Bite Into Better Business: 9 Masterful Dental Marketing Tips

Let’s face it. Nobody likes visiting the dentist.

In fact, worldwide, 1 in 5 people are afraid of going to the dreaded dentist! 

Because of this stigma, more than any other field, dentists need to market their practice well. If they don’t, potential patients may look for somewhere that seems more up to date. Or they may avoid going to the dentist altogether.

Dental marketing is more than just sending an appointment checkup postcard and having an ad in the local newspaper. But what are the latest dentist marketing ideas for 2019? We’ve done all the research, so you don’t have too.

Brace yourselves, it’s time to bring your dental practice into the 21st century.

1. Begin with a Brand

Before you start creating a marketing strategy, you need to define your brand. A brand is like a trademark. It will run throughout your entire marketing venture both now and in the future.

It all begins with a logo and design palette that is unique to your dental practice. This design should run throughout your website, merchandise, printouts, clinic decor, and more. When a person sees your branding, they should be able to recognize your practice without needing a double take.

2. Picture Perfect Printouts

Although many of these dentist marketing ideas are online, printed handouts still have their place. Nothing can replace the convenience of sticking an appointment card to the fridge, after all.

Send postcards to new potential clients in the area. Or remind existing patients of their appointments. You could also send announcements of new procedures or services available.

You can also use business cards, flyers, and other printed items to market your brand. It is always beneficial to have a few printed items for older customers who may not be online savvy too.

3. Straight to Their Inbox

Another dental marketing idea is emailing. Emailing is a great (and cheap) way to keep in contact with current and potential patients.

Send out a monthly e-newsletter. But don’t make it all about you. Add dental tips, new technologies, research, discounts, and funny dental jokes. 

Emails sent in this way work as gentle reminders without being overly pushy.

4. Get Your SEO On

Have you ever wondered why your website isn’t coming up high on Google search engines? It’s probably because your website isn’t SEO friendly.

SEO (search engine optimization) is content that drives people to your website by listing your page in search engines. To get noticed, make sure your website is full of SEO content.

For example, when searching for a dentist many will type “Dentist in (location)” into Google. If they see your website listed on the first page, they will be more likely to choose your clinic. But how high you feature in Google depends on your SEO score.

5. A Killer Website

One of the most vital dental marketing tips is to have a killer website.

Your website is the online version of your customer lobby. If it looks dated, disorganized, and unwelcoming, the customer will walk right out. The same applies to your website.

Setting up a website isn’t as easy as you might think. As mentioned, there is SEO to think about. There are also keywords, blogs, mobile optimization, bots, and more.

Can you handle all that?

It’s always best to hire a dental marketing specialist to create your website. Marketing firms, like Somnowell Marketing, are experts in creating websites for dental practices. They can help you to stay ahead of the game and not get left behind.

6. More Than Words

More than reading, people love watching videos. Bring your dental practice down to earth by using videos featuring real people. Here are a few trending video ideas:

• Patient testimonials (a powerful word of mouth method)
• Dentist answers commonly asked questions
• How-to videos
• Behind the scenes
• Meet the team (make it real)

This is one of the best dental marketing ideas that can help you develop a personal connection with your clients. This personal relationship will then lead to trust, recommendations, and loyal patients.

7. Go Viral

No dental marketing plan is complete without using social media to the full. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube, and more. There are so many different ways to use social media to grab attention.

Here are a few dental marketing ideas you can use on social media:

• Behind the scenes snapshots
• Update patients about events, deals, and more
• Dental quotes, puns, and jokes
• Create a printed Instagram-sized frame so your patients can have a photo after their session.
• Social media contest with a cool prize. For example, a “best smile selfie” contest.
• Facebook Ads (targeted towards specific audiences)

Social media is a cost-effective approach to market your dental practice. It’s one of the best ways to engage with old patients and new.

8. Word of Mouth

Every customer that walks into your dental clinic is a potential marketing opportunity. People love to talk and recommend places (or warn them where not to go).

And it works. 92% of consumers believe recommendations from people they know over other forms of advertising. Make sure to encourage those recommendations!

You can do that by giving referral bonuses. For every referral that makes an appointment through their recommendation give the patient a bonus. This could be a discount or a gift.

The benefits are two-fold. As you’ll have new patients flocking in and old patients staying engaged and connected with the clinic.

9. Online Reviews

Online reviews are another dental marketing idea that plays on word of mouth. Encourage your clients to write online reviews. This will build up your online reputation, and you may also find areas to improve.

There are many online tools that can help you manage reviews. But sometimes the patient can forget to review when they get back home. Try a kiosk feature in the customer lobby so that they can fill in an immediate review before they leave the practice.

Don’t Get Left Behind: Follow these Dental Marketing Tips

It’s clear to see that dental marketing has jumped headfirst into the 21st century. To make sure your practice doesn’t get left behind make sure to follow these 9 dentist marketing ideas. If you do, you’ll have new patients lining up at the door.

Now you know the drill with marketing, what’s next? An important step is getting yourself up and running on social media. Check out this article to find out how to start a killer social media campaign.