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dental practice marketing

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Cultivating Relationships: 6 Networking Tips for Dentists

by Naomi Cooper March 27, 2013

Cultivating Relationships: 6 Networking Tips for DentistsHere on the blog I often speak to the importance for dentists to engage in social media and online marketing. New modern tactics like these are essential for dentists to keep their marketing fresh and relevant. With that being said, a solid marketing plan includes a mix of new and old methods. And nothing can replace the value of professional networking.

Many dentists shy away from networking. Their reasons (ahem, excuses) range from not wanting to be too “sales-y” to simply not understanding the importance of networking.

No amount of advertising can replace face-to-face communication. Fostering relationships with fellow dentists, specialists, other healthcare providers and even other business owners is a way to market your practice and stay in touch with the local community.

Networking does not have to be cheesy or phony. Instead, approach networking as an opportunity to meet other business professionals with the same goal in mind – to grow their business.

Here are few ways for dentists to jumpstart their professional network:

  1. Start with the familiar. Be sure to be an active member of your college and dental school alumni associations. Re-establish relationships with your dental school mates. Even if they are not nearby, you never know where a referral may come from.
  2. Join, or re-engage, with professional associations. On the national level, check out the ADA website for any upcoming seminars or events. Be sure to look closer to home at state or local components.
  3. If there are not any local opportunities, create one of your own and bring together other like-minded healthcare professionals. Host a study club or a cross-specialty workshop for patients with other doctors, for instance a dermatologist or pediatrician.
  4. Include website addresses of your contacts within your practice website. Create a reciprocal page, “Our Medical Community”, with links to other websites of your contacts.
  5. Join your local Chamber of Commerce.
  6. Professional networking is now online. LinkedIn is the most popular site for professionals looking to increase their network. Facebook and Twitter are obviously ideal for engaging with patients, but to connect with other professionals Linkedin is your best bet.

In the end, if you are not talking about your practice, who will be? Operating a successful dental practice is not just about quality patient care. Meeting people and establishing professional relationships must be an element of your dental marketing plan.

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Social Media 101: Tweet Your Way to New Patients

by Naomi Cooper February 19, 2013

Social Media 101: Tweet Your Way to New PatientsTwitter is a product of today’s fast-paced society, where much of our information is absorbed in small bits while we’re on the go. We live in an era where many people no longer have the time to sit down and read a full news article. In 2012, according to The Huffington Post, there were 175 million tweets sent every day.

Twitter enables information to be distributed, read, and absorbed within a matter of seconds, from a computer, laptop, smartphone, or even a standard cellphone via text messaging. Setting up a profile takes only a few minutes. The bigger challenge with Twitter is finding followers.

Unlike becoming “Friends” on Facebook, following someone on Twitter doesn’t mean that they also automatically follow you. Instead, here are a few ideas to gain followers:

  • Tweet and retweet (reposting other people’s tweets) regularly.
  • Mix up the informative with the fun.
  • Tweet links to interesting oral health articles or post brief tips of the day.
  • Make sure all of your patients know that you’re on Twitter and encourage them to follow you.
  • Consider running informal contests with prizes for all of your Twitter followers, such as giving away an electric toothbrush to one of your patients who retweets a particular message about your practice.

What’s unique about Twitter is that every single word you’ve ever tweeted is public and searchable unless it was specifically marked private. That means anyone who happens to be searching for any of the keywords you’re tweeting about will find your tweets. This is an incredible way to build a loyal base of followers, regardless of whether they actually know you or not. And because about half of Americans don’t have a dentist, if your Twitter followers are in your local area, they certainly have the potential to become your patients when they’re ready.

Even if you never plan to consistently tweet yourself, it’s still worth having a profile on Twitter. You can use Twitter to follow industry leaders and stay up to the minute on breaking news, or just to keep tabs on your friends, patients, and personal heroes.

Do you use Twitter for professional purposes? What do you like most about this social media platform?

Be sure to check in here next week for information on one of the fastest growing social media sites – Pinterest.

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Social Media 101: Utilizing Google+ in Your Dental Practice

by Naomi Cooper February 5, 2013

Social Media 101: Utilizing Google+ in Your Dental PracticeWhile not as prevalent as Facebook, Google+ is another social media site that can work well for dental practices. The usage statistics do not compare to Facebook, but it is still a good idea for businesses to maintain profiles for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes. Google+ profiles are incredible drivers of SEO, so having your dental practice listed within Google+ helps patients easily find you and connect with your practice online.

There is often confusion between the 2 main components of Google+: Google+ pages for business, and Google+ Local pages. Here is a brief breakdown of each:

Google+ Page

A Google+ page is similar to having a Facebook business page. It is your dental practice’s profile within Google, and offers many opportunities to feature videos, share photos and images and create direct inbound links, all of which are very important in boosting your website’s SEO.

A Google+ page is set up in a very similar fashion to Facebook, with cover and profile photos, and an About section where you enter in your business address, phone, website, and other important information. Your Google+ page allows you to post content and share information with those who have followed you.

Google+ Local Page

A Google+ local page is your dental practice’s listing within Google. It is tied to the Google search results as well as to Google maps. Where as it has the same features as a Google+ page (phone number, hours, website, etc.), it also allows patients to write an online review of their experience at your practice. This is a great site to direct your patients to in order to increase your online patient reviews. Google creates a Google+ Local page for every business in the country, but it’s up to you to claim that profile and make sure it’s accurate.

These are the basic differences between the 2 types of business profile pages within the Google universe. You can log on to https://plus.google.com/pages/create to get started.

