Social media essentially provides a channel for your practice to engage and reach new audiences locally and globally. Being more social as a business generally will not only help you connect better with your local patients, but also help you see what other practices in your industry are working on and the way in which they are connecting. This insight can provide you with a head-start in devising a social media marketing plan that has a competitive edge unique from the others.
Social media is a particularly excellent way to increase engagement from customers, gain more followers and be connected with patients, especially during a time where social media is a significantly developing with the implementation of many new trends. With so many social media platforms to choose from, it can be overwhelming to know how and what to use the social media websites for in connection with your practice.
Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are known to be the main social media websites, but within these platforms there are different technical functions which your practice can use for its social media strategy.
Boost your posts through Paid Advertising
There is a function available whereby businesses can pay to promote their posts in order to gain more exposure. This would mean that posts about your dental practice would get a boost on timelines and newsfeeds, over and above other posts. This is a beneficial mechanism because with social media platforms putting posts from family, friends, colleagues etc above corporate entities, businesses and brands it becomes tricky for dental practices to be realistic in the way in which they interact and communicate with their patients. The process to promote posts can be done within a few simple steps and allows your practices’ important headlines, announcements or special offers to be given the spotlight over and above other posts.
Instagram Stories
Rather than waiting for your patients to see your post several hours or days later after scrolling through other posts, also known as “social media traffic”, Instagram stories appear immediately once you have shared your story, creating greater interaction. They stories are at the very top of the screen so that your followers can quickly view, be informed and interact. This functionality is more suited for quick updates which you want to share with your patients, as they disappear after 24 hours and do not stay on your page permanently.
Facebook Messenger
In today’s Millenial generation, your prospective patients are more likely to opt to message your practice with any enquiries they may have, rather than actually make a call to your practice. This can actually be more of a time-saving resource for you as it is a quick and easy function by which you can talk to your patients instantly if they have questions about the services you offer. You can have a devoted member of your team to deal with this so that resource in your practice for manning the phones and ad-hoc appointments are better utilised. There are options to set up alerts for these messages so none get overlooked or missed.
Live Video Sharing
Your dental media strategy can vastly be improved through the functionalities offered by Facebook and Instagram. You can utilise the opportunities offered by live videos on these platforms through the use of virtual digital tours of your practice, information sessions/dental webinars and Question and Answer live forums. In this way, patients and potential patients can visualise a realistic insight into the services they will receive from your practice. A real life insight can offer potential patients more comfort and therefore they will feel much more inclined to take the step to booking with your practice.
The importance of having your social media managed efficiently and resourcefully is so that you can not only increase awareness of your brand in an affordable way, but learn about customers; connect with your existing audience and perhaps reach a new audience/target market. You may also, through such social media platforms improve your customer service by using your connected position to understand your target market better. This will consequently result in an increased market share as you will be building meaningful relationships which help you to generate leads. In turn, employing the best online marketing efforts will result in a massive contribution towards the success and growth of your dental practice.
Have you reviewed your Social Media Marketing Strategy recently? Do you have in place what it takes to be in the know and in the reach to offer that competitive edge your patients are looking for? Our team at DenTek Digital can support you in providing you with expert advice on how best to utilise the tools within the social media platforms for you to meet your social media strategy goals. Whether it is to be better connected, increase engagement or reach a new audience, we can help you with any technical or general questions you may have. Please do not hesitate to drop us a line or give us a call.
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