DIY Digital Marketing Guide For Dental Clinics

The intent of my series of articles is to help self-employed professionals and SMEs do their own digital marketing. Those who are on a budget.

After reading this article, as a dentist, you will be able to –

• Do your own digital marketing with minimal costs.
• Have people working in your practice help you with some of the activities.
• Have better awareness of digital marketing if you hire an agency. Know what questions to ask and not taken in by false promises.

Common Challenges For A Dental Practice

• Generate new inquiries
• Convert those inquiries into clients
• Nurture existing clients for repeat treatment

Generate New Inquiries

To generate new inquiries, two conditions must meet –

1. You must be visible where your future patients are present
2. Your profile should instill confidence in prospects to contact you

Digital Spaces Your Prospective Clients Are Likely To Be Present

There are many online places that your prospective customers may be present, but in this article we will limit ourselves to the most important ones that can give us the maximum RoI.

1. Google

2. Social Media ~ Facebook, Instagram

Generating Inquiries From Google

A simple Google search for “Dentist Near Me” shows a result like this, from where I am searching (Bangalore, India) –

1. Sponsored Results – Also Called PPC (Pay Per Click)

2. Local Results (Maximum Of 3 Results)

3. Organic Results (Natural Ranks)

A cursory look at Organic Results shows that it is dominated by heavy-weight, authority brands such as Practo, Just Dial, Clove Dental, Apollo Dental etc.

It is likely that from wherever you are searching in India, and most likely in other countries too, the same pattern can be seen.

Unless you are a leading dental chain or a large digital healthcare platform such as Practo, with huge marketing budgets, it will be futile to try ranking in the first page under organic results.

Besides, if your target zone is a few kilometer radius around your clinic, it will be waste of marketing budget to try and rank for an entire city or a state.

So, we are left with 2 options

1. Sponsored (PPC)
2. Local Results (Also called the Three-Pack)

We will first address Local Results, 1. It is free. 2. They tend to have higher CTR (Click-Through-Rate) compared to Sponsored Results.

CTR is the number of people clicking a search result out 100 people that see it.

How to Feature in Google Local Search Results (Maps)

As mentioned above, only three dental practices are shown on the first page of Google search results. It is followed by “More Places”. Clicking it will take you to a page where all the the dental clinics near the searcher are shown.

The aim is to –

1. First, qualify to be shown under Google Local Results (Also called Google Maps)
2. Then move your way up the ranks among other dental practices in your area.

 What you need to do to qualify for featuring in Google Local Results?

Case – 1: Your clinic is listed on Google but you don’t have the control over it

Doing a search for your clinic name, should show your clinic’s name on Google. You can do this search on Google homepage or Google Maps on your desktop or on Google Maps app on your mobile.

Make sure you are logged into your Google account

If there are other clinics with the same name in your area, add the locality or road name to the search.

Look for the link “Own this business?”

Click the link. If your clinic is not already claimed by someone, follow the steps given in the screen. In case your practice is already claimed, Google will show part of the email address that controls the account. If you don’t recognize the email, then you have to go through an Account Recovery Process.

Case – 2: Your clinic is not shown anywhere on Google

You have searched for your clinic’s name and made sure it doesn’t show up even with your locality name in the query.

Local businesses on Google are managed by what is popularly known as Google My Business (GMB). Now it is simply called Google Business. All aspects related to your practice are managed through the GMB account.

If you own more than one business, a same account can be used to manage all of them.

1. Open Google Business – https://www.google.com/intl/en_in/business/

2. Click the Manage button. If you are not logged into your Google account, log-in.

3. Google will first ask for your clinic name. Choose the name as it is displayed on the board in front of your clinic. Some people add #1 Dental Clinic, Best Dentist, etc. It doesn’t make a difference and it will only make your subsequent work difficult. More on that later.

4. Then it will ask “Choose your business type” and so on. Go over all the steps and provide as much information as you can. If you are stuck at some point, please ask me in the comments below. It will also ask for your logo, photos of the clinic etc, open hours, holiday details etc.

The more details you provide, the better.

5. Finally, Google will ask you to verify your practice. You can verify it through a call or a text message, email, video or a postcard. It can take a few days and sometimes weeks for Google to review your submission and display your dental practice on search results.

