How to Build Your Local Reputation With a Giveaway Collaboration

Want increased local awareness and word-of-mouth marketing for your dental practice? Doing a social media giveaway collaboration with a local business will help you reach more of the people most likely to become your next patients. Discover how easy and effective it is!

Here’s an idea you may have never thought of in your dental practice: Partner up with another local business to do a social media giveaway! It’s an excellent way to build community relationships and awareness of your practice.

After all, the other businesses around you serve the same local client base you do, and eventually, their customers will be looking for a new dentist. By doing a social media giveaway collaboration, you can be at the top of their minds when they need dental care!

Here’s how it works in a nutshell:

1. Scout out a local business with a good-sized social media following.
2. Choose one of their goods or services your practice could sponsor for the giveaway prize.
3. Reach out to the business and agree on posting and giveaway details.
4. Both your practice and the other business create social media posts and run the giveaway!

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This is a great way to amplify the reach and influence of even a small-budget giveaway. Because the business you choose will also promote your giveaway and practice social media pages, you’ll get increased visibility for your practice with their audience as well. It’s a great way to build strong relationships within your community. Everybody wins!

Get creative and do social media giveaways with some of your favorite local gems, like a great spot for lunch or a gift shop. Chances are they’ve never been approached about doing a giveaway like this and would be excited for the opportunity!

Sound complicated? It’s easier than you think. Here’s a super simple way to do it.

Choose a Local Business for Your Collaboration

There are a few things to consider when choosing the business to partner with for your social media giveaway:

Choose a business that has a good-sized social media following within your target audience. For example, a pediatric dentist may want to reach out to popular places for children’s birthday parties—businesses that market specifically to parents of young children. Think about which businesses may have direct access to audiences you have never been able to reach.

Make sure that you’re comfortable having your practice’s name associated with the business. Doing giveaway collaborations with a business is essentially giving them an endorsement, so make sure that their product/service and reputation is something you’re happy with. Bonus points if it’s a product/service someone on your team actually uses, and they can create some enthusiastic posts about your giveaway!

Think about how the collaboration will benefit the business you choose. As a dental practice, which audiences can you reach that other businesses may want to reach as well? How will you promote the giveaway in a way that boosts their visibility? Remember to include these things when you reach out with your collaboration proposal.

Clearly Determine Partnership Details

When reaching out to businesses with your collaboration proposal, make sure to include a clear summary of what content will be created and how it will be published to promote the giveaway and the partner business. Specify the dates that the posts will be published, as well as start and end dates for the giveaway.

For example, you may propose that the business you choose and your practice will create five Facebook posts each promoting the giveaway. Specify which tags, links, and images or video will be included in each post. It would be beneficial to even create some mock-up posts showing exactly how they would appear.

For example, one of the Facebook or Instagram posts your partner business creates might say, “Downtown Dental is giving away one of our $50 gift cards! Check out their page to enter to win!” Then they would tag your practice and include a link to your giveaway post.

Create your own posts announcing the giveaway as well, and make sure to “@ mention” the other business’s page in return.

Optimize the Giveaway for Visibility

As part of your giveaway entry steps, you can ask people to leave a comment and “at mention” a friend. For example, “tag an awesome mom you know who would like to enter!” More comments and more people mentioned means more eyes on your posts!

It’s a simple way to expand your giveaway’s reach to your patients’ family and friends—the people most likely to become your next patients. It’s especially effective on Facebook!

For example, if you’re doing the giveaway featured in our New Year’s Dental Giveaway Kit (download link at the end of this post), here’s what we recommend you include in your announcement post:

Follow these three simple steps to enter to win!

1. Like our Facebook page and this post.

2. Comment on this post with your favorite 2019 movie.

3. Mention a friend in your comment for an additional entry!

This is a great way to get your post seen by the your patients’ and fans’ friends and family—the people most likely to become your new patients.

Also, consider putting some money into promoting giveaway posts on Facebook and Instagram to reach as many people as possible.

Utilize Social Media Giveaways for Dental Practice Growth

Social media giveaway collaborations with local businesses grow your practice’s visibility in two key ways: boosting your reach to ideal potential patients and building relationships within your community. Plus, you might discover some local gems you never knew about!

And if you haven’t done a giveaway in your practice, we’ve made it easy to create one and see the results for yourself. Click the image below to download our free New Year’s Dental Giveaway Kit that will help you set one up in minutes. Try it this week and discover how giveaways grow your practice!

Ready for a quick demo of our social media service? Fill out the form below.

 

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3 Steps for Successful Dental Practice Giveaways

[FREE GIVEAWAY KIT DOWNLOAD AT BOTTOM OF PAGE]

When marketing your dental practice, giveaways can be one of your greatest tools to gain top-of-mind awareness with the people most likely to become new patients. Follow these simple steps to maximize your reach with giveaways and grow your practice!

