Why Giving Should Be Part of Your Social Media Marketing Core

Giving and charitable work must be transparent and done for the right reasons, but that doesn’t change the fact that giving — and sharing your efforts on social media — is great for growing your practice.

Giving is one of the things that makes life — and running a dental practice — worthwhile. And we don’t just mean giving to charity. Expressing gratitude, providing value to patients, demonstrating empathy, and recognizing the work of team members are all important elements of being a truly “giving” practice.

As a dentist, why should you make giving a priority? Because it transforms your practice and team culture into something patients are proud to share with others. And when you integrate smart social media strategies into your giving efforts, potential patients will notice and remember.

Dental Excellence of Napoleon frequently lets their patients know through social media how grateful they are to have them!

Giving Makes Your Practice More Appealing to New Patients

The common sentiment seems to be that people are become more entitled and self-centered — but data shows the opposite. Today’s consumers, especially millennials, are drawn to support businesses that demonstrate a culture of caring and invest in bettering their communities.

Nielsen reported in a 2015 study that 73 percent of millennials are willing to spend more on a product if it comes from a sustainable brand. Additionally, 81 percent of millennials expect their favorite companies to make public declarations about their commitment to the greater good. 90 percent say they would switch brands to one associated with a cause.

For dentists, the conclusion here is simple: giving — and publicizing your efforts through social media — leads to increased case acceptance, more new patients, more referrals, and higher revenue per patient.

Giving Helps You Build an Amazing Team

Nielsen reports that 67 percent of employees strongly prefer to work for a company that is contributing to the greater good. And happy team members means a better patient experience.

Employees are no longer focused just on job perks that directly benefit them. For dental team members, it’s important to them that the practice they work for is taking steps towards social responsibility, sustainability, and uplifting the community.

Plus, you’ll attract compassionate, dedicated people to join your practice. Think of a few companies that are renowned as great places to work. What do they have in common? They give to various people and communities, and their efforts inspire others. They bring in talented and unique individuals who are eager to make the world a better place. And you can attract team members who will want to do so through working in your practice.

The team at Cooley and Vick, DDS went on a humanitarian trip to the Dominican Republic to treat people in need!

Giving Raises Awareness of Your Practice in Your Community

The rise of social media has made sharing your practice’s giving efforts easier and more effective than ever. Again, the primary goal must be improving people’s lives, not publicity, and there are subtleties in tone and wording you need to take into account when posting about giving.

But when done correctly, publicizing your charitable efforts builds relationships with patients, helps new patients find you, expands your audience and connects you with local businesses and organizations that will help you grow your practice.

Service events are perfect storytelling opportunities — including snapping and sharing lots of photos and videos (our Photo Booth makes it easy), and local media watches social media carefully to find stories to cover.

The Burgin Dentistry team collaborated with a local elementary school to teach kids about the dentist and oral hygiene!

Finally, giving back naturally creates mutually beneficial relationships. To put it simply, when you help others, they’re inclined to help you. Any time you can establish a relationship out of goodwill, it should be established. You never know good may come of it down the road. Many of our clients have reported new patients finding them through local businesses their practice had previously collaborated with.

For more ideas about how to find opportunities to give and how they will grow your practice, make sure to register for the free webinar later this month!

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