Case – 3: Your clinic is listed on Google Maps and you have the access to the account managing it

If your practice falls in this category, you first need to make sure you have provided all the information possible in your GMB account.

Improving Your Rank on Google Maps Results

Having your clinic added to Google Business (Google Maps or Local Results or Google My Business) only makes sure you are among all those clinics who are listed with Google. You got the admission. Now you have to rank!

How To Improve Your Clinic's Rank On Google Maps?

This is a million dollar question! Literally. It is beyond the purview of this article to provide every single detail of the process, but I will give you the most important rules. Rest you can self-learn in your free time reading up this article. I may subsequently write my own guide in future!

1. Your Google My Business Profile ~ Invest time perfecting your profile on GMB. Choose the correct category. In this case “Dental Clinic”. Write a neutral business description of your practice without any hyperbole. Add lots of high quality images, including the interior and exterior of your clinic, your staff, yourself of course!

2. Collect Reviews ~ Reviews are the cornerstone of your success in Google local search ranks. More reviews, better reviews and review velocity (number of new reviews for a given time period) helps you rank higher. And lastly, respond to the reviews without fail, both positive and negative.

3. N.A.P Consistency ~ N (Name) A (Address) P (Phone). From now on, wherever you are going to mention your Name, Address, Phone, be consistent. Not even a slight variation such as Center Vs Centre. Road Vs Rd. You get the drift.

By including your clinic business in online Yellow Pages, Local Directories, Facebook Page, you send signals of authority to Google. More online places mention your clinic, higher your authority.

If you have a website, then mention the same N.A.P in the Contact Us page. Embed Google Maps location to your clinic if you can or have your design agency or a gig worker from Fiverr do it for you.

4. Active Google My Business Profile ~ You tell Google that your practice is live and kicking by keeping your profile active. Make regular updates to your profile and don’t let it go stale.

You can update your profile with posts such as –
☑️ A new technology in dental treatment
☑️ Case study of a latest treatment with photos
☑️ Oral health tips
☑️ A positive patient testimonial
☑️ Before/After photos of some treatment such as teeth whitening, dental restorations, treatment of crooked teeth, and so on. You know it best. You are the expert!
☑️ Offers, deals and discounts if applicable
☑️ Information on any free dental camps

Now, there are other factors that determine the ranks such as your website’s Relevance (Quality content with right keywords) and Popularity (Backlinks). But, it is not mandatory to have a website to participate in Google My Business. It is a good to have, not a must have. Once you have covered the above four aspects, you may go down this path.

How To Create Google Search Ads

Remember this screenshot?

Now we will learn how to create such ads on Google

This is where Google gets its revenue. But in the process, gives you a shortcut to visibility in a matter of hours or days.

Every time someone clicks on these results, you pay Google a fee. It is called Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads.

You manage it through Google Ads interface (https://ads.google.com)

Use the same Google Account you used for Google My Business.

After logging in, you will see a prominent New Campaign button.

Going over every step of the process makes this article too long, besides, it is no rocket science! Please watch the below video from Google itself that takes you through the steps. I will add a few points after you have watched the video to make a few points clear and some suggestions from my experience.

1. When you select Store Visits goal for your new ad campaign, you will qualify yourself for showing up above the Three-Pack on Google search –

and in Google Maps search

2. Performance Max option gets pre-selected. Performance Max is a new module from Google that lets DIYers get the maximum from Google Ads, without the deep knowledge of Google Ads.

3. Conversion Goal is what Google shows in its report as the result of your campaign that matters to you. If you have set-up your Google My Business (GMB) account properly, the goals must have been pre-selected for you. Such as Contacts and Get Directions.

4. Under “Choose Locations“, select your business (You set it up in GMB). The other options are for businesses with multiple locations.

5. Budget – Keep a minimum budget. For India, Google lets you keep as low as Rs.80 a day. I suggest you keep it Rs.100. After the campaign has run a few days, you may gradually increase the budget. At this point, the new enquiries should justify the increase in budget.

6. Automatically Created Assets – Let Google create assets automatically. It is particularly helpful for image ads. Assets are basically the text associated with the ad and images/videos. You can always write your own text for ads if you are not happy with what Google has suggested.