Want to build relationships with your dental patients and the people most likely to become new patients? Social media giveaways can be one of the best ways to make it happen! People love the chance to win a prize and with just a little planning, you can use small giveaways to effectively grow your dental office’s online presence.

Plus, as mentioned in the video, at the end of this post you’ll find our free Holiday Dental Giveaway Kit. Download it and you’ll get instructions and printable signs you can use to make setting up your own holiday giveaway a snap. Try it this week and see how easy it is to make giveaways a part of your dental marketing!

Ready for a quick demo of our social media service? Fill out the form below.

 

3 Essential Elements for a Giveaway That Grows Your Practice

First, make it easy—for yourself and your fans. Choose a small prize so you can do giveaways often without stressing your budget too much. It could even be a “dental supply kit” like a year’s worth of dental floss. For patients and fans, participating in your giveaway isn’t so much about the value of the prize. It’s about the chance to connect with you and have some fun (especially for young patients)!

Even a $10 gift card is enough to get people participating. And make it easy for patients and fans to enter. Asking people to like your page, like the post, and leave a comment to enter is easy enough, and it helps build your social media presence.

Second, Make it shareable. As part of your giveaway entry steps, you can ask people to leave a comment and “at mention” a friend. For example, “tag an awesome mom you know who would like to enter!”

It’s a simple way to expand your giveaway’s reach to your patients’ family and friends—the people most likely to become your next patients.

And third, make it known. Have your team members mention the giveaway to everyone they see in your office, and consider putting a little money into boosting the giveaway post so more people see it online.

Create Your Own Giveaway in Minutes With This Kit

Now it’s your turn to do a giveaway, and with these tools it couldn’t be easier! Read this blog post for some simple giveaway tips and guidelines, and download the Holiday Dental Giveaway Kit below. You’ll discover how easy it is to create a promotional dental giveaway in just a few minutes that attracts and retains patients!

Ready for a quick demo of our social media service? Fill out the form below.

 

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3 Great Social Media Giveaway Ideas for Dental Offices

[FREE HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY DOWNLOAD AT BOTTOM OF PAGE]

Small giveaways are a great icebreaker to help you attract and retain dental patients! Check out how practices used these giveaway ideas for dental offices to build some buzz on social media.

Here’s one thing that very few dentists are doing, but it’s one of the best ways to break the ice and get attention for your practice: social media giveaways. It’s not complicated—people love the chance to win a prize! And with a little planning, your patients and fans will be happy to participate and even introduce family and friends to your practice for a chance to win.

If you’re looking to reach more potential patients, retain existing patients, and enhance your dental practice’s local reputation, doing a giveaway is proven to be a great way to start. Even if you only have a small number of followers,  you can use small, frequent giveaways to grow your online presence and your practice.

Plus, as you saw in the video, at the end of this post you’ll see a link for our free Holiday Dental Giveaway Kit. Download it and you’ll get instructions and printable signs you can use to make setting up your own holiday giveaway a snap. Try it this week and see how easy it is to make giveaways a part of your dental marketing!

Ready for a quick demo of our social media service? Fill out the form below.

 

3 Giveaway Ideas for Dental Offices That Get Results

Favorite Emoji

The team at Hulsey Dentistry got a ton of interaction on this giveaway post by having patients and fans comment with their favorite emoji for a chance to win.

Try to spark conversation with your giveaway, because getting a lot of comments signals Facebook to give the post greater reach. Just asking a simple question about your patients’ and fans’ favorite things is an easy way to get people participating, especially when the topic appeals to young patients!

2 Truths and a Lie

Smile Spot Children’s Dentistry helped followers get to know their team with this trivia game giveaway. It was a huge hit and strengthened relationships. They listed three statements about this team member, two of which were true, and challenged fans to spot the lie for a chance to win!

Getting your team involved will make your giveaway more effective. Train your front desk team member to mention the giveaway to everyone that comes in. Including team members in all of your giveaway photos is also proven to boost engagement.

Win It Wednesday

MT West Dentist does a small giveaway every week. They call it “Win It Wednesday.” It keeps patients and fans coming back to their page and sharing their posts with family and friends.

Choose small prizes that allow you to do more giveaways more often. My Social Practice has helped thousands of dental offices run great giveaways, and we’ve found that even a $10 gift card is enough to catch attention and get people to participate.

When you have fun giveaways on  your page more often, it keeps you top-of-mind with patients and fans. Their regular participation will build your reach with the people most likely to become your new patients.

Create Your Own Giveaway in Minutes With This Kit

Now it’s your turn to do a giveaway, and with these tools it couldn’t be easier! Read this blog post for some simple giveaway tips and guidelines, and download the Holiday Dental Giveaway Kit below. You’ll discover how easy it is to create a giveaway in just a few minutes that attracts and retains patients!

The post 3 Great Social Media Giveaway Ideas for Dental Offices appeared first on My Social Practice - Social Media Marketing for Dental & Dental Specialty Practices.

