Episode 825: Getting Into Social Media: Putting Your Practice Out There

 It’s time for a dive into brand awareness on social media. In this episode, Tiff and Dana talk about the realities of social media marketing for practices: the what, where, why, and how, including why it’s so critical, who you’re updating for, content ideas, and more.

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Transcript:

The Dental A Team (38:28.097)

Hello listeners. I am so excited to be here with Dana today. Dana, you're going to help me a ton with this one because, well, hopefully you're in the social media world more than I am. I feel like I'm out of the loop on social media so far. But we do help a ton of practices with it and have to stay in the loop on those areas. So Dana, I'm excited to talk social media with you today. How are you? I'm pretty good. Good. I love it. And I mean, you do.

every Friday, hop on our own social media. So there is that, which goes hand in hand with what we're talking about today with brand consistency and really making sure that the brand is out there for clients in our world, but patients as well. So I think talking kind of reality on social media for dental practices is the place to start.

I think in the marketing world, for companies outside of healthcare, social media is a really easy place to go for marketing. I think that it's a place where you can get in front of a ton of people very quickly, attract the people that you want, and some people that you don't want very easily, get your brand awareness out there and it's quick and simple.

I think healthcare though is a little bit different. And I think dentistry is a little bit different. So spreading that reality first and foremost is going to be key here. Something I've learned about social media marketing and that's all of the things like right now today, the state and age where we're recording it, we've got Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Those are our biggest things. And Twitter, which I think is called something else now, doesn't matter. Twitter's still not really that big, whatever it's called now. Threads maybe. Anyways, those are our three top hitters.

And I think dental practices do well. I think a lot of practices do really well with getting their information out there, staying on top of it. But I think the reality of our own dental marketing when it comes to social media is to understand that you're putting yourself out there for your patients more often than not. We're not typically getting new followers on our social media who have nothing to do with our practice unless you're that.

The Dental A Team (40:45.615)

like dancing, remember that doctor that was dancing on the hallway years ago, like okay, do that, you're gonna get all kinds of people. They may not be in your stage, in your area, your city, whatever, I don't know how many patients he turned or many people moved to his city just to go to his practice, no clue by all means, do you do you? But the point is, even if you grasp a ton of followers, you don't know where they're at. They're not always...

located in your general area, you're just getting in front of a lot of people and with the product, right, being located at your practice, not something that can be purchased online and sent to their home, not something that I can watch online and learn. It makes it very difficult for social media platforms to really hone in and get you a lot of new patients. So the reason for pushing social media marketing in the general practice,

is to really gain clout within Google. Our Google metrics and our Google algorithms take all of that into consideration. So if you don't have social media, they actually, Google knows that and it's part of their metrics. So staying on top of that and ensuring that you're staying relevant within Google with all of those necessities is huge. That will affect your standing and your rating. But understanding that...

the information you're putting out there is likely going to your patient base. So those are going to be the people you want to follow you. And honestly, if you can get shares, things like that from them, it puts you in front of their friends and family who typically they will have a pretty good handful that are in your general area. So that is one way to generate it, but it's very slow burning and it's a lot of work. The reason I say that is because brand awareness is key.

on any social media platform. I think you guys know you've been to a friend's page that's just like, we just randomly post like my Instagram may be like, yeah, she's just a person. She was just posting. She's not a company. But then when you go to a coach, a health and fitness instructor, someone who's giving product or giving a brand awareness, you're going to notice a very different layout on their Instagram, right, or their TikTok. And you're going to notice that there's a flow and it makes sense. And it doesn't feel chaotic when you look at it.

The Dental A Team (43:04.879)

That's your brand awareness, right? That's making sure that your social media is consistent. So Dana, you and I talked about consistency within it, which means posting constantly, means posting at least a couple of times a week. I think at least, I think the minimum is like three times a week right now to stay relevant. And then also really like that brand piece. And Dana, what suggestions do you have on really knowing

what that means. Because I think back in the day, like when I was doing when I was doing things in marketing for companies I was working for, I was doing brand awareness as of like our logo, right? I like colors, right? But that's not all there is when it comes to brand awareness. And what are you doing? Your clients do you talk with a lot of doctors about this a lot? I know. And what do you recommend doing when it comes to brand awareness within their, their practices? Yeah, I think it's just it's,

it starts with being aware of like who your patient base is. And when you put things on social media, it being things that they're going to be interested in, curious about, want to learn more, care about, right? And an easy way or...

