Social media - a definition

The term "social media" describes websites and apps through which users create and publish content. Interactivity plays a central role here. There is a tendency for the boundary between producer and recipient to become blurred: Users produce their own content, receive the content of other users and interact with this content. There are various social media platforms, each of which offers different opportunities for your practice marketing. Suitable social media platforms for dentists include Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest and Twitter (since July 2023: X). In order to optimize your own practice marketing, it is advisable to choose your social media platform carefully. Below we present the most popular social media platforms for dentists.

The most popular social media channels for dentists

Instagram

Instagram allows you to share image and video content and livestreams on your own profile, as well as create content with a visibility period of 24 hours in the "Story". This platform is suitable for providing authentic insights into everyday practice life and for direct interaction with patients. Authentic and entertaining as well as informative and inspiring content can be disseminated with relatively little effort. You primarily reach teenagers and young adults on this platform, but older generations are also increasingly finding access to Instagram.

Facebook

Facebook also allows the sharing of image and video content and live streams. However, the platform offers fewer opportunities to present your own dental practice in an authentic and personal way. The overall interaction is weaker. However, Facebook can be linked to Instagram so that both platforms can be used with the same content. The effort is therefore minimal. Facebook is now mainly used by adults aged 30 and over and older generations.

YouTube

This platform focuses on high-quality image, sound and editing material. Professionally produced moving images strengthen trust in the practices presented there, but are associated with a high workload. You can also reach a broad target group on this platform, but primarily teenagers and young adults.

TikTok

TikTok is currently the fastest-growing social media platform and enables the sharing of short videos in portrait format. The younger target group in particular can be reached via this platform. TikTok makes it easier to find trainees and to inspire and involve young employees.

Once you have selected a suitable platform for your social media for dentists, it needs to be filled with the right content. The following tips will help you to utilize the full potential of the

Social media will not go away; it is not a fad. Be where your customers are: on social media.

Lori Ruff (Social Media Expert)

Multiple benefits of social media for dentists

Social media for dentists offers dental practices the opportunity to attract new patients and retain them in the long term. Well-maintained social media channels geared towards your target group strengthen trust and enable direct contact with your patients.

Build your brand and presence

Integrate your corporate identity into your social media channels. This will strengthen the recognition value of your practice.

Reach a broad target group

Depending on the platform, you can reach people of different age groups. Billions of people use social media every day. You are sure to reach new potential patients through your social media for dentists.

Maintain and expand your patient base

Social media for dentists enables direct interaction between you, your team and your patients. This allows you to maintain and intensify your existing patient base and create a bond with new patients.

Gain the trust of your patients

Gaining trust plays a central role in social media for dentists. If you have the trust of your followers, you are likely to gain them as new patients. Social networks are an excellent way to showcase the reputation, successes and experience of your dental practice. By promoting the qualities of your practice team, you increase trust in your professional expertise. Your patients should be sure that they are in good hands with you and your team. Comprehensible, informative content on dental topics increases your credibility as a dentist. At the same time, you give anxious patients the chance to gain an impression of your work in advance and without obligation.

To the packages

Increase reach with paid ads

Paid ads (short for paid advertising) allow dental practices to address their target groups in a targeted manner. You can view and evaluate statistics on content and the performance of your posts. Campaign success can be measured in real time.

Would you like to increase the success of your posts with paid ads? As a social media paid ads expert, we offer support for paid ads in social media for dentists - whether meta (Facebook and Instagram), LinkedIn, Pinterest or another social network of your choice. Together we will find an individual solution for your social media presence.

Social media for dentists: create added value for your patients and your practice with these 4 tips

Determine your unique selling point

What defines your dental practice? Do you offer special treatment options or an exceptional service? What makes your practice better than the competition? What distinguishes your practice team? Identify your unique selling point and present it on social media. Put yourself in your patients' shoes: What expectations do they have of your dental practice? And how can you meet these expectations? At this point, a target group analysis is helpful for the success of your dental practice marketing.

Share appealing and relevant content

In addition to presenting treatment results, social media for dentists aims to establish long-term dentist-patient contact. Personal, aesthetic, authentic and entertaining content is complemented by informative, factual and concrete dental content. Arouse the interest of your followers and offer them helpful and useful information on oral hygiene and oral and dental diseases. Report on completed training courses and new treatment options within your dental practice.

Engaging content takes time, but it is ultimately the key to patient acquisition, patient retention and overall practice success. Dental practices should not provide meaningless content, but meaningful messages. Run your social media channels with care and continuity. At its best, social media for dentists reflects your professionalism and expertise, but at the same time does not come across as clinical and cold.

If you are unable to manage this task independently in your day-to-day practice, we are at your side as an experienced content marketing agency. We will take care of the professional preparation of relevant content for you as well as the regular and punctual publication of articles. We are also happy to assist practices with the production of image and video material. We have found that the combination of clear and effective visual and textual language leads to successful social media for dentists.

Increase engagement rate

Good content is useless if no one looks at it. That's why the engagement rate is important for social media for dentists. The engagement rate is the measure of the interactivity of their content. Users can interact with posts from dental practices by liking, commenting, sharing or saving them. The Instagram algorithm rewards posts with a high engagement rate and ensures a better ranking within the platform. You can increase interaction with your posts by asking questions and thereby encouraging comments. You can also refer directly to the share and save function.

The Instagram story tools have proven to be particularly useful in social media for dentists. For example, create a quiz on dental aspects, use the slider function or the question function and encourage your followers to interact. Your own engagement rate should also be taken into account. Answer questions and suggestions quickly and engage directly with your followers.

Refer to your practice website with social media for dentists

Your website is the linchpin of your practice marketing. Therefore, make sure your website has expressive and search engine-optimized content that provides your followers with new insights. As a holistic marketing agency, we are happy to support you in creating a professional website including competitive, target group-relevant and click-strong content that will inspire your patients. With us, practices get the attention they deserve.

Patients can reach your website via various channels: via search engine results, via searches on review portals such as Jameda, but also via social media for dentists. To facilitate the transition from social media to the company website, this should be linked in the profile. The overriding goal is ultimately to attract patients. This can only succeed if your target group is persuaded to book an appointment. Ideally, dental practices offer online appointment bookings so that the link to the appointment booking can be placed directly in the profile. Ideally, social media for dentists should therefore lead to your dental practice's website and thus to appointment bookings.

Social media for dentists, Bastian Schröer

Social media for dentists: Because you need to adapt to your patients' usage habits to attract patients

Have you recognized the potential of social networks for your practice and would now like to get started with your own channel? Then we recommend you make an appointment for a strategic consultation with us.

As an experienced online marketing agency, we will work with you to create individual, high-quality content for your social media channels and take your practice marketing to a new level. We will show you how you can specifically address your target group and win them over to your dental practice. Social media for dentists can be fun and increase the turnover of dental practices.

Get in touch now!