Working Smarter, Not Harder on Your Dental Marketing
Successful dentists don’t go into practice so they can spend their free time composing emails, outsmarting social media algorithms, or spending big bucks on pay-per-click campaigns. This is why it pays to work smarter, not harder when it comes to developing an effective dental marketing strategy.
By understanding your unique value proposition (UVP), it’s easier to establish defined goals for your practice and determine which tools and tactics will work best. Your UVP is essentially the solution you provide for patients beyond preventative care and oral health treatments. It could include sedation dentistry, low-cost services, or on-site technology for restorative dental products – but most importantly, it helps you identify your target audience.
Whether your practice’s focus is on digital tools, content and keywords, or more traditional methods, there are savvy, cost-effective ways to reach that audience.
Digital Marketing
Thanks to the wide array of digital marketing tools and platforms available, it’s now easier to reach a specific audience without casting a wide, unfocused net. From PPC and Over-the-Top Television to Facebook ads and geofencing, dentists can direct the right media to the individuals in need of their services based on location, demographics, income, and online activities.
The best part about these tools is the ability to create the perimeters – geography, keywords, web searches, etc. – and then let the technology do the rest. By feeding digital ads to your potential patients for mere pennies, you’ll receive measurable results while focusing on the business of dentistry.
Content Marketing
Search engine optimization (SEO) used to be considered all the digital marketing needed to get one’s business noticed. While it can be a vital tool in increasing organic web traffic, shifting algorithms can make SEO needlessly expensive.
Follow SEO best practices by optimizing your website to rank higher for search engines, creating informative blog posts about dental health or patient experiences, as well as leveraging social media to your target audience. These simple efforts can help drive organic traffic to your site and elevate your practice’s profile – online and in the community.
Traditional Marketing
A well-run office inspires word-of-mouth marketing which can expand your patient base with minimal effort through referrals and positive online reviews. A referral program that offers a discount or free whitening, for example, can incentivize current patients to recommend your practice to family and friends.
Direct mail postcards are a popular traditional marketing tool for dental offices that can also target specific zip codes or demographics. Track your results by assigning a dedicated phone number to be printed on the cards. Likewise, you can source your marketing efforts by using unique URLs or special landing pages that identify how new patients are finding you.
Prioritize Your Time
The key to working smarter in dental marketing is to choose the strategies that have the most impact on your particular business, thus allowing you to use your time and resources more effectively. In addition to utilizing great content, digital advances, and measurable results, the smart move may be enlisting a professional marketing team that can provide you the freedom you desire to focus on patients.
At RAMP – The Dentist’s Marketing Company, we understand. Founded by a dentist, our priority for more than 20 years has been helping other dental professionals around the country grow their practice. We invite you to contact us for a free strategy session so you can work smarter, not harder.
