How Effective Social Media Strategies Increase Website Traffic and New Patients
Planning, Planning, Planning
When it comes to effective social media, planning is key. Having a clear direction always creates better posts and engagement. Dental social media calendars, therefore, are an important part of your social media strategy. That’s not to say that spontaneous posts are bad; it just means that understanding the whole month can help you avoid missing important dates or scrambling to assemble posts that end up looking rushed.
Yes, this will mean extra effort. It requires more time and thought, but ultimately, effective social media takes initiative and focus. There’s no quick and easy way to create the type of genuine content needed to grow followers, increase engagement, and schedule more new patients. In this way, consider leaning into social media. Your online content is so important that it would be smart to think of your dental practice as a media company that also provides dentistry.
Organic Content Is King
You may have heard the popular saying “content is king.” I think it’s more accurate to say that organic content is king. In other words, creative, original content is truly valuable online, not boring stock images and videos. The online world is hyper-competitive, and successful dental practices understand that taking time to create something unique is the only way to stop the scrolling masses long enough to imprint your practice brand in a positive way.
So what can you do to create this type of organic content? Start by assigning the role of social media coordinator to someone on your team, preferably a creative person who is good with a camera, has some video editing skills, and posts to social media regularly. It’s always best to have a full-time social media coordinator, but with tight budgets, this person will likely fulfill other roles in the office as well.
Whoever is tasked with collecting and posting content should be taking pictures and shooting videos daily. Most importantly, the social media coordinator needs to prepare a dental social media calendar, which includes planned posts for the month. It’s helpful to share this calendar with the entire team during staff meetings to get feedback and ideas, but ultimately, the social media coordinator is responsible for creating a plan and developing posts that get results.
Different Dentists Attract New Patients and Build Successful Practices
Why Your Dental Team Must Stand Apart from the Crowd “Different Is Better Than Better” — Sally Hogshead I’ve always believed it is good practice to reduce complex ideas into concentrated, general truths. In this way, it becomes easier to apply grand concepts to everyday scenarios, which are always unpredictable
Building Dental Social Media Calendars
It’s always best to start with a template that guides your efforts. Take a look at social media calendars online and assemble the best ideas. Of course, the So Many Molars social media calendars are designed specifically for dental practices and come with examples and content ready to share.
Another important part of your calendar is creativity. It’s not only important to capture organic images and video, but it’s even more important to present them in a fresh way. Your online audience is bombarded with images and videos, and it takes a lot to impress. You have a much better chance of getting attention if you take the time necessary to create original, creative material.
Dental Social Media Calendar Checklist
After creating your social media calendar, go through the list below. It should hone your efforts and help you create a fruitful plan.
- Have you included all the important dental-related events for the month?
- Are you scheduled to post 2-3 times a week?
- Do your posts demonstrate a wide variety of styles and formats (pictures, videos, infographics, office social events, dental education, holidays, etc.)?
- Are you including enough videos? Studies have shown that video is the most engaging format online.
- Are you posting at the best time? The Best Times To Post On Social Media
- Are you posting to all the major platforms (Google, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok)?
- Are your posts scroll-stopping and creative? Would you stop and view them? How do they compare with the competition in town? Do your posts contrast enough with the other dentists? Do your social channels have charisma and stand out?
What Not to Include in Your Calendar
Although tempting, avoid getting political. People have very strong views, and expressing overtly political ideas can damage your practice brand and drive patients away. Equally important, resist the temptation to recognize the latest social movements. Often, these situations are not what they initially appear, and brands are forced to walk back their support. Stick to office events and dental topics, and you’ll attract the greatest number of new patients.
You also want to avoid posting images of dental procedures that include blood. Before and after pictures are great, but it’s always wise to skip graphic images that might disturb viewers.
