Social Media Posts For Dentists: Improving Practice Clout!

Social Media Posts For Dentists: Improving Your Dental Practice Clout!

OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS I’ve written and spoken extensively about dental practice social media marketing and dental social media strategies that successful dentists and orthodontists are using to create more thriving dental practices.

A great dental social media post should include:

1. Visibility & “Share-Ability”
2. Clout, Culture, & Connections
3. Giving & Introspection

I’d like to talk to you a minute about “Clout”.

Improving Practice Clout

Right now, somewhere in the United States, a dentist is getting up in front of his/her dental team and is about to say, “Our most important asset is our people.”

Do you really think he or she means that? What about all of the other assets in a dental practice, like:

1. Your Building

2. Patient Database

3. Cash

4. Hardware and software

5. The longevity of your brand

It’s a fairly disparaging statement because dental employees are not owned like other assets are. This is why the statement of “Our most important asset is our people.” is misleading, and offensive.

No dental team member wants to feel like an object. So, what is a better way to say this? Possibly, “Our dental team is our most important source of influence.” That sounds much better to me, and more on point.

What Is Dental Clout?

In social sciences, clout is the capacity of an individual to influence the actions, decisions, beliefs, and conduct of another person.

When it comes to clout and social media ideas for dentists, they work hand in hand. Your dental team is the first line of action when it comes to improving clout. Those team members are the ones that are most likely to influence your patient database into case acceptance,

You shouldn’t expect to build your clout if you leave your social media dental posts vacant for days on end. Your community clout needs constant interaction (posting) to grow. After working with dental practices for more than 12 years now, my recommendation for social media posts for dentists is to hire a professional.

I’ve often seen a dentist getting started with social media, and things are growing and looking great, but then something happens. With a downturn in the economy, the team member in charge of your dental social media posts leaves the practice a pandemic; the dentist decides to cut the marketing budget. When a shift in the practice happens, it’s common for social media posts for dentists to fade into the background.

We don’t want this to happen. The loss of social media effort can be catastrophic. Consistency is the key with digital dental marketing.

Drs. Middleberg & Gemmi Increase Clout In Unassuming Ways

Dr. Middleberg and Dr. Gemmi really get it when it comes to leveraging social media posts for dentists and dental social media trends to increase the clout of their practice. Many times I’ve noticed dental Facebook and blog posts pushed through their platform where they talk about the things they’re learning to better serve their patients. And, every time they do this I also notice great engagement with their patient base. In this case, over 30 Likes, a number of comments, and still counting…

Two Wrong Assumptions Many Practices Make In Their Dental Social Media Marketing

Over the years I have seen many dental practices make the mistake of wrongly assuming two things:

1. Believing that their patient base knows about and understands all of the services they provide. Au contrair, mon ami! Studies show that most of your patients actually are NOT very familiar with the breadth or depth of your services.

2. Believing that people will not find additional information about these things interesting. Not true, again. Never before in the history of the dental profession has there been so much relevant, useful and engaging content about patient comfort, health, and appearance. And, your patients and prospective patients are already searching, researching and learning about it online. Relating your social media posts for dentists to these subjects will be rewarding.

It’s Not Information Alone, Nor Is It Feelings Alone

Look again at the Facebook post shown above. Prior to powerful dental social media tools and strategies there wasn’t any way to create this kind of mix to connect with, and strengthen your relationships with patients.

Action Item: Simple Social Media Posts For Dentists

OK… Here’s your assignment:

I want you to spend 30 uninterrupted minutes tonight listing all the things you do that increase your clout—the books you read, the continuing education you complete, the professional journals you subscribe to, the organizations your belong to, the lectures you give, the dental conferences or forums you attend, the blogs you read, social media posts for dentists that relate to your personal brand, etc., etc.

Each one of these things includes all the elements needed to tell a story. Your story. Stories that need to be told. Stories that spread.

Now, I want you to pick three things from that list. Once each month, for the next three months, I want you to take one of those and write a simple, short, 200–300 word story about it. Why did you take that CE course? How did you hope it would help your patients? What did you learn? Have you had a chance to use what you learned to improve the life of a patient? Why did you read that book? Where did you hear about it? Why do you belong to that particular dental organization? What benefits do your patients see as a result of your belonging to that group?

You get the idea. These stories have been unfolding during your entire career. You’ve just never thought about them in this way—and you’ve never had an opportunity to share and leverage them to build your business. These stories are all part of your content strategy.

Be Sure You Have An Integrated Dental Marketing Solution For Sharing These Stories

You can do this. Whether you have a little help from us, or do it yourself by first setting up a simple blog and a Facebook page, the rewards are absolutely worth the effort. You’ll quickly find yourself becoming a social business.

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.