want to use that practice. So if you have been ignoring reviews, you may be hurting your online reputation.
How do you get positive reviews? The first step is to ensure you offer your patients the best services. Then make it easy for them to leave you reviews. Tell them how to leave the reviews and on what platform. Google reviews are the best, especially for ranking purposes.
You can also provide a link to a review page on your website. It is not against Google's policy to ask for reviews; however, you cant incentivize the process or coerce people into leaving positive reviews.
And if you think this is strict, Yelp has even stricter policies and guidelines. Regardless, reviews are still a great way to build trust and should be part of your marketing plan.
Host A Contest
Unlike popular belief, contests and giveaways offer you a great chance to generate buzz about your practice and attract traffic.
However, giveaways can go horribly wrong. Here are a few tips on how to run the best dental practice giveaway:
The giveaway should be related to dental practice. Offer a free or heavily discounted dental care service.
The price should be good enough to generate interest from the get-go. It should be interesting enough to get people to give you their email addresses. This way, giveaways also become a powerful tool for building your email list.
Contests should be a one-off thing. Hosting regular contests will take away the novelty and defeat the entire purpose.
Local Search Engine Optimization
We mentioned this in passing before, but it is so important we will detail why you need this as part of your digital marketing efforts.
If the people in your area can't find you, you will soon be out of business. So ensure that your SEO attempts incorporate keywords likely to be part of local search terms. Great examples of keywords to include are "dental practice," "dentist," "dental clinics," etc.
To further ensure you appear on local search results, try out the following local search optimization ideas:
Include the name of your city, county, and neighborhood to some of the keywords above.
Hire a local search optimization service provider to help ensure your website is fully optimized for local searches.
Build Inbound Links Through Guest Posting
By guest posting, you create blog posts for related yet uncompetitive websites. We know what you might be thinking, but guest posting may be worth it. Guest posting isn't a waste of time. It is one of the best ways to build inbound links and generate a rapport with the dental blogging industry.
If you show competence, you will attract more guest posting opportunities which in turn means more quality inbound links, cross-promotion, and partnership opportunities. Essentially, you will push your brand out to a larger audience making this a win-win situation for both of you.
Print Flyers And Business Cards
The world is becoming more digital, and the old ways of marketing products are slowly phasing out. While we agree that business cards and printed flyers sound old-fashioned, we do not believe they are ineffective.
These printed papers are great ways to increase visibility. Your business cards and flyers can contain information on how to leave reviews. They are also best for when your old satisfied patients are trying to refer new patients. Getting these printed documents is a small price for the visibility they offer.
Use Retargeted Ads
With retargeted ads, you are trying to regain the attention of a user who visited your website. With these ads, you follow your prospects, reminding them they have unfinished business with you.
You can use these marketing plans on your website, email, or search engines. Retargeting can get confusing, especially if you try doing it yourself. Outsource it and other digital marketing ideas you have to a qualified service provider.
Create Marketing Relationships With Non-Competing Businesses In Your Industry
The importance of forging mutually beneficial marketing relationships with businesses in your vicinity can't be overemphasized.
As a dental practice, these relationships could lead to referrals, guest blogging opportunities, or even a chance to host giveaways or events together.
People would use your service when another service they trust tells them about you.
How To Create Your Dental Marketing Plan?
Now that we have given you a few Ideas on how to boost your dental marketing let's look at how you can create a comprehensive dental practice marketing plan. 
We have broken the process into several actionable steps.
Define your target audience. Identify your ideal patient by understanding demographics, location, and psychographics. By understanding who your ideal patient is, you can tailor your marketing message to appeal to them.
Analyze your competition. Look at the competition in your area and analyze their marketing strategies to find gaps you can fill. By understanding what your competitors are doing, you can differentiate yourself and stand out from the crowd.
Set marketing goals. As cliche as this might sound, you must define the goals for your marketing campaign, such as increasing patient acquisition, improving patient retention, or increasing the number of referrals. Ensure your goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
Develop your marketing mix. Determine which marketing tactics from the one we have listed you will use to reach your target audience. However, you don't have to use all of those tactics.
Allocate your budget. Determine your budget for each dental marketing idea and allocate funds accordingly. Track your spending and adjust as needed to stay within your budget.
Create a timeline for each marketing idea and ensure you have the resources to execute each tactic on schedule.
Track the performance of each marketing tactic and analyze the results to determine which tactics are working and which ones might need to be adjusted.
Final Thoughts
Implementing dental marketing ideas is crucial for attracting new patients to your dental practice and retaining the old ones. Using the right marketing strategies, offering promotions and discounts, and creating engaging social media content will differentiate your practice from your competitors and create a strong brand identity.
Prioritize customer satisfaction by providing excellent customer service at all the necessary stop points in the customer journey. Remember that Positive patient experiences and word-of-mouth referrals are some of the most effective marketing tools to help your practice grow and expand.
Track and analyze your marketing efforts to measure how effective they are. Make necessary adjustments to your marketing plan, and check for improvements regularly.
With the right marketing strategies in place, you not only attract new patients but also retain existing ones and build a loyal patient base. Stay current on all the latest marketing trends to stay one step ahead of your competitors. By staying ahead of the curve and consistently improving your marketing efforts, you can ensure your dental practice's long-term success and growth.
