Digital Marketing for Dentists : Key Things

Digital marketing for dentists is made up of a set of strategies, implemented by different establishments, based on their target audience and the dissemination of the services that the clinic/office offers.

In this sense, it is very important to understand how digital marketing works and how it can help to leverage the dental environment since this is the future, when it comes to digital technology present in the palm of the patient’s hand.

This content, by the way, is full of topics of interest to anyone who runs a practice or works as a self-employed dentist.

Shall we go ahead?

What is digital marketing for dentists?

Digital marketing for dentists is the promotion of dental services and oral health maintenance over the Internet.

For this segment, some characteristics need to be considered for actions to be more effective.

One of them is the fact that it is a local business, so the focus of marketing initiatives needs to be aimed at people nearby.

In this sense, mobile marketing is certainly the best way, not least because 61% of the traffic generated by Google (data in English) comes from mobile devices.

Digital marketing for dentists: why bet on it?

If you do a test right now on Google and just type in “dentist”, you will probably see the term “dentist near me” as one of the suggestions just below.

According to Google , 76% of people who perform a local search on their smartphone visit a physical location within 24 hours, and 28% of those searches result in a purchase.

The advantages of betting on digital marketing, however, go beyond attracting the local public.

See below for other benefits that are within your reach.

Saves time and money

As in other segments of the health area, there is a culture among dentists that spontaneous marketing is the only way to promote their services.

I do not disagree that, in fact, word of mouth is and always will be much more effective.

The challenge, in this case, is when we are surrounded by competitors doing the same.

Then, what was supposed to be spontaneous media ends up becoming a lottery.

It’s better to invest time and money in promotions that will reach those in need than to depend on luck, don’t you think?

Increased organic traffic to your profile

Digital marketing is the perfect strategy for you and your practice to achieve greater visibility on the web with the lowest investment.

In the case of organic traffic, we are talking precisely about this: attracting visitors without investing money directly in it.

Organic traffic can come from smart publications on social networks, in addition to delivering valuable content on a blog that is found by users through Google searches.

This is just to name two examples.

Generating more and more organic traffic, increase the chances of attracting customers, as many of these visitors may come into contact with you for the first time through your publications on the web.

Alignment with the competition

As highlighted in a study on the growth of digital marketing in the dental market , there is a broad movement to promote this area on the Internet.

Investing in an internet marketing strategy is, therefore, a way to align with competitors that are already in the market by exploring content and social networks.

Expand your target audience

For dentists, it is not enough to promote yourself to any audience.

Although there are general practitioners, offices usually work by specialty, among which orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, and cosmetic dentistry stand out.

Digital marketing is certainly the best solution for dialoguing with segmented audiences while generating brand awareness for your practice.

You can explore different strategies in this regard, such as producing content on blogs, social networks or investing in paid media.

Greater loyalty

A study carried out with patients suggests that 30% of them abandon treatments early.

One of the solutions to minimize the impact of patient dropout is to invest in actions that build loyalty so that they feel encouraged to overcome obstacles to attend the office.

In this sense, digital marketing is the best way to publicize your activities and keep the patient engaged in treatment, using channels such as email marketing and WhatsApp itself.

Creating clearer and more objective metrics

Word-of-mouth advertising has yet another challenge: it is difficult to measure and, in most cases, it is difficult to detect where the referral came from.

Digital marketing, in turn, allows results to be analyzed with much more rigor, allowing more assertive decisions to be made, based on data and numbers.

Dental offices and dentists can create their own brands.

And from that, take advantage of the best branding strategies, strengthening your image with the public, and attracting and retaining more patients.

Remember that, like you, other dentists are also on the internet, promoting their services and publicizing their brands on social networks and blogs.

How to do dental office marketing?

Although the public with which each dentist dialogues must be segmented, in general, the techniques used to reach it do not differ from those used in other areas.

What changes, in this case, is the approach and strategy to attract the ideal patient profile.

Therefore, you don’t need to “reinvent the wheel” to get your message across blogs, social networks or email marketing campaigns.

Check out how to do it right below.

encourage reviews

Medical and dental offices, as we have seen, have patient referrals as one of their main promotion channels.

Social networks and Google itself are great for this because they allow people to rate companies and make comments about the service provided and the quality of services.

On the search engine, for example, search results may include a company card on the right side of the screen.

In it, people can evaluate it, giving it from one to five stars, in addition to taking advantage of space to express their opinions.

Bet on your visual identity

A picture is worth a thousand words, even more so for dentists, whose focus is on promoting good looks.

Thus, it is essential to work on the visual identity of websites and content on social networks, preferably using designers to develop publications.

It is also worth investing in the creation of an exclusive brand, which is easy to assimilate and immediately refers to your specialty if that is your case.

