Imagine spending as little as seven hours a week on increasing your practice’s brand awareness, website traffic, and patient volume, at little to no cost. That’s right! Most healthcare marketers claim that Social Media generated marketing, helped to increase exposure for many medical practices!

Social networks are an integral part of every orthodontics marketing strategy. The benefits of leveraging Social networks are so immense that you are leaving revenue on the table by not implementing this cost-effective strategy. However, some marketers are convinced with this strategy but unsure of which tactics to apply. At Practice Builders, we have the expertise and know-how to help you leverage social media to achieve your growth goals.

Benefits of Using Social Media

Social media marketing, when done right, can bring remarkable success to your orthodontics practice, create brand advocates and drive patient volume. Here are six of the many compelling reasons why your orthodontic practice needs social media marketing.

1. Increased brand awareness

Social media is one of the most influential and cost-efficient marketing strategies to syndicate content and increase visibility of the practice brand. Executing a social media strategy will significantly increase your brand awareness since you will be engaging with a broad target audience. First, you will need to create social media profiles for your orthodontics practice and start interacting with your fans and followers. Get employees, partners, and sponsors to “like” and “share” your page. Just having people engage with your content will help increase brand awareness and build your reputation as a credible orthodontic practice. Your posts will be shared with more individuals, which may motivate them to become your patients, and the more people know about your orthodontic practice, the better.

2. More website traffic

Without marketing the practice on social media, inbound traffic is limited to routine patients. Social media can help you reach prospects outside your usual circle. Every social media platform that you add to your orthodontics marketing mix is a gateway to your website. Every blog post or content you share on social networks is an opportunity to acquire a new patient. Social networks are a melting pot of different types of people with varying behaviors and backgrounds. Sharing content on different platforms will allow these prospects to reach your practice organically. By marketing on social networks, you can open your orthodontics practice to a broader group of target audiences.

3. Improved search engine rankings

The majority of healthcare marketers who use social media to promote their practices report improved search engine rankings. Being able to rank on the top of search results for your keywords will significantly increase your website traffic and generate positive results for your orthodontic practice. Let’s accept it – most of your new patients use Google to find information about your practice, and they likely won’t navigate past page one of search engine results. This means, if your orthodontics practice does not appear on the first page, it may be time to re-adjust your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. To increase your chances of ranking higher through social media, create high-quality content that integrates your targeted keywords. Content such as blogs, infographics, case studies, orthodontics practice information, and employee photos will make the practice’s social media profile credible. Once you start posting original and relevant content, you will begin to build a community where followers will “like” and “share” your content. Doing so will provide more opportunities to be in front of influencers, and directly increase search engine rankings.

4. Higher Conversion Rates

As online visibility of your services increases, so does the ability to convert visitors to patients. Every infographic, blog post, image, and comment will lead viewers to your practice’s website and increase organic traffic. Social media allows you to give a positive impression through the humanization factor. Being actively engaged with followers will help personify your brand. It is a known fact that taking the time to develop relationships with patients reflects positively. Studies have also proven that social networks have a 100 percent higher lead-to-close rate than other outbound marketing strategies. Most of the marketer’s report lead generation benefits using social networks.

5. Better patient experience

Creating a voice for your orthodontics practice through social media platforms is essential in humanizing your company. Patients appreciate knowing that they will receive a personalized response rather than an automated message when posting your pages’ comments. Acknowledging comments will show that you are attentive to your visitors’ needs and aim to provide the best patient experience. Every interaction on social media accounts is an opportunity to demonstrate your compassion for your patients. Whether a follower has a question or feedback, social media allows you to address the matter using interpersonal dialogue. An orthodontics practice devoted to improving patient satisfaction is viewed positively, even if it responds to a patient complaint.

6. Increased brand loyalty

One of the critical business goals of all orthodontics practices is developing a loyal patient base. Considering that patient satisfaction and brand loyalty go hand in hand, it is essential to engage with patients and develop bonds regularly. Social networks are not just limited to introducing your services. Patients see these platforms as a service channel where they can communicate directly with you. The millennials are known for being the most brand-loyal generation. Studies show that this segment of patients is more loyal to brands that directly engage with them on social networks. Since these technology natives crave real communication with brands, orthodontics practices must implement social media marketing to get this most influential group’s attention.

Conclusion

Social media marketing for orthodontics practices has its advantages. So, if your practice doesn’t already have the appropriate profiles, create them! Fill out your orthodontics practice’ information and post some engaging content to begin gaining followers. Ask your existing patients, staff, family, and friends to “like” and “share” your page to increase your reach. With consistent efforts, the right social media marketing strategy will lead to better SEO, increased traffic, higher conversion rates, and improved brand loyalty. There are just no reasons not to include social media in your orthodontics marketing strategy.

Have questions? Reach out to social media experts at Practice Builders and have all your questions answered!