Social Media for Your Dental Practice

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With Facebook alone having more than 1 billion active users, social media as a tool to build your dental practice cannot be ignored.

Social media has become an essential part of marketing for any small business, not only for promoting and sharing your business but also for providing the much revered social proof that businesses all strive to get.

Embarking on a social media plan can be an intimidating process. If you’re not already on social media pick one or two platforms to focus on. Facebook and Twitter are good ones to start with.

Here are some simple steps for managing social media for your dental practice:

1. It’s okay to pick just one social media platform to focus your efforts on. Every business should have a Facebook page, so start with Facebook. If you’re up to managing two platforms the next most logical would be Twitter.
2. Post consistently. It can be twice a week or it can be daily. Just make sure you set a schedule and you stick to it!
3. Use images whenever possible. Facebook lets more of your followers see your posts when you use images, as opposed to text only. The best images to use are photos that you take of your practice, staff, patients, or new equipment.
4. Share useful information. Post information that adds value to the reader. You can share interesting dental industry news, blog posts, educational information, videos, and fun facts or trivia. You can also post pictures of your patients (with their permission, of course.) Pictures of them in the dental chair with a smile on their face or showing off their new, improved smile are all great for social media.
5. Always respond to messages or posts on your page in a timely manner. It’s a good idea to have someone monitoring your social media page and checking in a few times a day to be sure there are no outstanding messages waiting for you.

Using social media as a tool for building your dental practice will help you establish important relationships with clients and potential clients, as well as establish your practice as a valuable part of your community.