Standing Apart from Other Dentists and Staying Top of Mind
Why Your Practice Needs to Be Unique
To successfully develop your practice online, you need to consistently distinguish your dental brand and share that unique brand with people living within a 7-10 mile radius of your office. The formula for dental marketing success is remarkably simple, yet most practices continue to use outdated advertising and make little effort to tap into the digital marketplace.
The world is moving faster and faster these days. Trends come and go very quickly. Popular actors seem to disappear after a few films, replaced by newer, younger versions. Once popular companies create a buzz for a short time, only to leave empty stores with “For Lease” signs in the windows. Competition has never been so fierce, and demand from consumers to continually impress has never been so insatiable.
Just ten years ago, it was enough to come up with a creative name for your dental practice, get a professional logo, and launch a website. Eventually, the phone started to ring. Most dentists left their websites untouched and made little effort to enhance their online presence. Today, however, dentists are beginning to realize that investing online translates into a larger share of the market, and not competing online eventually marginalizes your dental practice and reduces the number of new patients who call each month.
Today, your online presence is often the first impression patients have of your dental practice. A strong online brand helps potential patients understand who you are, what your practice stands for, and how you can help before they ever pick up the phone. Consistent educational content can build trust, credibility, and familiarity, while showcasing your expertise and the patient experience can help you stand out from competitors. A well-developed online brand also keeps your practice visible when people are searching for answers—not just when they are ready to schedule an appointment. Your reputation no longer lives only inside your office; it lives online, too.
So the race is on to earn more Google reviews, post more frequently on social media, and invest in digital advertising. Forward-thinking dentists recognize that people today are increasingly connected to their smartphones and rely on them to make important decisions, such as finding the best dental care. These practices also understand that being a unique dentist and staying top of mind on social media is key to building up a consistent stream of new dental patients.
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
The Slow, Hesitant Evolution of Dental Marketing
Like most areas of our modern world, marketing has improved over the years. Dentists have transitioned from relying on word of mouth and signs to grow their practices to utilizing the Yellow Pages and bulk mail postcards. When the internet emerged, dentists began creating websites. Each technological advancement made it easier to reach more new patients and grow. However, with each leap forward, most dentists took time to embrace these changes and understand how to distinguish a dental brand and attract new patients.
Dental marketing has changed dramatically—from traditional advertising to building a digital presence and recognizable brand. In the past, practices relied heavily on phone books, newspaper ads, direct mail, referrals, and word of mouth. Today, patients often discover and evaluate dentists through Google searches, websites, online reviews, social media, videos, and educational content. Marketing has also shifted from simply promoting services to building trust and demonstrating expertise. Instead of only saying, “We provide great dental care,” practices can show patients who they are, how they think, what they value, and what the patient experience is like. Modern dental marketing isn’t just about being seen—it’s about being remembered, trusted, and chosen when a patient is ready for care.
Early dentists might have laughed at the guy who spent money to place an ad in the newspaper and distinguish his dental brand—until his office filled with new patients (quickly covering the ad cost and building a solid patient base). Likewise, dentists might have resisted the high price of advertising in the Yellow Pages until they realized that without a listing, they were at a severe disadvantage. Then dentists had the option of a website and no doubt wondered whether this “internet thing” would stick around; was it really worth the trouble? Dentists quickly realized that without an online presence, they would miss out on numerous opportunities, especially with the significant advancements in mobile phone technology. Soon, virtually everyone carried the internet in their pocket and used it to find products and services. Then dentists had to make some choices about social media. How much time should they invest in posting on these platforms?
Social Media Is the New Frontier in Dental Marketing
With each step forward in dental marketing, pioneers emerge —dentists who pursue opportunities before the crowd. When it comes to the newest advertising platform, social media, most dentists are at least making an attempt to post content, or they contract with a large dental marketing company to post material to their social accounts from time to time; this content is largely generic and gets little engagement, but it’s at least something.
Then there’s a group of dentists who recognize the importance of social media and genuinely strive to be creative and connect with the community. They post pictures of the team going out to dinner and celebrating birthdays. These posts do well with existing patients who provide positive comments and emojis. These offices also include some oral health advice and dental trivia. Occasionally, the office boosts a Facebook post and runs a simple ad, typically promoting a special offer, such as in-office whitening.
The last group of dentists stands out because they understand the power of social media and invest considerable time in creating effective, engaging content to share online. These dentists work with a media professional who ensures that the office regularly posts videos and creative, scroll-stopping content. These offices have large followings and experience genuine engagement; sometimes a post even goes viral. In these offices, dental teams are encouraged to be creative and suggest social media content. With all this online activity, algorithms begin to favor the practice, rewarding it with greater organic reach and premium placements. This leads to more new patients, more positive reviews, and more referrals. Together, this can lead to a dental practice that dominates an area. When people think of dentistry in these areas, they often think of these dental offices.
Social media has transformed dental marketing from simply advertising services to actively building relationships with patients before they ever walk through the door. Dentists can now use Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms to educate patients, showcase their expertise, introduce their team, share patient experiences, answer common questions, and communicate their practice philosophy. Instead of relying solely on referrals or traditional advertising, practices can stay visible and build familiarity through consistent content. Social media has made dental marketing more personal, educational, and ongoing—turning a dental practice from a place patients visit into a brand they can recognize and connect with.
How to Distinguish Your Dental Brand
It’s getting harder to stop people from scrolling long enough to notice your dental brand. Generic content won’t work because people expect to be wowed by engaging videos. People today see a mountain of creative and engaging material come across their phones all day, and your job is to grab their attention somehow long enough to remind them that you’re the best dentist in town and that if they need a dentist, you’re the one to call.
A dental brand becomes distinctive when it clearly communicates what makes the practice different and why patients should care. That goes beyond a logo or color palette—it includes your care philosophy, the problems you focus on, the experience you create, how you educate patients, and the personality behind the practice. Consistent messaging, recognizable visuals, authentic storytelling, and useful educational content can help reinforce that identity across your website, social media, reviews, and patient communications. A strong dental brand doesn’t try to appeal to everyone; it creates a clear, memorable identity that helps the right patients understand what your practice stands for.
Consider hiring a digital media marketer, at least part-time. There’s too much happening in the office to expect the front desk to be creative while juggling insurance forms and orchestrating the schedule. The clinical staff is too busy delivering the best dental care. You need someone who can stand back and focus on creating material that’s unique enough to 1) grab people’s attention and 2) highlight and imprint your dental practice brand.
Look for a digital marketing specialist who is both creative and technically skilled. This person should be able to come up with ideas that set your dental brand apart, create engaging video content, and understand how to promote it effectively. Your office needs to make and post videos several times a week and keep an engaging ad circulating in your local area. Social media is the new frontier in marketing, and dentists who embrace this change will be the ones whose practice brands grow in the future.