Our November Practice of the Month — Zammitti & Gidaly Orthodontics

Congratulations to our November Practice of the Month — Zammitti & Gidaly Orthodontics!

This month we’d like to spotlight an absolute social media powerhouse practice, Zammitti & Gidaly Orthodontics! They’re using social media dental marketing to reach new audiences, strengthen relationships with current patients, and stand out in their community.

They also impressed us with their phenomenal reviews presence, with over 350 positive patient reviews across Facebook and Google.

We reached out to Michelle Camp, patient care and marketing coordinator of the practice, for some insight on how social media is growing their business and what’s been working for them. Take something from what their team has learned to apply in your own social media strategy!

Ready for a quick demo of our reviews service? Fill out the form below.

 

Q&A With Michelle Camp, Marketing Coordinator

(Responses edited for length and clarity.)

What has been the biggest surprise of social media marketing for you?

“The biggest surprise of using social media in our practice is how fun and exciting it is creating the posts. Our staff has really loved getting involved in taking pictures, sharing their fun facts or just listening to our silly post ideas. Taking pictures of the staff and patients is a fun and quick way to break up the day/week and add some excitement to our patient’s visits.”

Which of your team’s social media efforts have shown to be most effective?

“The social media tool or tactic that has been most successful has been our “Fun Fact Friday”–where each staff member shares a little fact about themselves that our patients may not otherwise know. People love getting to know our staff and doctors through these posts. Our patients look forward to this post in particular because it is fun to see everyone’s unique answers while also thinking about what their answer would be for each week’s fun fact.”

What has been the biggest challenge of using social media in your practice?

“The biggest challenge of social media marketing has been staying fresh and current. We have a large multi-doctor, multi-location practice and it can be difficult to make sure all employees/doctors/locations are included while being sure we are not posting the same thing each week. My Social Practice has helped us with this challenge by providing interesting new content ideas.”

What has been the biggest benefit to your patients since you started using social media?

“The number one benefit of our social media for our patients is that it helps patients to develop a more intimate relationship with our practice. With our daily posts our patients get a little glimpse behind the scenes while also getting to know our employees and doctors more. Our patients can see that we are a family that works hard while having fun too.”

What has been the biggest benefit to your practice since you started using social media?

“The #1 benefit social media has brought to our practice is the ability to always stay on people’s minds. Everyone is scrolling through Facebook and Instagram at some point throughout the day. When they scroll past our posts it helps people to think about us when they otherwise wouldn’t. If they are current patients it may be a reminder to tell a friend about our office. If they are not patients yet it may be that extra reminder to call our office to schedule a consultation. Social Media brings our practice into people’s homes and into their everyday conversations.”

What kind of feedback have you gotten from patients about your social media?

“Luckily, the feedback we have received from our patients about our social media efforts has been positive. We have had parents of patients and older patients themselves tell us how much they enjoy our posts. I personally have been able to use this feedback to get to know our patients more, asking them what they dressed up as for Halloween or what their least favorite food is.”

What do you do in your office to promote your social media presence?

“Right now our employees promote our social media presence in a low-key, laid-back manner. It may be as simple as mentioning a recent post or telling a patient to look for an upcoming post. Of course, taking pictures of patients and telling them to look for their photo on our social media is a great way to promote also! We don’t ever want a patient or parent to feel pressured or uncomfortable so something as simple as “check us out on Facebook/Instagram” has done the trick so far.”

What advice would you have for a dental practice just starting to build their social media presence?

“For a dental practice just starting out on social media I would tell them to stay true to their values and beliefs. Social media is an amazing platform that can reach a lot of people, it is important that what is being displayed on your practice’s social media is a great representation of who you are and what you believe in. Put your best qualities out there and let social media be another marketing platform that keeps you on people’s minds.”

Which My Social Practice product or service has been the most help to you?

“My Social Practice’s Engagement Boxes have been the biggest help for our practice. Each engagement box has included a great variety of fun and interesting tools/props/ideas to help our posts stay fun and fresh. Each engagement box has been filled with fun props along with well-made signs and ideas for each post. We have always been impressed with the content delivered within each box!”

Thank you for sharing, Michelle! Your team really understands how social media grows dental practices, and we’ve loved watching your online presence grow!

Dental social media marketing is about growing practices through increasing your reach, enhancing your local reputation, and building relationships with patients and potential patients. My Social Practice has remained laser-focused on these key objectives for over a decade as we’ve built the perfect dental social media solution.

Even if you have no social media experience and no time to learn, My Social Practice can do all the heavy lifting for you—growing your practice while you focus on serving your patients.

Learn more and request a free demo of our services and we’d love to show you step-by-step how we can make your practice shine online!

Ready for a quick demo of our social media service? Fill out the form below.

 

The post Our November Practice of the Month — Zammitti & Gidaly Orthodontics appeared first on My Social Practice - Social Media Marketing for Dental & Dental Specialty Practices.