I look at dental page social media all the time, right, for practices. And you can instantly see the types of things on their social media. They get more interaction, they get more likes, they maybe get a few shares, right? Well, that is brand on point, right? The people that they are trying to target, it's something that they're interested in. Typically it is interactions with team members, highlighting patients, things about the doctor. Oftentimes it's those types of things that showcase like the experience or the reason why they choose and come to your practice. So I think really be...

honing in on our current patient base because that is a lot of who is on our social media and our maybe even community around you. What are some things that they would care about, be interested in, want to spend their time looking at, listening to, watching, liking? That's your brand. Yeah, I love that. I love that. I have a practice in Oregon. They do really fantastic with their TikTok.

The Dental A Team (45:14.671)

and sharing it to Instagram and they're so cute and they're so funny. And they always kind of try to choose something that's relevant to TikTok right now, but then they flip it to dentistry and they utilize the team. The girls are real cute and they're always in their cute scrubs and they're funny and that's like their brand awareness. But again, I'm seeing it because I'm their consultant. I work with them. I've worked with them for a couple of years. So I've seen their progression, but I'm seeing that come up because I work with them, but I'm in Arizona. So again,

Right? I'm not in Oregon, so I couldn't go to their practice. So remembering like your brand awareness is key to where you are so that you're hopefully attracting people that are in your area. And again, remember, most of your social media is going to be for your patients that are seeing you. With that said, it helps keep you top of mind for them. Right? I had another doctor text me this morning and he's like, what are the best

Like what are the most like comfortable, looks good, like scrubs? And I instantly thought of a practice because I see them online all the time with their social media platforms. I'm scrolling and I'm like, oh gosh, they always look so cute. And I was like, oh actually, let me text them and find out for you. So they're top of mind for me. So when your patients have someone that's like, gosh, I have a toothache or I can't believe my dentist did this. They're like, oh, I have someone for you because you're top of mind. Every six months doesn't keep you super top of mind.

for patients for referrals. But if you're on your social media a lot, you become that top of mind person for them. So figuring out what that's going to look like, staying super consistent. One thing that I know a lot of cosmetic practices will do before and afters, I will say before and afters, like standalone pictures, kind of boring. So you've got to like bring some fun, bring some play into it. But I would put those things up there, especially if you're doing a lot of cosmetic work or you're trying to

Pull that from your community or your patient base if you're doing a lot of work though You can do ortho pictures if you've got team members in an ortho or in this aligner Whatever tray system you're using have pictures of them have them, you know Do a little reel of them taking them in taking them putting and taking them out and like having fun with it That's brand awareness. So what is it that you're trying to attract? What are you willing to put in for it? And how are you going to get there? I don't Love to spend a lot of time

The Dental A Team (47:43.659)

making things for social media. I usually suggest having someone who's responsible for your social media so then you get them content or they get the content maybe a dental assistant is responsible. She is over recording people. I've got a pediatric practice in Georgia that does really cute stuff. We worked really hard, doctor and I pushed really hard to get them to

to do it and get on board with it, but she's so cute and she just like in the moment is like, oh, this is a cute one, mommy get it. So she every day is like, what can I record today that I could post online? But really having that awareness, having someone responsible for it so that it happens and then creating that brand and staying consistent to it with the understanding if you're only doing social media.

drops, you're only posting online and that's your only marketing and you're hoping to gain and attract new patients. We're going to need to talk. We've got more marketing tips. We've got more areas where you could expand because that social media platform again is mostly going to be for your patients that you're seeing and just staying on top of mind for them and then expanding. Now, you know, with that said, I have seen like hygienists actually with their own pages and they have fun with it and they're like, you know, showing different things or doing something silly in the chair and

Have you seen anything like team member based that you've loved that you thought was fun and not saying that team members need to go and do this, but I think hygienists oftentimes want to share their knowledge more than other team members. And have you seen or do you have any clients that have any of those as well? I have some funny ones online. Yeah, I think it is.

having team members, even if it isn't like team members on their own page, right? But it's team members being active on your page and it's team members making sure that when they're at CE, they're taking pictures of themselves or if they do a community event or I've got a pediatric practice right where they did like a mom's group event and it was their hygiene team, making sure that they're like highlighting and remembering that like, hey, it's a great social media opportunity time too. I have more of that than I'd say like individual pages. But I think team members making sure that like,

The Dental A Team (49:58.351)

they highlight their growth, they highlight the things they're learning, they highlight the things that they know, doing cute little videos, you know, in a pediatric practice on like proper brushing techniques for kiddos and a team can really get involved in these things and make it fun and engage with the community. Yeah, I love that. I love that. I love that idea of the videos. I've seen a lot of those and I have a couple GP practices that don't do a lot of kiddos. They refer a lot out but they'll do like parents this is

you know, these are tips and tricks for parents if this happened. And so they'll still put a lot of that information out there because it's easy to do. I know I've got an office that does a lot of like flossing techniques and how to floss and how not to floss. Why do we floss? Why do we floss at a certain time during our hygiene routine? Like why floss before, after, whatever, mouth rinses, products. I've seen a lot of that.

