Episode 586: To TikTok (& Other Social Media) or Not?

It’s a part of most people’s lives, so should it be part of your practice? In this episode, Kiera and Tiff talk social media and dentistry — where does it fit in? Who in your practice should post, and how often? What are you gaining by posting? — all these questions and more!

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Transcript:

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0:00:05.6 Kiera Dent: Hey everyone, welcome to the Dental A-Team podcast. I'm your host, Kiera Dent, and I had this crazy idea that maybe I could combine a doctor and a team member's perspective, because let's face it, dentistry can be a challenging profession with those two perspectives. I've been a dental assistant, treatment coordinator, scheduler, filler, office manager, regional manager, practice owner, and I have a team of traveling consultants, for we have traveled to over 165 different offices, coaching teams. Yep, we don't just understand you, we are you. Our mission is to positively impact the world of dental, and I believe that this podcast is the greatest way I can help elevate teams, grow VIP experiences, reduce stress and create A-teams. Welcome to the Dental A-Team podcast.

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0:00:52.4 KD: Hey, Dental A-Team listeners, this is Kiera, and, you guys, I am beyond giddy about the fact that we are having a way for you guys to kick off your 2023 in the most epic way. That's right, I want you guys to go into 2023 with direction, with a plan, and to actually get something done, done and done. If you've been looking at that operations manual, it is time, guys. For three months, every single week, I'm going to be doing a workshop with you and your team in January to get that operations manual done in three months. Guys, this is a value of over $10,000 that I know you're gonna freaking love because you're actually going to get it done. So if you wanna get your ops manual done in three months and kick off your January ultra strong, head on over to thedentalateam.com/opsmanual and I will see you January 5th for our kick-off.

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0:01:45.4 KD: Hello, Dental A-Team listeners. This is Spiffy Tiffy and Kiera on the pod. I feel like that's how this one should go. Tiff, welcome to the show today. How are you?

0:01:52.6 Spiffy Tiff: I'm good. I think that is the best intro and yeah, we are on the pod. We are ready to rock and roll. We're gonna do amazing things today.

0:02:00.9 KD: You'd better believe we are because Tiff has a child to pick up from school, and you all parents know if you've got a child waiting for you, you've gotta rock and roll. So I decided to snag Tiff before she goes and gets her son, because there is a big question around marketing. What do we do? Should we TikTok or not? So, Tiffany and I decided we'd hop on, give you guys some gems. So, Tiff, what's kind of your take in this whole new marketing world? I think it's actually so crazy that a free social network that was created, it's like full-time jobs for people now. It's such as a surreal thing for me. I thought about this the other day. I'm like, "Holy cow", that ding ding freaking Facebook in college when I'm like, "Yeah, let me do this", now literally pays people to make these posts, and there is bots and all this stuff. So I think for some people, it can feel a little overwhelming, exciting, depending upon where you sit on this, but, Tiff, what are kind of your some thoughts around this marketing and dental practice and what's needed. TikTok, Instagram, I mean, there are so many things. Where do we spend our time, and are they necessary or not?

0:03:00.6 ST: There are so many things and it's super relevant right now. I've been... I feel like today was a full-on marketing day, and I think it's 'cause the end of year is coming, all those pieces trying to get ramped up for next year. And one of the things that keeps coming up, one of the biggest questions I have is social media. Number one, how do we manage posting on there? Who's doing this? And number two, do we TikTok or not? TikTok keeps coming up, and I'm gonna say it right now personally, I don't have a TikTok. I don't know how to TikTok. I am always a couple of years behind the scenes on anything, so I'm barely Instagram-ing. It's totally fine.

0:03:37.6 ST: My thought process though on social media is to remember that if you're not going full-blown marketing on social media to build my brand and build my cosmetic case stand, whatever. If you're not this big city, like we're gonna do this solely on social media, keep in mind that your social media platforms are to build exposure for the patients you already have existing in your practice. Which means if you're asking for referrals, you're asking for reviews, you've got these things coming about that you are asking your patient base for, it's just keeping you top of mind so that they remember to refer to you, they remember to write you their review, they just think of you in the instances that they need a dentist.

0:04:28.5 ST: So putting so much time and effort or paying an entire extra person can be really beneficial, but you need to make sure that you understand what your end goal is and what your game plan is going to be with this person. Getting on TikTok, getting on Instagram or Facebook, that's the least of your worries, that's neither here nor there, because again, it's just getting some exposure out there. I think that's been my biggest point to all of the marketing conversations that I've had recently, 'cause everybody's like, "When do I hop on social?" Hop on social now, for freaking sure. Hop on social now because you need that exposure and it also helps you populate on Google. But keep in mind, your end goal isn't necessarily, especially for my common GP practices, it's not... Your goal isn't to gain new patients from social media, from Instagram or from TikTok. Your goal is to gain exposure so that people remember to refer to you when someone needs a dentist. So making that decision, I think realizing that, makes making that decision a little bit easier.