5 Tips to Run an Awesome Holiday Dental Practice Giveaway

[FREE DOWNLOAD] The holiday season is a perfect opportunity to attract and retain dental patients with gift-giving fun! These proven tips will get you more visibility and engagement for your dental practice giveaway!

There aren’t many things people love more than a chance to win a prize! So if you’re looking to grow your dental practice’s social media presence and be seen by more potential patients, a simple holiday giveaway can be a great dental marketing tool.

Check out these tried-and-tested guidelines for running an effective holiday giveaway in your dental office! They’re guaranteed to increase your social media reach and visibility and help you build relationships with the people who will grow your practice. (A giveaway is a great icebreaker, especially with young patients!)

As mentioned in the video, at the end of the post you’ll find a download link for the free Holiday Dental Giveaway Kit, which includes printable signs you can use in your giveaway announcement photo. Make sure to grab it before you go!

Ready for a quick demo of our social media service? Fill out the form below.

 

5 Tips for a Great Holiday Social Media Giveaways

1. Give away small prizes that allow you to do giveaways more frequently. My Social Practice has helped thousands of dental practices run effective giveaways, and we’ve found that our clients get nearly the same patient and fan interaction with a $10 prize as with a $50 prize.

To patients, it’s not so much about the value of the prize as it is about the chance to connect with you and win something for free. Plus, when you run frequent giveaways, you give patients and fans a reason to come back to your page regularly, helping you maintain top-of-mind-awareness and build crucial relationships.

The prize you give away doesn’t have to be related to dental care. Is there a unique restaurant or bakery that your patients love? Give away a $10 gift card and let someone enjoy a lunch on you. Are your patients excited for a new movie coming out? Try giving away a couple of tickets!

2. In your giveaway announcement post, clearly state what the prize is, how to enter, and how long the giveaway will last. Make sure all relevant promotion details are stated in every social media post or piece of printed material about it. A giveaway that lasts about a week has a sense of urgency that encourages patients to enter the moment they see the announcement.

We also recommend boosting the post to help it reach more of your audience.

3. Make it easy to enter, and encourage social media engagement. Even if a giveaway prize is extremely attractive, many people will skip the chance to win if entering is too troublesome.

If you’re doing the giveaway featured in our Holiday Dental Giveaway Kit (download link at the end of this post), here’s what we recommend you include in your announcement post:

Follow these three simple steps to enter to win!

1. Like our Facebook page and this post.

2. Comment on this post with your favorite holiday movie.

3. Mention a friend in your comment for an additional entry!

This is a great way to get your post seen by the your patients’ and fans’ friends and family—the people most likely to become your new patients.

4. Follow the social media platform’s rules. Facebook has rules about what you can and cannot do to promote a giveaway. Specifically, you cannot make sharing a post or tagging friends a mandatory part of entering to win.

It is also good practice to disassociate your giveaway from the social media platform. You can do this by simply including a statement like this in the announcement post:

“This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook/Instagram.”

5. Mention your giveaway in person to everyone who visits your practice. Successful social media efforts start in your practice, with face-to-face conversations. Ask everyone who walks in “Have you seen our giveaway on social media? You can enter right from your phone!”

If possible, display the prize on a table where everyone can see it, with a card or poster nearby telling visitors how they can enter to win.

This means that your whole team will have to be involved, so devote some meeting time to explaining the giveaway and getting everyone on board.

Oak Ridge Dental Arts Rockwell had an Ugly Holiday Sweater Contest!

Try Your Own Holiday Giveaway—This Kit Makes it Easy

Now that you’ve got the basics of dental social media giveaways, don’t hesitate to give it a try! If you’re starting with just a few fans on your practice’s Facebook and Instagram pages, this is an excellent way to kickstart your social media growth. Download the free kit and create your own holiday giveaway in minutes!

The post 5 Tips to Run an Awesome Holiday Dental Practice Giveaway appeared first on My Social Practice - Social Media Marketing for Dental & Dental Specialty Practices.

5 Dental Practices That Absolutely Rocked Halloween on Social Media!

What makes Halloween so great for dental practices? It’s the perfect opportunity to show off your creativity, have fun with your team, and create memories with your patients that they’ll remember fondly for years! As part of our annual Halloween celebration, My Social Practice has held our Dental Team Costume Contest for the past several years, giving some truly remarkable dental teams a chance to shine.

Let’s take a look back at some of this year’s best entries, and discover why creating a great Halloween post isn’t just all about fun, but actually helps attract and retain patients.

1. Legacy Pediatric Dentistry

Legacy Pediatric Dentistry proved that “you’ve never had a dental office like us” with their jaw-dropping Aladdin costumes! They racked up a lot of engagement, which is great for their visibility and making sure fans see more of their posts in the future.

