Facebook has been the leading social media platform for some time now with 2.45 billion active users every month. And if you’ve not yet started leveraging this platform to boost revenue and referrals in your orthodontic practice, you better do it today. Consistently engaging Facebook users helps you stay in front of your audience so that whenever they need to visit an orthodontist, you will be the first one to cross their mind. But how should orthodontists go about doing that? Here are some brilliant tips to help you.
Pose Questions – A great way to receive engagement on your Facebook page is by asking your audience questions related to their oral health. For example, a question ‘what would you rate your oral health on a scale of 1 to 10?’ would get you more engagement than most of your other activities. Your audience will always interact if they feel that you are directly talking to them.
Share Information – Make your Facebook page useful so that it is where people come when they want information. Post short yet important facts as easily consumable content that they can read on the go and share with their loved ones. For example, ‘calcium deficiency can cause teeth discoloration’
Educate your audience about dental braces. You can share important links to the blogs or articles you think your audience would find important. Sharing helpful blogs, images, and videos such as ‘how to floss teeth with dental braces’ will get more visits and traction on your website.
Run Contests and Giveaways – Contests and giveaways on Facebook are a great way to create a buzz around your orthodontic practice and to get your fans engaging. Here is a great example:
“Share a photo of you and your family members showing off their best smile. Use #OurBestSmile to enter the contest. The candidate with the happiest picture would win a free consultation and a $50 gift card.”
Posts like this are low-effort and result in great engagement.
Add Maps to Local Awareness Ads – Facebook allows you to add maps to your location-based local awareness ads. This way you can target the local audience who can easily track you down with a simple click. And that’s not all; this Facebook feature also allows you to gauge foot traffic based on these ads. Indeed a brilliant way to boost traffic.
Build Credibility – Facebook is a great platform to establish credibility among a large number of people. It allows you to share the acknowledgments and recognition you have received in the community with your audience. For example, if you receive an award for ‘best patient experience’, you can share it on Facebook and your followers will keep it in mind the next time they need to see a dentist.
Moreover, you can make your patients your advocate. Ask them to share what they think about your orthodontist services and share their feedback and testimonials on your Facebook page. Positive testimonials would help build people’s trust in you and bring in more new patients.
Post About the Culture in Your Facility – If you post hundreds of advertisements and stock photos with a fancy quote, your fans and followers will just scroll away. They want to see what’s real. So, make them a part of your office celebrations and culture by posting such events on your Facebook page. Be real and share pictures and videos of your staff members playing games together, actively engaging with patients to help them, sharing meals, or wearing Halloween costumes. The amount of engagement you will receive will surprise you.
Share Before and After Pictures – There’s nothing that can speak for your services better than results. So, leverage your Facebook page to demonstrate results. Post before and after pictures of orthodontic treatment for a patient. This way, your future prospects will know what to expect. You can also post timely improvements of your patients’ dental condition.
While Facebook gives you the freedom to post a variety of things, you may still be careful of what you’re posting. For example, never post:
- Pictures of scary dental equipment
- Discouraging pictures of your patients’ complex dental problems since they may be a source of anxiety for some
- Overly personal posts; keep the tone of your Facebook page professional
I am sure all these will help you create a fool-proof social media strategy for your orthodontic practice. All the best!
Author Bio:
Dr. Satish Pai is an orthodontist and an Ivy League trained dentist who has and has served as a faculty at Columbia University. He believes that a perfect smile not only makes a person look great but feel great. As the founder of Putnam Orthodontics and Rome Orthodontics, he is dedicated to providing the best orthodontic treatments to his patients. He also writes to educate people about everything orthodontics and the importance of correctly aligned teeth along with good oral health. In his free time, you can find him golfing, doing yoga or surfing, and spending time with this family.