0:05:32.2 KD: One hundred percent, and I love that you made it very simple because it's just to stay front of mind. Like let's think... I almost view... This is gonna sound terrible... I view Instagram as kind of like commercials. It's trying to stay top of mind. I know every one of us could say, "Who is your lawyer?" Like if you get into a car accident, who are you supposed to call? For us, it's like Joey law. And I can see his freaking face on the billboard because I've seen him so many times, and I think that that's more of what it is of when people think dentists, are they thinking of you because you've been present and relevant, or are they just Googling real quick. That's what we're trying to accomplish with you guys being on there.

0:06:10.0 KD: But also to your point, I think if you are trying to do cosmetic cases, implant cases, full mouth dentures or implants, do a lot of cosmetic work and show that on your Instagram pages because I think people are now going to Instagram and social media to see what you guys are doing, before they want to come to you. So if you are that type of a practice, use it as your showcase. I feel like it's almost your dental portfolio where you can show people what they can become. Like for me, thankfully, I don't want this today, who knows, but I'm like, If I'm gonna go get plastic surgery on my face, I'm going to certainly scroll their page and make sure I like the noses, the eyebrows, the cheekbones of all their patients before I decide to go see them.

0:06:56.2 KD: Similar with smiles. Every dentist, you guys do different shapes of teeth, you do different light, you do different style with your teeth, patients are going to go look at that, if they love you, and they wanna come to you and you're their style, because at that point you were trying to attract these high-end, high top dollar, different type of cases, use social media differently for that, but beyond that, it really is just to stay peace of mind. So in that vein, Tiff, if I'm like, "Okay, I'm gonna be a peace of mind for people, I wanna be there, I want them to think of me as a dentist."

0:07:27.8 KD: How much do they have to post and who does this in a practice, because I can hear offices being like, "I became a dental assistant 'cause I wanted to suck spit." [chuckle] Let's be real. That's what Tiff and I did. Don't worry guys, we love our dental assistants, and I think it's real funny to say what we can say. But they didn't go to school to be a social media guru. And dentists didn't go to school to be their own marketing agencies, #social media. So where do people even fit this in, what have you found?

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0:07:54.8 KD: Are you guys sick of trying to figure it out on your own? I know I am when I'm trying to run a business, sometimes I just think there's got to be a better way to do this, and so for me, my answer has been to find someone who's done it and does it really, really, really well. I'm talking the best of the best of the best. I want someone who's been in my shoes, somebody who understands what I'm going through. When I was looking for the consulting business, I found a coach who literally has run a consulting business. Well, that seemed like the perfect fit.

0:08:24.5 KD: So you guys right now, we have a few spaces open in our Platinum consulting, that is in the consulting where we actually come to your practice. We help you get systems implemented, we don't just tell you what system to implement, we actually implement them with you and for you. You guys, it is one of the best investments I've ever made is to hire a coach who understands the business I'm in, who's lived it, who's done it.

0:08:49.5 KD: And that's what we in The Dental A-Team do. We literally physically fly to you, so if you're sick of trying to figure it out on your own, if you just want somebody who understands you, join our Platinum. I'd love to have you, I'd love to have our consulting team come out and see you, be in your office, be with your team, and truly help you get on to the easy path of dentistry. It doesn't have to be hard. So join us in the Platinum, we'd love to have you.

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0:09:15.0 ST: Yeah, I think that's a very valid question. And I think... A minute before I forget. I'm gonna hit on what you just said about scrolling the Instagram portfolio.

0:09:24.9 KD: Mm-hmm.

0:09:26.3 ST: I 100% agree, because I don't think people are going to websites anymore to see before and after. Surely, you put them on there because it helps your SEO and do your blog posts and stuff, 'cause that helps your SEO, but people aren't necessarily going to your websites anymore now they're going to social media. Think of... I even as you are speaking here, figure talking like plastic surgeons, I'm even thinking tattoo artists, [chuckle] the most simple things, my eyebrows, who's gonna do my lip staining.

0:09:53.0 ST: All of those things, we're not looking at websites anymore, we're looking at Instagram profiles. So I think that was huge what you just said, and I just wanna emphasize that. Now, for the other piece of it, who's doing that? That is such a loaded question, because there are people, I have friends who do it for dental practices, who will post your posts on there a couple of times a month. Two maybe four times a month, it just takes a lot of time for someone not in your practice to make those posts and getting them branded, etcetera.

0:10:24.5 ST: So you're not getting as many. How many times do you need to post? That changes constantly. The algorithms for social media change more than you change your style of clothing [laughter] based on the seasons. It changes. I feel like it's every other week gets something different. What I can say, what has been very consistent with any social media platform that I've seen, is that the more you post relevant items or trends, popular things, things people are... Things people are paying attention to in the social media world, the more you post things like that, the more you're gonna populate on people's feeds consistently, and the farther your reach will go. So having two to four posts a month that are like, "Hey, look at this smile."