2. Bright Inspired Dentistry

The social media all-stars at Bright Inspired Dentistry went all out for this pirate-themed team costume, complete with amazing scenery! In the comments of the post, patients and fans talked about how much they love seeing posts from the practice and sharing them with friends. They’re turning patients who love them into their best advocates through social media!

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3. MH Dentistry: Marc Heiden, DMD

A dental team with candy-themed costumes? Sure, why not? The team at MH Dentistry: Marc Heiden, DMD earned a TON of engagement with this great team photo, especially comments and shares, which Facebook weighs most heavily when determining the reach of a post.

4. Thomasville Pediatric Dentistry

Patients know they’ve got a friend in Thomasville Pediatric Dentistry, who stunned with their Toy Story outfits! You can tell that they’re a team that likes to have fun, and seeing how much they enjoy their jobs helps build trust with potential patients!

5. Dickson Dental

Finally, we’ll highlight our Dental Team Costume Contest winner, Dickson Dental, who blew us away with these trophy costumes! Amazing things happen when you’re not afraid to showcase your team culture on social media!

Great Social Media Builds Relationships

These practices put in the effort for excellent costumes and a lot of people saw their posts, but visibility for visibility’s sake is not enough to build trust in your business. You need to give people a look into your practice culture and what patients can expect in your office.

And what do these photos say about these practices? They says that these are places where the team and patients are happy, comfortable and having fun. And in the minds of prospective patients who see it, those good feelings are transferred to their beliefs about the practice as a whole.

“If the team enjoys working together this much, then they must provide a great patient experience,” they think.

Your practice’s social media presence alone can be enough to convince ideal potential patients to call for an appointment, switch care providers, or recommend you to family and friends. Regularly post content that is personal, fun, and showcases what makes your practice and team special. This not only builds relationships, it also has a higher chance of being shared—just like these Halloween posts.

My Social Practice provides all the training, tools, and content to help you create content that will build relationships and grow your practice! Request a demo and one of our friendly social media experts will show you step-by-step how we make it incredibly simple. Let’s find your practice’s perfect social media solution!

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Our October Practice of the Month — Columbus Center for Periodontics & Dental Implants

Congratulations to our October Practice of the Month — Columbus Center for Periodontics & Dental Implants!

If you’re looking for an example of how to build patient relationships through remarkable social media, look no further than the team at Columbus Center for Periodontics & Dental Implants! Patients love the excellent experience they have in the practice, and through social media, that experience is continued until their next visit.

The team at Columbus Center for Periodontics & Dental Implants knows how to keep their social media feed fresh and interesting with a variety of content. Whether it’s a fun team photo, a prize giveaway, or a charitable cause, they always have something engaging and relevant for patients and fans to interact with. They say one of the biggest benefits social media is it allows them to show potential patients their fun and caring practice culture!

We reached out to Michelle Gault, office ambassador of the practice, for some insight on how social media is growing their business and what’s been working for them. Take something from what their team has learned to apply in your own social media strategy!

Q&A With Michelle Gault, Office Ambassador

(Responses edited for length and clarity.)

What has been the biggest surprise of social media marketing for you?

“In the beginning, our team was reluctant to participate in some of the photos and videos. After seeing the impact our personal posts have on our patients, our team has surprisingly grown more comfortable with participating. They feel good about the posts and know that without them our patients would still be reluctant to visit the practice.”

Which of your team’s social media efforts have shown to be most effective?

“We feel that posts containing a video paired with a giveaway have been the most successful. Our patients enjoy seeing the other side of our practice and really get involved when we have something to offer for their participation.”

What has been the biggest benefit to your practice and patients since you started using social media?

“Our patient relationships have changed tremendously since utilizing social media. Everyone can now see firsthand how we care about them wholeheartedly. Patients generally do not like to visit dental offices, including ours, and our presence on social media has changed the way patients feel about us before they even meet us. They feel like part of the team before setting foot in the door.”

Ready for a quick demo of our social media service? Fill out the form below.

 

What kind of feedback have you gotten from patients about your social media?

“We were unsure if our patients actually took the time to look at and engage with our posts. After taking a bit of a break from posting, several of our patients asked why they hadn’t seen any recent photos and videos from us. This made us realize that they really do see us and want to engage with our practice.”

Thank you for sharing, Michelle! Your team really understands how social media grows dental practices, and we’ve loved watching your online presence grow!

At its core, dental social media marketing is about growing practices through increasing your reach, enhancing your local reputation, and building relationships with patients and potential patients. My Social Practice has remained laser-focused on these key objectives for over a decade as we’ve built the perfect dental social media solution.

Even if you have no social media experience and no time to learn, My Social Practice’s fully-managed solution does all the heavy lifting for you—growing your practice while you focus on serving your patients.

Learn more and request a free demo of our services and we’d love to show you step-by-step how we can make your practice shine online!

The post Our October Practice of the Month — Columbus Center for Periodontics & Dental Implants appeared first on My Social Practice - Social Media Marketing for Dental & Dental Specialty Practices.