Decide your communication and marketing channels

In general, dentists and health professionals promote their services both through social networks and websites.

The question, in this case, is to decide which social network to prioritize and how the content strategy will be articulated from that.

In any case, two networks are essential today: Facebook, due to the huge volume of traffic it can generate, and Instagram, due to its rapid growth in Brazil.

Don’t forget to invest in email marketing campaigns, forming a qualified mailing list through content promoted on conversion landing pages.

Create a unique website

As Google itself indicates , results for local searches are among its priorities.

This means that having a website that shows where your office is located is essential to be seen and remembered by people.

From what we’ve seen, most of the traffic generated by Google comes from mobile devices.

Take advantage of this advantage and optimize your site to be found in searches, as we will see later with examples.

Offer faster and easier customer service

As with other segments of the service area, much of the perception of quality by patients in dental offices is related to care.

Digital channels are an additional resource to create a good perception, as they allow you to clarify doubts on the fly, including automatic messages, as is the case on Facebook and Instagram.

Through websites, you can invest in chatbots, whose programmed responses already inform people when they ask frequently asked questions.

An investment in digital marketing is not complete if we do not also apply resources to creating paid campaigns.

Bearing in mind that this is a modality fully permitted by the code of ethics for Dentistry, as long as certain limits are respected, which we will see later.

The main advantage of ads is their great ability to generate immediate traffic, in high volumes and from people who are qualified to convert.

You can also create institutional campaigns and promote your services on commemorative dates or in months dedicated to causes related to health and well-being, such as Pink October and Blue November.

Know the competition

One of the main challenges for dentists is to increase the number of patients and retain them in a market full of competitors.

Therefore, it is essential to make detailed analyzes about which offices in your region can compete for patients.

You can use the information you gather on the internet, even for benchmarking, adapting the successful actions of competitors, and learning from their mistakes.

Create quality content

Marketing With Meaning (MWM), or marketing with meaning, which I talked about at the beginning, is for me the basis for creating content that really promotes a business.

This is the most used way today to refer to word-of-mouth advertising and, in a way, the evolution of spontaneous advertising.

This is because the MWM starts from the opinions that people emit in forums, social networks, and online communities, based mainly on its efforts to educate and inform.

That is, people’s opinions can serve as a reference for the creation of content, when they are not the publication itself, according to the limits of the code of ethics.

What are the best content for dentists?

There is no silver bullet when it comes to content, but certain types of content and techniques help reach more people.

Citing cases of famous people always draws attention and can yield good publications on social networks. It is also a way of showing the “before” and the “after” without violating the code of ethics.

Is it worth hiring a dental marketing agency?

There are dentists who develop their own content, many of them with great results.

However, in certain cases, the lack of experience with creation and publications can lead to mistakes that, without professional guidance, tend to be repeated.

Therefore, if you publish regularly and are not getting results, it may be that you are missing some strategic issue or even the approach.

In this case, the best thing to do is rely on the support of a dental marketing agency so that, together, you can define the most appropriate solutions.

Legal issues of dental digital marketing, what can and cannot?

The Federal Council of Dentistry (CFO) gives guidelines on how dentists can explore digital marketing.

Among the infractions foreseen in the code of ethics, we have:

• Display “before and after” photos
• Publish patient images and data
• Conduct inquiries over the phone or online
• Advertise qualifications and specialties without proper registration with the CFO/CRO
• Advertising therapies whose effectiveness is not scientifically proven
• Promote treatment prices, discounts or payment methods
• Publicize dental services as an award in any type of contest or competition
• Receiving or giving gratuities for referring patients.

Step by step to create a digital strategy for your practice today

If I had to summarize in a few steps how to do digital marketing for dentists, I would say to start with the basics and, little by little, refine the strategy.

Here’s how to get started with creating content.

Local SEO

When creating your page, be sure to insert a keyword in the H1 of the home page that tells Google that your practice is a local business.

Something like “dental clinic in Ipanema”, for example.

Analyze the competition

Be sure to “spy” on what the competition does, both to adapt what they are doing right and to avoid their mistakes.

Use Off Page SEO analysis tools, such as SEMRush or MOZ.

Generate a lot of content

Maintaining the frequency of publications is essential.

Even if they are not generating engagement, likes, and comments, it is certain that people will be impacted and will contact you if they think they need your services.

Conclusion

Digital marketing for dentists is within your reach, either on your own initiative or with the support of professionals.

What is certain is that, without investing in it, your chances of attracting and retaining them are greatly reduced.

Use the tips you’ve seen in this content and I’m sure your patient base will grow over time.

As always, I now leave it up to you to expand this content.

Use the space below and express your opinion.