0:11:13.1 ST: "Hey, look what my team did today in the office." or "Hey, happy valentines day." Nobody's gonna see those. One they're not typically relevant topics, so popular relevant topics are typically gonna be things that we don't wanna talk about. [laughter] they can be politics and things you're are seeing on the news, things that the dental world tries to stay out of. Those are the things that are popular, and if you post a few times a month might gain some traction, but come look at this smile like nobody's searching in the Instagram tool bar, smile or smile more. What are the things that are trending right now? So you can pull up a quick Google search of what's trending on social or IG or TikTok, whatever, you'll see so many things you'll see millions, so look at that and be like, "Okay, that's such a silly video, but how can I turn this silly video into something that stays on this trend, but is on a dental brand." That makes me think of this video I saw years ago of this dentist who took that song that, I can't feel my face song.

0:12:17.4 KD: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

0:12:17.7 ST: I can't think of who sings it, but he took that song and...

0:12:19.4 KD: I think it's Bieber.

0:12:21.7 ST: Is it Bieber?

0:12:22.8 KD: I don't know who it could be.

0:12:23.4 ST: I don't know. I don't know, but he took... So then he took a glove and he like...

0:12:26.7 KD: No, it's definitely The Weekend, guys don't judge me all right?

0:12:30.3 ST: The Weekend, yeah [laughter]

0:12:30.6 KD: I was like, hold on, I feel like I'm definitely wrong on this. [laughter]

0:12:31.9 ST: Google. Google. We're gonna invest in it one day, but... So he took this, he took a glove, and he blew this glove up and he literally did the beat to I can't feel my face on the glove, and did the whole thing. And he was in a dental chair and he had like hygienists come in with a... With a syringe, and it's just this viral video of this dentist, who thought this would be funny if I did this. So it could seem funny, it could seem silly, but if it's a trend and it's gonna gain you traction, those are the places where if you're only posting a few times a month, that's how you're gonna gain it.

0:13:07.6 ST: If you're just posting like, "Happy Holidays" or you're gonna do a turkey in a couple of weeks because it's Thanksgiving, so you do like a Thanksgiving turkey and you're like "Enjoy your day off, we won't be here either", but then you're like "Why did so many people call us the Wednesday before thanksgiving, we said on Instagram we were closed." Well, three people saw your turkey because you're not posting enough, [laughter] so, that's my rant. I go on a rant, so yes, you have to post frequently and often.

0:13:33.3 ST: Who is going to do that? I don't know, make a rotation, make a schedule. You can schedule posts out, so if you've got a great shipment coordinator or a front office rep, I love the 20-something year olds who actually know how to use social media. 'Cause me in my late 30s I'm still trying to figure it out. It's totally fine. But use somebody who loves social media, who understands what the trends are, who can do the research, who can do it quickly and schedule posts out, get things ready, build a calendar and get it done or hire someone outside to do it. If you are looking to do more posts and you're looking to gain more traction on social media for cosmetic cases, etcetera. Consider hiring it out.

0:14:14.3 KD: Amen, and you guys Tiff used to do beach body, she gives herself like no credit for her social media savvy-ness, but she's actually pretty slick on it. And the bottom line is you've gotta be there, but do it on topics that people are actually looking for. Think of, "Would somebody ever share this with their friend?" And if not, they're not gonna send your turkey post to a friend, therefore no one's looking at it, but yet if you told them how to prevent cavities, I bet you they would probably share with a few people.

0:14:42.0 KD: So thinking of, are you actually adding value? What things could we do that the dental community would actually be interested in? Doctors, you have a lot of knowledge, you don't have to do it, but I agree with you Tiff, add value, think, "Would somebody actually share this?" And be relevant and be consistent. So guys, you don't have to be on TikTok, think about what you're trying to be there for. But I think we have hit a day and age where if you want to be relevant for the next five-ish years, social media is for sure in your future. So if you're on your way out in the next year, you're probably good, you probably don't need any more patients, but if you want to be in the game for the next one, two, three, four, five years, social media will be your future. So Tiff, I know it was an epic podcast... That was fun, I really loved it.

0:15:24.0 ST: It was fun.

0:15:24.7 KD: Thanks for all the tips, I appreciate them.

0:15:26.6 ST: Yeah. Of course. Thank you. I loved it. It was fun.

0:15:30.2 KD: All right guys, go get social, and if you need help, you need us to help get your team in shape, let us know if you need us to guide on what things to put in those posts and how to get it into a schedule and make it very easy. Email us [email protected], and as always, thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time on The Dental A-Team Podcast.

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0:15:51.0 KD: And that wraps it up for another episode of The Dental A-Team Podcast. Thank you so much for listening and we'll talk to you next time.

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