Our September Practice of the Month — Oak Ridge Dental Arts Rockwell

Congratulations to our September Practice of the Month — Oak Ridge Dental Arts Rockwell!

Does it feel like social media marketing is too complicated for your dental practice, and you just don’t have the time or energy to take it on? Take a look at our September Practice of the Month, Oak Ridge Dental Arts Rockwell, and you’ll see that becoming a social dental practice is simpler and more rewarding than you think.

A smart social media strategy focuses on three key things:

1. Increasing Reach
2. Strengthening Relationships
3. Enhancing Reputation

The team at Oak Ridge Dental Arts Rockwell does a great job at all three! They post valuable and fun content to their social media pages regularly, focusing on connecting with people on a personal level. Plus, with over 100 positive patient reviews across Google and Facebook, they are building their reputation as the premier dental practice in their community—and potential patients are noticing.

We reached out to Allie Widenhouse, office manager of the practice, for some insight on how social media is growing their practice and what’s been working for them. Take something from what their team has learned to apply in your own social media strategy!

Q&A With Allie Widenhouse, Office Manager

(Responses edited for length and clarity.)

What has been the biggest surprise of social media marketing for you?

“The love from patients once we started with social media has been amazing. Our motto is, we strive to create a relationship with our patients based on mutual trust, honesty, communication and respect. We are able to fulfill this with the help of social media.”

Which of your team’s social media efforts have shown to be most effective?

“Posting about personal life events of our staff members seems to be the most successful. Our campaigns are always really fun as well as we have great interaction with the patients. We LOVE the Photo Idea Boxes. The props and ideas really help us set time aside and plan ahead.”

How has your social media marketing helped grow your practice?

“It has drawn so many relationships with our patients. It’s such a great conversation starter when the patients come in. We have something mutual to talk about! Social media has made our practice more open and friendly, and patients love how personal we are. We want them to be comfortable and not have the dreadful feeling of walking into a dentist office.”

Ready for a quick demo of our social media service? Fill out the form below.

 

 

What one piece of advice would you give to a practice thinking about doing social media marketing?

“Don’t hesitate! Just do what comes to mind! Believe it or not, patients will love your crazy ideas. We love partnering with My Social Practice!”

Thank you, Allie! We love working with you too!

At its core, dental social media marketing is about growing practices through increasing your reach, enhancing your local reputation, and building relationships with patients and potential patients. My Social Practice has remained laser-focused on these key objectives for over a decade as we’ve built the perfect dental social media solution.

Even if you have no social media experience and no time to learn, My Social Practice’s fully-managed solution does all the heavy lifting for you—growing your practice while you focus on serving your patients.

Learn more and request a free demo of our services and we’d love to show you step-by-step how we can make your practice shine online!

 

The post Our September Practice of the Month — Oak Ridge Dental Arts Rockwell appeared first on My Social Practice - Social Media Marketing for Dental & Dental Specialty Practices.

3 Quick Tips for a Better Dental Instagram Page

Instagram continues to be one of the fastest-growing social media platforms, and new features are frequently being introduced to make it more useful to businesses. Get your dental practice’s Instagram strategy ready for action with these simple tips.

With well over a billion active users, Instagram is one of the best places to grow your dental practice’s online presence. However, for dental teams still just trying to get a foothold in Facebook, expanding to another platform might sound like too much to take on at once. It’s easier than you think! Top brands and small businesses alike are using Instagram to build relationships and awareness through interesting visual content and fan interaction.

Once you become familiar with the best ways to create and share Instagram content, it becomes a powerful tool in your dental marketing toolkit to help you maintain top-of-mind awareness and introduce your practice to even more potential patients. If you’re ready now to attract and retain ideal patients using Instagram, check out how My Social Practice makes it easy!

Ready for a quick demo of our social media service? Fill out the form below.

 

3 Keys to Using Instagram Effectively in Dental Marketing

While the basic fundamentals of social media marketing and creating good content certainly do apply to Instagram, these tips focus more on what makes Instagram unique. Once you have your business profile filled out and your account linked to your practice’s Facebook page, follow these guidelines to help you use the platform to its fullest potential:

1. Post a Photo of Your Team

Our client practices consistently report that one of the best ways to kickstart social media engagement is by sharing photos of team members. When patients become familiar with your team and are engaged on a personal level in return, you strengthen the relationships that allow your practice to thrive.

2. Proactively Engage With Your Followers and Community

Interacting with patients and members of the dental community on Instagram is an excellent way to grow your following, especially for practices just starting out.

Make sure to follow back patients that follow you, and occasionally Like one of their recent photos. Respond when people comment on your posts or tag your practice. Seek out relevant dental hashtags and take part in the conversation. Follow local businesses, doctors, artists, restaurants, and news outlets.

