Practical marketing training for the dental team

Support for marketing activities within the practice

Whilst it is possible for a dentist to outsource all marketing activities, many are realising that the best advantages are realised when a member(s) of the practice team is also actively involved.

This is particularly true for activities like blogging and social media which work particularly well when the “personal” element is added into the mix; something which is very difficult to achieve when the full programme is managed externally.

At Dental Media we offer in-house training to equip dental practice staff with the necessary skills to carry out safe and effective on-line marketing in support of broader promotional initiatives. We then provide ongoing remote support to help maintain momentum and direction.

The training format

Whilst our training days are always tailored to the individual needs of the practice, there will typically be a significant amount of time devoted to the following topics. This is because they are all proven methods to help attract and retain new clients – we cover each element in more detail elsewhere in this blog.

Blogging

Our tool of choice for blogging is WordPress. We build a WordPress blog for the practice, customised to be in keeping with their website and then attend site to train in its use. To gain best effect from a blog article, it’s important to understand the many different ways in which you can optimise it to gain ground in Google – this is best illustrated in a hands-on session in front of the screen. We also provide an example article and comprehensive documentation to back up the training session.

It can be daunting for staff when they come to post their first articles live on the web so we check the first few before publishing to make sure they are suitable.

Social Media

It is now recognised that social media contributes to search engine ranking as well as helping to build and engage a target audience. So it is particularly useful for dentists who wish to keep ahead in competitive locations. Whilst there are numerous social channels which can be used, we recommend starting out with Twitter, Google+ and Facebook. Whilst many have suggested that Google+ is a waste of time, it’s growing user base and advantages for supporting SEO mean it should not be neglected.

We will set up and optimise social channels for the practice and instruct in the best ways to use them.

It is very important that staff who are responsible for managing social media understand what they should and should not say online, particularly with regard to standards laid down by the GDC.

We set time aside during the training to make sure that the practice team are fully aware of their obligations.

HootSuite

All of these tools may appear to be quite daunting, particularly in terms of the time needed to manage them effectively. We advise what resources are needed and also provide training on tools designed to streamline the process. One such tool is called ‘HootSuite’, an online administration system which allows you to manage multiple social channels from one source.

Email marketing – MailChimp

Too many practices still neglect one of the first principles of business in that they fail to stay in touch with existing patients. Whilst the customer experience may be first class when the patient is actually at the practice, in between times, little or no contact is made. This gives competitors an opportunity to market their services to your clients effectively unchallenged. One of the most effective ways to fill this gap is to utilise professional email marketing to send out periodic updates from the practice; for example new services, offers, the quarterly newsletter etc. This needs to be subtle and professional but sufficient to keep you at the front of your patient’s mind when they are considering dental services.

Our tool of choice for email marketing is MailChimp – an industry standard and highly regarded tool. We set up MailChimp for our clients, provide customised and re-usable mail templates and train on how to use the system. Similarly to blogging, we also check the clients first few mail-outs to make sure that they are configured correctly before sending.

How long does this training take?

Comprehensive introductory training to cover blogging, social media and email marketing takes two or three half-day sessions depending on scope. Ongoing support is tailored to the individual requirements of the practice.

Summary

Dental practices who involve their staff members in the management of online promotional activities such as blogging and social media tend to have more success than those who outsource everything. At Dental Media, we provide in-house training for dental teams on all key aspects of the process – please call us on 01332 672548 to see how we can help.