Cover your dental marketing bases in 2016

7 proven strategies

Here are the main marketing channels to build around when developing your marketing strategy for the year ahead. Implemented correctly and managed diligently, these initiatives will really help to boost new patient intake – and help retain existing ones.

Compelling off-line content

Too many commentators dismiss “traditional” marketing as either too expensive or simply outdated. However, whilst it might not be as important or yield as high return on investment as your website, techniques such as advertising in the local press can still be very effective. A half page advert in your local paper or entry in the free magazine which gets pushed through your door, can still help you reach many thousands of potential new patients; or ones who are looking for alternative services. So don’t discount this technique. Targeted leaflet-drops can also yield good results as well as being reasonably cost-effective.

A high quality, search optimised website and blog

This sounds like common sense but too few dentists realise what “high quality” actually means. Google ranks websites based on how useful they are to searchers and how “relevant” and “authoritative” they are. To establish these quality indicators and to rank well in search results, you can’t simply build a website and then allow it to stagnate for months and months. By making regular updates to build-up your web footprint over time, you will give yourself the best chance of beating the competition in Google. Add to a pratice blog regularly and revisit your website content periodically to ensure it remains fresh, relevant and high quality.

Pay-per-click (AdWords) campaigns

Like it or not, Google has made it harder to gain organic (free) search positions and this, together with increasing competition, means that PPC may be the only way to get traffic to a website quickly. This is particularly so for new websites and ones where the competition level is already high. Whilst seeking out good organic ranking in the medium to long term is still the best strategy, pay-per-click can get you moving in the early days of your web campaign. As stated regularly in this blog, please don’t try and do it yourself – setting up PPC is complex and will drain your budget very quickly unless done right. So seek the help of an experienced AdWords practitioner – it will be worth it.

Social media

The return from social media is perhaps the hardest to quantify but there are compelling reasons to get involved. People are actively validating services by checking businesses’ social media reputation and expect to see current updates and useful information flowing via social channels. Without this, there is no chance of engagement/interaction with your potential audience. From an SEO perspective, good quality content published via your social channels will help to attract back-links to your website which in turn boosts your search ranking positions.

Email marketing

Targeted email marketing has been shown to deliver excellent return on investment, several fold more than social media for example. So whilst a solid social initiative is important, email marketing would take precedence in my list of “must dos”. As well as providing a mechanism for new patients to seek out your services by subscribing to your email list, this is a great way to stay in touch with your existing client base. Sending an interesting email update, even quarterly, is much more useful than the boring six month recall text. Remember that modern dental patients are more fickle than ever before, seeking out the best prices for “high end” treatments. If you haven’t communicated with them for the last six months to remind them what you do and why you’re there, chances are your competitors have!

Video

The days of video being inaccessible and too pricey are gone. Whilst we do still recommend getting a professional to do it, a suite of top quality video can now be had for < £1k. This is perfect for showcasing the practice and for providing patient testimonials in a format which users prefer. Remember that most of us are quite lazy and would rather watch a compelling video than trawl through through hundreds of words. There are search ranking benefits too – website elements which encourage users to “dwell” on a web page send quality signals to Google which indicate that a site is meeting the users objectives. In turn this can give you a boost in the search positions.

Ensure you’ve “gone mobile friendly”

The pressure to move all of your web assets onto mobile friendly platforms has increased significantly over the last couple of years. There has always been the need to present information in the most user-friendly way to your users and now, given that 40% of them are accessing your website and blog from hand-held devices, it really is important to make sure that you deliver the best user experience for them. Remember that users are fickle and they will go wherever they find it easiest to do business – this applies to your website, blog and e-newsletter too. All of these elements must be adapted to be “mobile friendly” or expect your users to look elsewhere. Additionally, in 2015, Google actually made a clear statement that they too, would give preference to mobile optimsied websites in the search ranking results. So if you haven’t already, don’t delay in moving to “mobile friendly”.

Summary

Whilst a good quality, SEO optimised dental website is very important, there are several supporting marketing channels where you also need to be present. A practice blog, regular use of social media channels and a consistent e-newsletter strategy are all essential for progressive practices when it comes to out-performing the competition in gaining new patient enquiries. Whilst dismissed by some, careful use of “traditional” off-line advertising can also yield results and cost-effectively too.

If you would like to discuss how these dental marketing tools can be brought to bear to help your own practice, please call Dental Media on 01332 672548 for additional information and a no-obligation discussion.