The complete guide to creating engaging content for your dental practice
Dee Overfield - 27 January 2020
Traditional advertising and marketing in the form of billboards, TV and radio ads or print media is becoming a thing of the past. With the development of the internet and social media, the demand for high quality content as a form of marketing is ever increasing.
For the health industry in particular, it can be easy to stick to what you know and to continue marketing your business the way you always have done. However, switching things up and investing time (and potentially money) into creating engaging content for your dental practice will transform your marketing strategy and increase web traffic.
What is content marketing?
The dentist tends to be a chore for most, that one thing to get ticked off the to-do list or the unpleasant trip to make if you’ve been struck with painful toothache. Most people used to find their dental practice via word of mouth in small towns. However, the internet has completely transformed how people use local services. 51% of potential patients will use an internet search to find a new dental practice, so therefore, a strong online presence is crucial.
It is easy to have a website and address online but if that is as far as your digital visibility goes then you could be missing a trick. More recently, high quality content is the way forward. It makes your website, as well as any additional platforms or social media channels you may use, extremely attractive, informative and professional. This may be in the form of detailed service pages, blogs or engaging social media posts.
Unique, exciting blog posts
Adding a blog section to your website adds another dimension to your website and allows a space for more relaxed, unique content – related to your business but of interest to your patients. It is important to understand the difference between formal, medical information when promoting products or services and informative, light hearted blog content that is relevant and interesting to patients. For example, potential blog ideas for a dental practice may include:
- Tips on how to encourage children to look after their teeth
- Safety guidance on using at-home teeth whitening products
- How to perfect your smile
- Common myths about sugar and how it affects your teeth
- How to deal with anxiety when visiting your dentist
Engaging social media content
Potential patients, especially those that are younger, are likely to check out social media pages for a business before using their product or services. Platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn are a great place to showcase ‘behind the scenes’ images, recent milestones and achievements, introductions to staff, patient testimonials and more. Consistent posting 1-3 times a week will allow you to build a strong social media presence and portray the best parts of your business to potential and existing patients.
Utilise Google My Business features
If you already have a flourishing blog section on your website and are happy with the social media content you are putting out, you may be wondering what else you can do. Do you have a Google My Business listing? Are you utilising all the features?
In terms of content, the best feature to use for this is GMB posts. A GMB post lies somewhere in between a blog and a social media post in terms of style and word count. With a limited word count and expiry date of one week, this is a great way to showcase relevant, snappy content that will appear when someone searches your business. Share business updates, announcements, upcoming events, latest products and services and anything that may be of interest to potential patients.
If you are wanting to create engaging content for your audience but don’t feel you can do this in-house due to time or skill restraints, have you considered working with an external agency? Wagada are the digital marketing experts, happy to help, whatever your needs may be. Get in touch to discuss your options, or for more information about dental marketing strategies in general, take a look at our ultimate guide to marketing for the dental industry.