Dana, what else? What else have you seen? What are some other ideas for social media for them? I had an obvious that it was really cute during root canal awareness day. They basically like busted all the myths when it came to root canals, right? Like, and the process of root canal. So I think just thinking about things like that, that when it comes to dentistry, there's a lot in dentistry that like patients just don't know. So the more that you can educate, the more that you can make dentistry a little bit fun, a little bit interesting.

That social media is just a great platform for those types of things. Yeah, I totally agree. There have been, I mean, I think we've done a ton of marketing podcasts and really getting a ton of ideas out there, but I want you guys to remember the one that we spoke about KPIs and marketing ROI. So how are you driving the metrics on this? And I think this is a good space as well. So when it comes to social media and the value of your brand really seeing like, what's your engagement on the social media?

based on your following as well. Like are you getting, are you at least getting likes? Are you getting things like that? Are the efforts that you're putting out there, are they working for the space that you have? Again, you're not gonna see like all this return, but it's a platform that you can drive some business from your current patient fund. And then making sure that you are doing like Facebook ads, all those things, Google ads, those are social as well. Making sure that whatever marketing company you're using or if you're doing them on your own,

The Dental A Team (52:23.567)

you are doing those ads. I do have the caveat, I have had a practice to do the marketing, the Google ads on their own and it is very difficult. It's very hard, very time consuming. So that's part of your ROI as well. Like the time that you're putting into it, is it worth it not to pay someone to do it? And the results that you're getting, is it worth it not to pay someone to do it? So take all of that into consideration. And when you're looking at social media, how

fun with it. Have fun with who you are. Be real, be honest, don't be too stuffy. Just be fun, be playful, and have fun with the patience that you've got. A lot of patients will do testimonials, you can put those up there with the right paperwork, right? They've got to sign for that. You got to get all those things in place. But I think these are areas where it's really good to just hone in on that consistency, and figure out how can you stay consistent on this. And it's a good habit builder, because if you've got to

team member who can stay super consistent on your social media awareness and your brand and putting that stuff out there, she is now or he's now got this habit that's been formed. Now we tap on top of it and it's like, cool, what other habits can we create? Because we've learned to stay super consistent with something that's not generating an immediate result, that's not generating an immediate win. So how do we learn to stay consistent on different areas?

Action items, you guys, I think really figure out what you want your marketing on social media to look like. What is that brand that you want put out there? Figure out who's going to do your posting if you're going to do posting and figure out when. Don't say just three times a week. Say every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I want to post to go out by 10 a .m. because now you've got an accountability piece. You do have an accountability with three times per week, but.

What's going to happen? How angry are you going to be when there's three on Friday? Yeah, that was three times this week. I did it. I procrastinated and waited until Friday, but I did it. So what are the days and what are the times that you want those to go out and be super specific and be specific with the results you want to see? I want to see three posts per week on these days. These days. That's a result. I want to see more patient followers. So then now maybe that person who's responsible for your social.

The Dental A Team (54:45.359)

is going out and following patients of your practice on their own platforms that they get a follow back. Like what work are you expecting them to put in? And what do you expect the results to really truly look like in the end? Dana, is there anything else you can think of when it comes to action items for this brand awareness? I think we gave them a ton of ideas. Yeah, I think that apps it up. Awesome. All right, guys, go have fun with it.

I know we've worked a ton on our social and our Instagram. We've got Eve behind the scenes and Amanda behind the scenes. And we've had a ton of team members really put into it. So if you want ideas, like by all means, you can go see our plethora of content over there. Eve does some really, really magical things, honestly, on our Instagram. And I'm sure on our TikTok and everything as well, but I am on Instagram the most. So go look at it. Go take a look. If you guys want more ideas, you want to chat about it, you want some

just conversation around it. Reach out, we're here. Hello, Epidural A team, and we can't wait to catch you next time. Thank you, Dana. Thank you.