7. If you have uploaded images and videos in your Google Business account, they will be available for you to select in Assets.

8. More Asset Types – In this section, make sure you add your contact number under Calls. It will display your number under your ad and from a mobile, one can click the number to call you directly.

9. Audience Signal – You may skip it for now, as this is part of advanced ad techniques.

Generating Inquiries from Social Media

Now we come to the second digital space from our list of three. We have completed Google.

Social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn etc can be potential sources of new enquiries. But, for a stand-alone dental clinic, I wouldn’t suggest using Social Media primarily for generating new enquiries.

Unlike Google, Social Media is a Push medium. You show your brand before your ideal audience and hope they get interested and contact you.

However, Social Media is a great Nurture medium. You stay in the top of the mind recall of your existing clients with regular updates.

I will cover social media when I talk about Nurture part of the challenge we spoke about at the beginning of this article.

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Convert

Getting traffic to your website and visits to your Local store on Google is one thing. But, converting them to visit your clinic or make a phone call is equally important.

Suggestions To Convert Inquiries Into Clients

1. Get more and better Google reviews

A dentist profile as in the example above is quite appealing to a prospective customer. He/she looks for social proof, so that he/she can be fairly sure of a good treatment.

In the beginning, reach out to your old patients who are happy with the treatment you provided. Share the short review URL (Explained earlier), requesting a review.

[Warning! – asking for a positive review in exchange for anything of value is against Google’s terms.]

This article provides a comprehensive guide on getting reviews. I am not going to elaborate it further.

I strongly suggest subscribing to a CRM tool such as ZOHO or Mailchimp (Mailchimp Free account will be sufficient initially) and using it in your day to day activities will go a long way when you reach thousands of customers.

2. Display the reviews on your website (If you have one) through a simple plugin such as this one.

3. Embed Google reviews on your Facebook Page through a Facebook Widget. I will discuss Facebook page later in this article.

4. Keep adding images/videos of treatments, procedures, oral health tips, patient testimonial to your Google My Business profile as discussed earlier.

5. Add an Appointment Scheduling feature to your website with a free WordPress plugin.

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Nurture

Now we come to the last phase of our digital marketing for dentists!

“Loyal customers, they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you, they insist that their friends do business with you.”

~ Chip Bell

Now that you have done your best in providing an honest and best treatment possible for your patients, we will see how to keep your existing patients coming back to you, while you are also trying to get new ones.

1. Social Media To Engage & Source Clients

As I mentioned earlier under “Social Media to Generate Inquiries“, I will cover here how you can leverage social media as Generate and Nurture medium.

Facebook / Instagram

The average age of active Facebook users is higher compared to Instagram. Instagram is very popular with young audience. I would prefer a larger engagement on Facebook compared to Instagram for this reason, for, both an average older patient and the decision maker for a youngster, are both likely to be more active on Facebook.

However, for this article, I will talk about both Facebook and Instagram, because, both being a part of Meta, allow for cross-posting. That is, you can push an update on both Facebook and Instagram in one go.

Besides, they both share a common Ad Platform, so that you can run campaigns on both simultaneously without doing double the work.

Creating Facebook Page

Facebook Page or Business Page, is the profile of a business on Facebook. This is how the Page of popular dental chain, Clove Dental looks –

It is quite simple to create a Facebook Page. You already have the logo and image assets. Please follow this guide to create a Facebook Page.

If you do not have the time to create one yourself, you can get professional help at a reasonable cost from freelancers in Fiverr. You can have one of the freelancers do it for you starting from $5!

You will be creating the page while being logged-into your personal Facebook profile. However, no one will know whose personal profile is used to create a Page. Your personal privacy is protected.

Creating Instagram Business Page

Similarly, follow this beautiful guide to create an Instagram Page for Business.

Link Facebook Page with Instagram

Head to your Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/PageName), click Settings on the left side menu under Manage Page (Desktop), and click Linked Accounts.

Follow the instructions to connect Instagram Page to your Facebook Page.

By linking your accounts, you become eligible for cross-posting between Facebook and Instagram.

Now that we have set-up our core social media pages, we will turn our attention to leveraging them for Nurturing and Generating clients.

List Of Activities to Nurture & Grow Your Clients

1. Invite your Facebook and Instagram friends to like and follow your page. Facebook encourages you to do this when you have first created your pages.

