Got 20 Minutes? Here’s How You Can Grow Your Dental Practice’s Online Presence

Your dental team is busy. We get it! But you’ve got to make a little time for digital marketing — it’s crucial to growing your practice. Take 20 minutes a day to complete these vital tasks!

If you don’t have a lot of time for social media marketing (and you probably don’t), you’ve got to focus first on doing the things that will help you make the best impression with the greatest number of patients and ideal potential patients. And right now, the best choices are crystal-clear: build your practice’s Facebook presence and gather positive patient reviews.

Did you know over 80 percent of online adults have a Facebook account? This includes 75 percent of family decision makers, who regularly use Facebook to get recommendations from their friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors. Also, over 90 percent of consumers use online reviews, especially Google reviews, to research local businesses. There’s no doubt that reviews dramatically affect your practice’s online visibility among your competitors, and ultimately, who prospective patients decide to call.

If you have time for nothing else, these two things are what you should be focusing on in your digital marketing efforts. Here’s how you can approach each with the time and resources you have.

Complete These Daily Facebook Tasks in 15 Minutes

1. Post something daily

Your Facebook page needs fresh new content on a consistent basis to appear welcoming, relevant, and able to give prospective patients a sense of your practice culture.

Since creating engaging content is so crucial to building your social media presence, we highly recommend you read our free ebook dedicated to helping you know what to post.

2. Respond to Facebook messages, comments, and visitor posts

Responsiveness is key to building trust and relationships on social media. Turn on notifications so you know immediately when a patient or fan says something on your Facebook page. When prospective patients see that you take the time follow up on everything your patients and fans say, it tells them how much you care about providing a great experience.

Just leaving quick replies such as “We appreciate your feedback!” or “Thanks for coming in today!” shows that you’re listening.

3. In your practice, encourage patients and visitors to Like your Facebook page

Growing your Facebook presence isn’t just about what you do online, it’s supported by what you and your team do in your office every day. Mention what your practice is doing on social media to every patient you see and encourage them to Like your page.

Don’t assume that any of your patients wouldn’t be interested; remember that over 80 percent of online adults are Facebook users.

4. Browse trending topics and hashtags to catch up on current events

The trending topics in the upper right corner of your Facebook news feed are excellent tools for helping you instantly know what’s going on in the world. Why does staying current matter in your social media marketing efforts? Because anything you post on your practice’s page related to a hot topic has a better chance of being seen and shared — especially if you can link it to dentistry or oral care.

My Social Practice clients have access to the world’s largest library of dental-themed social media content to make daily posting a snap! Learn more about our Publisher app here.

Complete These Daily Online Reviews Tasks in 5 Minutes

1. Check your Google, Facebook and Healthgrades profiles for new reviews

Reply with comments thanking patients for positive reviews, and invite those with complaints to contact you. Learn more about how to effectively handle negative reviews in our blog post.

2. In your practice, invite one or two patients a day to write a review from their phone

Important note: Make sure that patients do not write reviews while on the practice wifi network. Google and other sites will notice multiple reviews coming from the same IP address, which could invalidate the reviews.

MSP Reviews is the easiest way to gather Google reviews from patients right there in your practice. No more asking for reviews and hoping patients write one after they return to their busy lives! Get a free demo here!

Make Social Media Marketing Work on Your Schedule

Although we’ve only covered the essentials of a good social media marketing plan, it can still feel overwhelming if you try to do it all at once. Start with Facebook, and as you become comfortable and consistent using it, gradually add in the other high-priority tasks.

Remember, social media marketing isn’t something you have, it’s something you do, and it takes a small daily effort to be effective. Set aside even 20 minutes a day for it, and you’ll quickly see how building your practice’s online presence helps you retain patients, build relationships and attract ideal new patient.

The post Got 20 Minutes? Here’s How You Can Grow Your Dental Practice’s Online Presence appeared first on My Social Practice - Social Media Marketing For Dentists, Orthodontists, & Optometrists.