Do you use Google+ within your dental practice social media plan? Please share your comments and experiences below. And check back here for the next Social Media 101 installment – easy to implement strategies for your dental practice YouTube channel.

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Social Media 101: Best Practice Tips for Your Facebook Dental Practice Page

by Naomi Cooper January 28, 2013

Social Media 101: Best Practice Tips for Your Facebook Dental Practice PageIn our previous post, we talked about the reach of Facebook, and how to set up a page for your dental practice. Social media is all about engagement, so simply having a page is not enough. Updating your page with consistent posts and a variety of relevant information is what will help you get the most out of your social media experience.

Here are 3 Best Practice Tips for your Facebook page:

  1. Importing your business contacts to Facebook will help to spread the word to your associates of your new page, and will encourage everyone to “Like” your page. Once a user “Likes” your page, your posts should appear in their News Feed, prompting more interactions.
  2. Take the time to “Like” your friends’, family’s and colleagues’ pages as well. This will foster goodwill among your business contacts, and will help to expand the reach of your own page.
  3. Keep the information on your page fresh and current. Ideally, aim to post content a maximum of 3 times per week to your page. Each day, try to log on for just 15 minutes and interact with your “Friends” by liking, sharing and/or commenting on their posts. The more interactive you are, the better!

For more information on how to maximize the reach of your dental practice Facebook page, click here to read a brief post on Facebook Insights.

If you feel like updating your Facebook page is too time consuming, check out my previous post on creating a social media calendar for your dental practice. It is a great tool to use to keep your Facebook, and all social media profiles, updated without taking up too much of your valuable time.

In our next post, we will dive into Google+ and how this social media site impacts your dental practice website’s SEO.

Have you set up a Facebook page for your practice? Please feel free to share any comments, questions or experiences below.

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Social Media 101: 7 Tips for Setting Up a Facebook Page for Your Dental Practice

by Naomi Cooper January 22, 2013

Social Media 101: 7 Tips for Setting Up a Facebook Page for Your Dental PracticeUnless you’ve been living under a rock, you are probably aware of Facebook and the effect this social network has had on our culture. According to Mashable.com, as of October 2012, Facebook has approximately 1 billion active users who access the site each month!

While you may already be comfortable using Facebook on a personal level, it’s important from a business owner’s perspective to know that having a Facebook business page for your dental practice is a great way to increase the reach of your online profile – and to connect with patients and your community. If you do not yet have a Facebook page for your practice, now is as good a time as any to start.

Here are 7 simple ways to build a page for your dental practice:

  1. Go to www.Facebook.com and set up a personal profile (if you do not already have one). Establishing a personal profile is essential before building your business page.
  2. Set up a business page (in the name of the practice): https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php
  3. Add a cover photo by clicking “Upload Cover Photo” where prompted. This image should be representative of the practice: the logo, photo of the exterior/interior of the office, staff photo.
    **Per Facebook policy, the cover photo cannot be used to promote discounts or include a call-to-action.**
  4. Upload a profile photo by clicking “Upload Profile Photo” where prompted. Again this would be a great spot for a photo of the dentist or possibly the logo.
    **Be aware that the cover (aka background) photo and the profile (aka thumbnail) photo should not be the same.**
  5. In the “About” section, include a brief description of the practice and pertinent information, such as address, website, phone number, etc. This would also be a great place to include the practice philosophy and/or practice mission statement.
  6. If you have pictures available, uploading photos of the practice (interior and exterior) and pictures of the dentist(s), hygienist(s) and staff members are great ways to personalize your fan page.
    **Be sure to hold off from uploading any photos of patients until you have received in writing from each patient a Photo Release Form (link to form with disclaimer to check with an attorney to ensure it’s sufficient).**
  7. Preview the page several times to be sure that all typos and errors are corrected. Once it looks exactly like you want it, hit “Publish” to make the Page public.

Now that you have set up your dental practice business page, it’s up to you to keep it updated. Posting often and consistently will help to build your Facebook following. For more ideas, be sure to check back here for our next Social Media 101 posting on the 3 Best Practice Tips for Your Facebook Business Page.

Do you use Facebook for your dental practice? Why or why not? Start a conversation below.

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Sales: Overcome Your Fears and Grow Your Practice

by Naomi Cooper January 16, 2013

Sales: Overcome Your Fears and Grow Your PracticeSales. Does this word intimidate you? Dentists seem to have a love/hate relationship with the word and everything that goes along with it. On the one hand, sales are necessary in order to increase practice revenue, case acceptance and tighten recall, which are all positive characteristics of a successful dental practice. On the other hand, I’ve heard many of my clients say they feel that sales, or “selling”, is just for large corporations. Some dentists feel they shouldn’t have to engage in sales – that patients should come to them naturally.

Unfortunately, any aversion to the sales process is something that all dental practice owners must overcome. Sales doesn’t only have to do with getting new patients in the door. Good treatment planning, case acceptance and front desk verbal skills — and quality customer service — are key components of the sales process. Improving your communication techniques not only will help you sound like a more confident practitioner, but will also increase new patient flow and production in your practice.

One more thought. As a dentist, you are not looking to sell your patients some cheesy product that they will use once and throw away. You are informing the community that you are a skilled oral healthcare provider. When your patients are in your chair, you assist them in making better oral healthcare choices for themselves and their families. Approach the sales process as a conversation between you and your patients, and any intimidation or negative feelings should dissipate.

Here’s a great article from Joy Gendusa, Founder and CEO of PostcardMania, on how she views the skill of selling as an important life skill, not just a business skill.

How do you value sales in your dental practice? How did you overcome your fears of selling, and what effects did it have in your dental practice? Please share your opinions and experiences below.

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