When you follow someone on Instagram, Like one of their photos, or tag their business location, they’ll receive a notification from your account, increasing the likelihood of them following you back. So don’t be shy!

3. Experiment With Promoting Posts

Much like Facebook, Instagram utilizes an algorithm that displays content to users based on how relevant it thinks it is. Simply put, the more fans interact with your Instagram content, the more likely they are to see more of it in the future. On the flip side, if someone doesn’t interact with your content, they may not ever see it again — even if they follow your page!

Promoting (or boosting) a post allows you to invest some money to increase a post’s reach and get it seen by more people, just like how it works on Facebook. Here are some quick guidelines:

• Start small. Boost your best post of the week for $5 and see how much it increases reach and engagement. You can decide to increase your budget from there.
• Include a call-to-action link. Normal Instagram posts do not allow a link in the caption, but promoted ones do. Link to your homepage, Facebook page, or a special offer. For best results, use the same link that you put in your Instagram bio.
• Boost posts that invite interaction. For example, if you run a giveaway that asks people to Like your page to enter to win, that would be ideal to promote.

Make Instagram Part of Your Social Media Strategy

If your practice is not yet on Instagram, get started today! The easiest way to do it would be check out My Social Practice’s comprehensive social media marketing solution for dentists, which allows you to build a vibrant, attractive Instagram page for your dental practice in a snap. Don’t have time? Let us fully manage it for you! Learn more and request a free demo today!

The post 3 Quick Tips for a Better Dental Instagram Page appeared first on My Social Practice - Social Media Marketing for Dental & Dental Specialty Practices.

Our July Practice of the Month — David Toney DDS!

Congratulations to our July Practice of the Month — David Toney DDS!

Getting over the initial doubts about becoming a social practice is a part of the process nearly all our clients face. Sharing your team culture online, involving your team and patients in social media, and asking for reviews all take you out of your comfort zone. But check out David Toney DDS and you’ll see why it’s worth it!

The team at David Toney DDS maintains a fun and well-rounded online presence: they post valuable and fun content to their social media pages regularly and include their team members whenever they can. They also really impressed us with their patient reviews! With nearly 300 patient reviews and a perfect 5.0 score on both Google and Facebook, the team at David Toney DDS has elevated their profile as the premier dental practice in their community—and potential patients are noticing.

We reached out to Laura Braswell, marketing coordinator at David Toney DDS, for some insight on how social media is growing their practice and what’s been working for them. Take something from what their team has learned to apply in your own social media strategy!

Q&A With Laura Braswell, Marketing Coordinator

(Responses edited for length and clarity.)

What has been the biggest surprise of social media marketing for you?

“Patients love pics of the staff. They like to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries with us. It helps us create relationships with them, and they get to know us better. They even bring up what they see from us online during their next visit.”

What are the most significant ways social media marketing has benefited your practice and patients?

“Patients form trust with our practice and staff. They love our online presence. They feel we are an open book and love seeing our fun side.”

What has been the biggest challenge of social media marketing for you?

“Trying to find content and creative things to post. That’s why I love the ideas and creative graphics we get from My Social Practice. We may not be able to use everything, but it gives us a starting point for our online activity.”

Ready for a quick demo of our social media service? Fill out the form below.

 

What advice would you give to a practice starting to build their online presence?

“Be consistent, original, and always stay positive with your posts.”

Thanks for sharing, Laura! We’re proud to have your awesome team as one of our valued clients!

Social media marketing doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated. As social platforms continue to evolve, using them effectively is less about technical know-how and SEO tricks and more about simply creating engaging, shareable content that sparks interaction.

So even if you have little or no social media experience, there’s never been a better time to start building your dental practice’s online presence. Request a free demo of our services and we’d love to show you step-by-step how we’ll make it happen!

The post Our July Practice of the Month — David Toney DDS! appeared first on My Social Practice - Social Media Marketing for Dental & Dental Specialty Practices.

Our May Practice of the Month — Erin McLendon, DDS!

Congratulations to our May Practice of the Month — Erin McLendon, DDS!

We recently asked over 600 dental practices about the biggest roadblock to building their online presence. Can you guess the top answer? It was “it’s too hard to come up with ideas and create posts.”

Perhaps you’re not surprised, because it’s how you feel in your own practice’s social media efforts.

So this month, learn from the team at Erin McLendon, DDS, who went from searching the web for something to post to easily creating their own unique, personalized and engaging social media content!

Why is consistently posting worthwhile content important? Because search engines and social media platforms are giving more and more priority to content that meets people’s needs, connects with them on a personal level, and is relevant to their interests and communities. And when people come across that type of content, they’re more likely to engage with it — meaning more interaction, strengthened patient relationships, and increased visibility for your practice.

Ready for a quick demo of our social media service? Fill out the form below.

 

Q&A With Office Manager Brittany Tadlock

Responses edited for length and clarity.

What’s the most valuable thing you’ve realized about social media marketing?

