Most dental practices don’t have a Facebook business page, but they should. I certainly don’t believe that a Facebook page will bring a dentist many new patients, but managing a professional page on the most popular social networking site has benefits.
One, you’ll look like you’re tech savvy. You may have CEREC, DIAGNOdent, and dental lasers galore, but if you don’t have a Facebook page, the public won’t believe that you’re really up to date with modern technology.
Two, Facebook will allow your office to stay connected with patients between visits. If you pay for patient communication software, like Demandforce or Solutionreach (formerly SmileReminder), you should certainly supplement your efforts with a free Facebook page for your dental practice. So often, advertising and marketing is impersonal, yet word-of-mouth is the single most cost-effective type of marketing. With Facebook, you can stay in touch with your patients on a professional, yet somewhat personal, level by sharing your day-to-day workings with your fans.
Three, Facebook allows you to promote upcoming events, milestones in your practice, and special offers — all for free.
And remember, if your special offers, photos, and posts are enticing enough, your Facebook fans may actually share them with their friends — and that could land you some new patients. I want to tell you about four simple tools that will make managing your dental practice Facebook page easier and more effective. These tools are already on your Timeline.
Events: Use this feature to promote all kinds of events, from a town picnic to the last day of school; from the birth of your grandchild to the opening of your new dental office. Events can be as personal as sharing the news that a patient is getting her braces off or completing her smile makeover. They can be as global as wishing everyone a happy and safe Fourth of July.
Milestones: These are big events specific to your dental office. Examples include: opening a new office, taking on an associate, installing new technology, or achieving your MAGD.
Offers: Special offers don’t have to be big, but in all honesty, the bigger the reward, the more likely your success. Examples of special offers for dental practices include: free whitening in July with any cleaning and checkup; logo’d items for new and existing patients; or drop by the office to enter our monthly drawing for a free Sonicare toothbrush. If you’d like more ideas, we can discuss your practice, target market, and budget, then help you determine the best offer to run.
Scheduling: With this brand new feature, you can schedule Facebook updates to publish in the future. For instance, if you’re going on vacation, set up all of your Facebook posts to publish while you’re out of town. You can also use the feature to input happy birthday wishes to your patients. If you want to make the most of your time, create all of your Facebook posts one day of the week, and set them to publish throughout the week.
Need Help with Facebook?
If you’d like help with marketing your dental practice online, call Modern Dental Practice Marketing today at 972-7814-8861. We offer complete dental marketing packages, including logo design, website design and search engine optimization, website copywriting, blog and microsite design and copywriting, social networking, content management, and more.