Dentalcompare
Clinical Director
It's not that Facebook and Twitter were new in 2011, but it suddenly seemed that it finally hit dentistry in a big way. Of course, dentists were using these social media tools before, but mostly for personal reasons. Suddenly, you HAD to have a Facebook page, and you HAD to have a Twitter account. It's not that anyone really understood what to actually DO with the accounts, just that everyone else in the dental community was doing it so "you should too". But what should you post about? And who is going to maintain it? And does anyone really read it anyway?
Next came the emergence of Groupon and Living Social with deals on everything from bleach trays to orthodontics to whitening trays. This was swiftly followed by responses from icons such as Align that disparaged the practice and ethics of giving dentistry away. So with many practices struggling to grow in the last few years, is all this digital marketing a waste of time?
Don't think those yellow page ads are doing anything for you at this point. It all comes down to the type of practice that you have, and the type of patients that you want to attract. There is a way to get your unique message out there about why people should be at your particular practice, and it is not the same as everyone else.
There are definitely some basics that you should be doing. You definitely need a webpage, and you should have claimed your Google listing at this point. Creating pages on review sites like Yelp will make sure that if people do find you in those locations, the details of your practice will at least be set up by you. When it comes to social media, sit down and figure out exactly what you want to use it for. Chances are the service will do more for your existing patients than attracting new ones, so make sure your posts and tweets are tailored for that.
For additional help, check out the new technology webinar series that Dentalcompare is hosting, with the ever dynamic Dr. Larry Emmott teaching you many of these basics. There is a way to use all these digital resources for marketing for your practice, and 2012 will be the year we all figure out exactly how best to use them.