“Understanding that social media is not just an advertisement you have to actually interact for it to be successful. You can preschedule your posts, but if you are not engaging with comments and replies it is not successful.”

What has been the biggest benefit of your social media efforts for your practice and patients?

“Our patients and community get the opportunity to know our staff and recognize them by name, not just Dr. McLendon. We’ve also seen an increase in follow up visits. If we are constantly in front of a patient on social media, it reminds them to schedule their appointments.”

What sort of feedback have you had from your patients about your social media?

“Patients see us as more personable and not so stiff. We take lots of pictures with patients, pictures of staff with Social Signs, pictures of the office, pictures of patients from the photo booth.”

Thanks for the tips, Brittany!

It’s true that it can be difficult to find the time to post something engaging daily. But our easy-to-use Publisher app makes it simple! My Social Practice clients have access to the world’s largest library of dental-related social media content, with images and pre-written captions you can customize to fit your audience. Plus, you can schedule posts in advance to go out to your accounts when you choose! Get a free demo of the Publisher today!

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How Smart Dental Professionals Handle HIPAA on Social Media

Sharing authentic, engaging social media content that features patients while staying 100% HIPAA-compliant isn’t as complicated as you may think.

HIPAA. Even just reading the word may cause dental professionals to feel a little stressed, and understandably so. Its guidelines are strict, but HIPAA is one of the most important protections patients have in place today.

However, in the age of the connected, savvy consumer brought about by the internet and social media, potential patients want a transparent look into what really goes on inside your practice before they make a decision about whether or not to give you a call. They want to see the experiences that real patients are having with you, and how you treat them.

Because of HIPAA, many dental professionals are scared away from sharing anything at all that involves patients, and they miss valuable opportunities to build reach and relationships with patients and ideal potential patients.

HIPAA doesn’t have to be a stumbling block for your dental practice on social media. Remember that the rules are there to protect patients, not create barriers. By adhering to a few common-sense safeguards and making sure your entire team is trained, you can confidently and comfortably share photos, videos, and other posts involving patients as part of your social media efforts.

HIPAA Guidelines for Dental Professionals on Social Media

1. Don’t post protected patient information or circumstantial details. This may seem obvious, but it can happen if team members aren’t thinking about it. Even if you don’t include a patient’s name, assume that a patient’s information can still be traced if you post about the circumstances.

2. Don’t assume information is private. If something is online, chances are that it will stay online in one form or another. Deleting a tweet or removing a Facebook post doesn’t guarantee that information is gone, so it’s essential that dental professionals catch HIPAA violations before they ever make it to social media.

3. Create a practice social media policy. Having a written policy and training your team on it ensures that everyone in the practice is on the same page and familiar with your approach to social media.

4. Make your practice’s “social media champion” someone that understands HIPAA. The fewer people that post to social media on behalf of your office, the better. It’s generally a good idea to only have one or two people in charge of social media for your dental practice. Choose team members that understand HIPAA’s rules and have dedicated time to check social media activity on your pages.

5. Get signed consent from patients first. There may be times where you want to share a
patient testimonial or answer a question sent to you on social media. It’s important to have the patient’s signed consent before posting, and even after receiving consent, keep as much personal information private as possible.

Download our Printable HIPAA Authorization Form

Every time your practice shares any post that includes or refers to a patient, it’s necessary to obtain their signed consent. A good HIPAA release form will cover a few simple items:

1. What the patient is authorizing: permission for your practice to share a photo or video on your social media accounts.
2. The purpose of the authorization: social media and/or advertising.
3. The patient’s power to revoke the authorization and the expiration date of this power.
4. The option for the patient to receive a copy of the form.
5. Who the patient is authorizing: your practice name.
6. Space for the patient, or parent/guardian of a minor, to sign and date.

If you have questions regarding how to create a HIPAA release form for your specific circumstances, consult with your practice attorney.

Or Let Our Dental HIPAA App Handle Everything

With My Social Practice, posting HIPAA-compliant patient photos is as easy as snap, send, share. Our state-of-the-art HIPAA mobile app features the easiest way to share photos that include patients—simply, securely, and in 100% compliance with regulations.

We know that in everything you do in your practice, patient safety and comfort come first. Here at My Social Practice, we believe that same level of responsibility and patient care is vital in social media marketing as well.

Snap a pic with our iOS/Android Publisher app, and you’ll be prompted to text a link to the patient included in the photo to ask for their approval to share it. Your patient will be guided through a few intuitive, easy-to-understand steps to give you permission to share the photo to your practice’s social media accounts.

People like to do business with people they know, and the My Social Practice provides the best way to share content that showcases the people and culture of your practice, all in 100% compliance with HIPAA. Discover how easy it is to start growing your practice with social media by requesting a free demo!

The post How Smart Dental Professionals Handle HIPAA on Social Media appeared first on My Social Practice - Social Media Marketing for Dental & Dental Specialty Practices.