The power of online marketing is incredible but if you don’t have a plan in place then it can be difficult to know how to start. Without a clear plan or strategy, you won’t be able to successfully get your message out ahead of the constant flow of information online.
That’s why today we have 4 simple steps that will help to get you started with an easy-to-implement online marketing plan. All this plan takes is a couple of hours each month to implement correctly and by the end of it, you’ll have more clients booking in for dental appointments.
Let’s get started so you can learn exactly how to implement an online marketing plan for your dental practice.
1. Set Up An Email List & Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to market a dental clinic!
First things first you have to gather email addresses and the easiest way to do this is on your website and your social media. You can gather emails by offering your audience something valuable in return for their email.
For example, you could host a giveaway on your social media for free teeth cleaning all they have to do is put in their name and email address!
You can also simply give them the chance to subscribe to your newsletter by having a dedicated section on your website. If you continue to provide them with valuable information in your newsletter then they’ll stay subscribed and eventually they might just book in for an appointment.
Once you’ve got a list of emails gathered start sending an email update to your list on a consistent schedule and always include something valuable. Remember, don’t just go for the hard sell, this could end up scaring your potential clients away.
Our top recommendations for email marketing:
- Send the email on a consistent schedule. If you’re just starting out, we recommend monthly emails to give you time to build your content
- Don’t include all the content in the email, link to your website to read the rest of the content, such as a blog post
- Personalize the email by including the recipient’s name. All of the major email providers allow you to do this (Mission Control, Active Campaign, Convert Kit, Drip, Get Response)
- Experiment with different subject lines to improve your open rate
2. Start Writing Blog Posts
Content is king and your website’s blog is the best place to produce high-quality content for your potential clients.
A collection of useful articles on your blog is an asset to your dental clinic as it will help your website’s visibility grow and improve your SEO.
Having a detailed catalogue of articles that you can point your customers to when they’re looking for more information about a topic will also position you as an expert in the dental industry.
Our top recommendations for blog posts:
- Publish a new blog post at least once a month
- Use high-quality, relevant images and photos in your blog to create engaging content
- Focus on creating ‘evergreen content’ that will always be useful to your audience
- If you’re just getting started, here’s how you can plan a blog post in 10 minutes so you can write better and faster
3. Engage With Your Audience On Social Media
Social media isn’t just about posting updates on what you’re eating or where you’re travelling, it’s about engagement.
Connect with your audience and grow a following by posting content that’s useful to them. Show you care by asking questions, making connections and contributing to conversations.
Our top recommendations for social media:
- Post new updates at least a few times a week
- Images perform much better than text so always include a photo with your post to increase engagement and reach. For example, Facebook posts that have images get 2.3X more engagement than those without
- Use hashtags to improve your reach and target a specific audience
- Use a social media management tool to schedule in your posts, such as the built-in Facebook post scheduler, CoSchedule, Hootsuite and Buffer.
4. Always Provide Value To Your Audience
When you’re sharing content with your audience, always think of what they would want to read and what would provide them value.
Sure it’s great to talk about yourself and what’s going on in your clinic, but the best results come from useful, engaging, and visual content that your audience is genuinely interested in.
When you’re not sure what to share, I suggest looking at other dental clinics to see what’s working for them. Check out your competitor’s posts on social networks – what are they posting? What posts are getting high levels of engagement?
This can be a great start to kick off your inspiration!
Your online marketing will start to grow gradually if you simply stay consistent and spend a few hours each month producing valuable, relevant content for your audience.
The above steps can help get you on the right path to a simple online marketing plan that works for your dental practice.
What are you doing consistently to improve your online marketing? Is it working? Are you having trouble with getting started? Let me know in the comments!
Want some help putting your online marketing strategy together? We’re the experts when it comes to helping dental practices thrive online. Schedule a clarity call with our team today and we’ll help your practice get more appointments booked and more patients through the door.
