Effective Marketing for Dentists and Orthodontists During COVID-19
With everyone in the U.S. is sheltering in place until the end of April, you may be wondering what effective marketing for dentists and orthodontists should look like, right?
Since dental and orthodontic practices are considered “essential” businesses, it’s possible that patients may still come in for a visit. However, that shouldn’t be your primary focus. Instead, you need to develop new ways to reach patients while staying on their radar for the future. During COVID-19, the idea is to be a helpful source of support and education, and with effective marketing for orthodontists and dentists, you can still help patients and help your business grow.
Here’s how:
Create Ways to Stay Connected
Especially during a time when so many people are staying indoors, you have to create ways to stay connected with patients. This is where effective marketing for dentists and orthodontists makes the greatest impact.
By using various platforms on social media, you can easily update patients on your practice and still provide them with value that ensures their dental and oral health. For example, your dental or orthodontic practice should have a presence on the following social media platforms:
- Facebook Business profile
- Instagram account
- Twitter account
- YouTube account
Primarily, with these 4 platforms, you can interact with patients in a variety of ways, as well as develop content that promotes your brand. Sadly, so many practices never develop a social media strategy, so with all this extra time on your hands, why not be proactive and capitalize on it for the future? In order to stay connected with your patients, and even attract new ones, here are a few ideas you can try:
- Post daily dental and orthodontic tips on Facebook that patients can follow
- Ask patients to tag your account in photos of them brushing their teeth on Instagram for a chance to be reshared on your own page
- Host Q&A sessions on Twitter for patients to ask you about anything related to at-home dental care or to help solve problems they may be having in regards to their teeth
- Make videos on YouTube about how to floss properly, how to use mouthwash, or any other dental procedures you can think to demonstrate
- Host a “Best Smile” giveaway that patients can enter on Instagram using a hashtag that you create which they must use in their caption—then choose a winner to receive a free dental appointment or gift
- Effective marketing for orthodontists and dentists relies on a strategy that gets patients involved constantly, so start getting in the habit of creating content on a regular basis. If you need some additional help with what to post, this social holiday calendar should spark some other ideas for you.
Rely on Email and SMS Marketing to Inform Patients About Your Practice
After you get a hold of your social media marketing strategy, your next move is to rely on email and SMS marketing to inform your patients about what’s going on with your practice.
Are you still operating under regular hours? Have you been taking precautions in the office to lower the risk of anyone getting sick? Have you had to close recently due to illness or other circumstances? Have you sent your current patients a general update about your commitment to providing them with excellent oral care despite the recent setbacks?
These are all things that your patients want to know, and you can quickly shoot them a message to keep them updated along the way. For example, effective marketing for orthodontists and dentists always involves email marketing. By simply using your current contact lists, you can send an email blast or newsletter that explains your practice’s stance on COVID-19 and what you’re doing to fight the outbreak. With this, you can also provide any other details that patients should know about, like a special after-hours line they can call for dental emergencies or perhaps you’d be more than happy to field their questions through email? Whatever insight you can share that lets patients know you’re ready and willing to help them during this difficult time, then share it.
Aside from email, open rates for SMS messages are over 90%, so if you’re worried that an email won’t get your message across, then send a text message. With SMS marketing for dentists, you simply compile your contacts and curate a brief text that’s encouraging and informative. Rather than a long newsletter, perhaps you can share a quick message of support and a link that patients can click to learn more. If you’ve had to move patient appointments around due to COVID-19, use SMS messages to send confirmation dates and times to make the process easier for everyone involved.
Social media is your daily path to connecting with patients, but email and SMS are your direct line of communication with your most loyal patients, so be sure to take the time to reach out to them and offer them support.
BuzzyBooth is Here to Support You
Making sure that you’re there to support your patients is important, but BuzzyBooth is here to support you.
Effective Marketing for dentists and orthodontists starts with building a dental marketing strategy that spans into multiple areas. From developing social media content to collecting user data and creating engaging campaigns, BuzzyBooth offers a one-stop photo booth for dentists and orthodontists that covers everything.
In the meantime, those who take action and develop a plan to connect with patients are the ones who bounce back stronger than ever once the smoke clears. With BuzzyBooth, you’ll gain a new footing in no time.
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