Though we hear a lot about avoiding pushy dental social media marketing, we should not forget that you DO have a following—no matter how big or little—who appreciate who you are and what you provide. It’s acceptable to ask for their assistance from time to time. Remember the definition of Community-Driven Dental Marketing? “Cultivating and enabling ‘fans’ who willingly share your story with their trusted, highly-scalable, permission-based social networks.”
People who like business pages can choose to opt-in or out of notifications
Facebook and Instagram have enabled users to choose whether or not they wish to be notified when their favorite Pages publish has been appreciated. It aids users (somewhat) in bypassing the algorithm Facebook uses to determine what material people want to see.
What does this mean for your dental social media marketing? It means that if you can convince patients and prospective patients that your content is worthy of their attention, they may opt-in to being notified every time you post something on Facebook or Instagram
Action Items:
Here are a couple of easy things you can do today to encourage your Facebook and Instagram fans to opt-in to receiving notifications from your practice.
1. Use Your Blog To Invite
If you’re one of our clients, we’ve already communicated this to your patients. If you’re not one of our clients it’s easy to set up a blog. We recommend WordPress. Once you have the blog set up, create a post like the one below and start spreading the word to your patient base. Use all the tools in your dental social media platform, including email, to get the word out!
2. Use Your Facebook Page To Invite
Post and invite to allow notifications on your Facebook marketing page inviting you patients and prospective patients to opt-in to getting Facebook and Instagram notifications when you post.
Notifications for a new post will show in your Facebook Notification area. In the web, mobile, or mobile app versions of Facebook, a red square with the number of new notifications that you have not yet viewed appears at the top of your page in the top right corner. Simply click on the Notification globe button to see a brief overview of each and every new notification.
If you have more than one Notification, Facebook will list them in chronological order, newest first. If you hover over the right side of a Notification, three horizontal dots will appear.
Adrian Lefler is the CEO and Co-Founder of My Social Practice and a recognized dental marketing expert with nearly two decades of experience. He is a trusted voice in dental marketing, AI in dentistry, and emerging technology, and he hosts BYTE SIZED, a podcast focused on dental AI, innovation, and technology.