2. Add your Facebook and Instagram handles on all your printed materials. Such as business cards, pamphlets, brochures, signage etc.

3. Link to your pages from your website. Most of the WordPress themes will have provision for adding them, usually in the footer.

4. Add the page handles to your email signature

5. Politely request your patients to follow your pages after the successful completion of the treatment. A personal request can go a long way!

6. Keep updating your business pages with posts that make it worthwhile for someone to follow your page.

7. Add #hashtags to your posts. They will help you get found by people. Here is a useful tool to generate hashtag ideas. I typically use a minimum 1 and maximum 3 hashtags.

8. Create posts where a minimum 50% of them should be non-brand related. Only 10% of the posts should be promotional.

You can post educational content, before/after photos, staff profile (People love to know the persons who are behind the show!), seasonal advise, show the equipment you use, patient testimonials, case studies of procedures recently done, and so on.

9. From time to time, Boost some posts. Facebook algorithm is reducing the reach of your post reach to your Page followers (Fans), and encouraging businesses to Boost the posts, which is of course their revenue mandate.

For as low as $5, you can boost a post. You can target all your Page followers and also non-followers in a defined locality of your city.

This is how it looks when you select the audience you want your post to reach

Advantage audience utilizes Facebook’s AI and data to determine the best audience for your practice.

People you choose through targeting lets you decide which locality of your city, gender, age, interests, demography etc of the audience you want your post to reach.

People who like your Page lets your post reach all your page followers

People who like your Page and people similar to them, as the name suggests, broadens the scope of your reach.

This is the most basic Facebook ad set up and it should be good for most dental practices. Using Facebook Business account and Ads Manager, gives you more control over your reach such as Retargeting and Lookalike audiences, but we will not cover them here.

10. Encourage people to like and comment your posts and reply to them diligently. Answer the messages your page gets as soon as possible. If you have support staff in your clinic, train them to respond. Facebook increases the organic reach of pages that are active and have good engagement with the audience.

11. Look up “Insights” link on the left menu to see how your posts are performing.

2. Email Newsletters and Communication

Newsletter marketing is easier than it sounds. It leverages the value of your existing patient database to generate repeat business, cross-selling and up-selling.

At the most basic, sign-up for Mailchimp. Mailchimp lets you save the database of your patients with their email, name, phone, birthday etc. It allows you to use a “Tag” for each person in the database. You can use this tag to label a patient based on the treatment provided.

On paid plans, you can use multiple Audience list. Audience is nothing but a list of people with their details. You can create different audience for new patients and existing patients, so that you can tailor the message for each group.

If you are not maintaining the database of your patients in a spreadsheet (Such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets), then please start doing it now. You can have your assistant enter the details from the Patient Registration form.

At the very least, the spreadsheet must contain the following details –
First Name, Last Name, Age, Gender, Phone, Treatment. Additionally, you may also include DoB, Address, and Treatment Value.

Once you have the database of all your patients, import it to your Mailchimp account.

This guide gives you the steps to create a Mailchimp account. This video shows how to import your spreadsheet to Mailchimp.

After the initial set-up, you can make it a habit to import or manually add new patients to Mailchimp regularly.

Now you have set-up Mailchimp account, have created the database of your patients, and regularly add new patients to the database. Next what?

Newsletter Marketing Explained

It is time to take advantage of your digital database of your patients through regular newsletters. Newsletters are delivered through emails. Mailchimp has a range of newsletter templates, which you can edit and customize. A template looks something like this –

You can use newsletters for a wide variety of reasons. Such as –

• Promotions & Special Offers
• Oral Health Tips
• New Services, Procedures, Equipment & Technology in your clinic
• Patient Success Stories
• Introduction of a New Staff Member in Your Clinic
• Dental Care for Children & Seniors
• Dental Myths & Facts
• Dental Emergency Care & First Aid Tips
• Seasonal Dental Health Tips
• Send Dental Checkup Reminders on one’s Birthday, while wishing on the Birthday

Sending a Newsletter through Mailchimp is called a Campaign. The below video shows you how to run this campaign –

Essentially, newsletter marketing is treating your patients as members of your family and giving them reasons to keep coming back to you for all their oral health needs.

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