Have you tried running ads for your dental practice in the past but felt they were a waste of money? Not sure marketing your dental practice online is worth it, or just not sure how to go about it?
You’re not alone. It can be disheartening when, despite your best marketing ideas, they’re just not working.
Perhaps you’re focusing your precious energy, resources, and time on the wrong marketing ideas and tactics.
Or maybe your current digital marketing partner is too generalist and doesn’t understand the intricacies of your business or target audience.
That’s why we’ve taken our marketing experience with hundreds of dental practices around the US, Canada, and the UK to compile a list of proven marketing methods.
Stick to these, and you’ll never worry about putting in hard work for no return again because these marketing ideas actually work.
Stuck for marketing ideas?
We’ve seen great success for dental practice clients using these tactics; why not give at least one of them a go and see what happens? We promise you won’t regret it!
1. Local awareness Facebook ads
Did you know that you can target people within a 1-mile radius of your dental practice? Local awareness ads specifically target users who are currently in close proximity to your dental practice. And according to Google, 18% of local searches result in purchases.
So, it’d be foolish not to take advantage to increase brand awareness and trigger that niggling thought “I should really go to the dentist” that we all have by serving up engaging, relevant ads to potential patients.
2. Click-to-call ads
Both Facebook and Google have a “click-to-call” ad option, which is fantastic for dental practices, as it removes a few steps in the patient journey by making it easier for your potential patients to get in touch.
We love this marketing idea because dental patients often think about making a call to book a dental check-up but then get distracted and immediately forget.
By targeting past patients and those who’ve shown interest in dental treatments, you can get them to bite as soon as they start thinking about going to the dentist.
3. Google call-only ads
Google’s call-only ads are similar to click-to-call ads, except they don’t give users the option of checking out your website first.
This ad format focuses their attention on the call button alone. It can be very beneficial in encouraging more potential patients to get in touch to find out more information, rather than browse your website, get distracted, and leave!
The other benefit of this marketing idea for dental practices is that you’re only paying when a user clicks the call button – not for clicks to your website that don’t result in a conversion. This pricing structure makes them a very cost-effective option for smaller marketing budgets.
4. Facebook niche targeting
If you’re new to Facebook ads or have only run a few campaigns, you may not be aware of all the options available regarding demographic targeting.
Not only can you choose age, gender, location, and so on – you can also create audiences based on interests, pages your audience has liked in the past, and behaviors.
Try searching for likes such as “teeth whitening,” “dental plans,” “crowns,” and so on to create highly engaged and relevant audiences and monitor the results!
5. Appointment reminders
Automating appointment reminders that alert your current patients either by SMS, email, or both telling them it’s time to book a new appointment is an excellent way of increasing patient retention rates, securing more appointments, and ultimately, boosting revenue.
As we said, patients easily forget when they’re due for a check-up. By gently reminding them (and throwing in a time-sensitive discount if you can!), you can lure them back to your dental practice and keep nurturing a solid dentist-patient relationship.
6. Remarketing ads
If you haven’t heard of this marketing idea before, then you’re seriously missing out on one of the most effective and proven marketing tactics in the book!
Remarketing ads are when you create ads specifically for people who have interacted with your dental practice, whether that’s visiting your website, booking an appointment, calling your practice, or even following you on social media.
Since these potential patients (or current patients) have already shown an interest in your dental practice, they’ll take less convincing to book in with you.
Another benefit to this marketing idea is that you’ll spend less on securing a new patient since they’re more likely to go with you than a new user who hasn’t interacted with you before.
7. Flash sales
One of the most tried and true marketing ideas out there is, of course, flash sales! Sometimes, we all need that sense of urgency to bite the bullet and make an appointment – especially for cosmetic dental procedures.
There’s no better way to secure an influx of appointment inquiries than giving potential and current patients an irresistible discount for a limited time. If you haven’t tried running a flash sale, what are you waiting for?
Give it a go today and see how many people take you up on the offer and turn into long-term patients because of it!
8. Email marketing
Email marketing is a fantastic way to stay top of mind with your patients and new, potential audiences.
By sending valuable content and genuinely helpful information via email, you can help build authority and a positive relationship with current and potential patients, making them less likely to go elsewhere.
The beauty of email marketing platforms is how easy they are to use! You can even create a few month’s worth of emails in one day and automate them to send to your audience at specific times so you can make more efficient use of your time.
If you want to go even deeper, you can also set up email triggers on your website that send a thread of emails to potential customers when they download a guide, for example, or book an appointment!
9. A conversion-driven website
Lastly, we have the most crucial marketing tactic of all. Your website is your most hardworking sales agent, either convincing or deterring your patients to book an appointment.
If you don’t have a strong, conversion-driven (i.e., it makes it easy and tempting for people to book in with you), then there’s no point running any ads.
Outdated, hard-to-use, or boring dental practice websites won’t get you anywhere. With the right website design, copywriting, imagery, and functionality, you can reflect your true value and expertise so that new patients trust you and can’t resist choosing you!
Ready to try out these marketing ideas for your own dental practice?
We encourage you to try even just one of these proven marketing ideas and see the difference it can make to your patient acquisition, retention, and overall revenue.
Don’t have the time to implement these marketing tactics yourself or simply want the dental practice marketing and business strategy experts to take over?
Talk to our team here at PatientBoost!
At PatientBoost, we offer business consultancy, digital marketing, and web design services for dental practices ready to streamline and automate their processes, attract new patients, engage their employees, and upsurge profits. Book a free 15-minute Clarity Call today!
