7 Marketing Strategies for Orthodontists
If you’re an orthodontist, you know that it’s no simple task to find new orthodontic patients. So, how do busy and successful orthodontists fill their schedules? What are the best marketing strategies for orthodontists?
It’s a fact that we all need to face: people are virtually always online. That means that whenever a potential patient wants to look for an orthodontist they go straight to their smartphone or computer.
Your orthodontic practice’s online presence is crucial for establishing credibility and attracting new patients. Orthodontists have increasingly needed to employ digital marketing techniques as time has gone by.
If you’re not sure about the role marketing strategies for orthodontics will play in your growth, it’s time to pay attention.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t worry. These 7 brilliant marketing strategies for orthodontists are the easiest place to start!
1. Post Engaging Social Media Content
Through creative and engaging unique content, you can reach potential patients and existing patients. Whether it’s to promote your services and products or to build rapport, your social media pages are the place for it. The most efficient marketing techniques for orthodontists include consistent social media posts. Digital social media marketing helps you be seen as an authority in orthodontics and aids in the development of confidence among your patients.
With the right approach, your orthodontic practice's social media presence could be your most powerful marketing asset.
Make sure your practice has a variety of content on your social media pages
- Photos of your orthodontic team
- Educational videos
- Before and after images
- Fun holiday and birthday celebration posts
- Images of events in your local community
- Giveaways
- Photos with happy patients
- Team member spotlights
- Videos that show your practice’s culture
It’s not just about how many likes you get when marketing your orthodontic practice. Orthodontic marketing is all about providing prospective patients a peek into your office. It’s also about giving them an idea of what kind of patient experience they may anticipate from you and your team.
2. Have a Local SEO Strategy
The of most orthodontic marketing specialists is to improve the search engine ranking of their orthodontic clients. Did you know that 67% of possible new patients never scroll past the first page in organic search?
In reality, the majority of people just browse Google’s top three results. Higher rankings for particular orthodontic keywords boost website traffic and new patient phone calls. Do you know where your orthodontic practice ranks in your local area?
When looking for a local orthodontist on Google, a map location is generated with all the nearby orthodontists. Most information a new patient needs is listed in the Google listing, such as an address, business hours, phone number, website, reviews, average review rating, main service, etc., making it easier for the person searching to their answers and become your newest patient.
67% of possible new patients never scroll past the first page in organic search, making it critical you rank in the top 3 results in the map.
The ranking of your Google map position has to do with how well you’ve optimized your Google Business Profile as well as you website. A well-optimized GBP and website will result in not only a higher ranking but you’ll also be found by patients searching from further away.
The key to understanding how Google maps and local SEO rankings work is to run a Google Maps SEO report. A maps report will show you whether or nto your practice is showing up when searched from different neighborhoods around your city or town.
3. Give Your Online Reputation a Boost
An Orthodontists online reputation is one of the most valuable assets. Primarily your reputation is established through patient reviews on Google. The reason Google reviews are so valuable is because Google is used by approximately 90% of all consumers. On the Bing search engine your Orthodontic practices Facebook reviews are displayed, and on Apple maps your YELP reviews are displayed.
It’s important to ask your best patients for Google reviews. If you don’t ask you’ll not likely get a review. Most reviews that come unsolicited by a Orthodontist or team member are negative reviews. It’s unfortunate but it’s a reality.
You can get more Google reviews by running a in-office Google review campaign. Download our complimentary Google review campaign here.
Orthodontic patients are now more likely than ever to search for online reviews before selecting a new dentist or orthodontist (78%).
It is important to your practice that you collect feedback from your patients. Orthodontists that utilize their online reviews to promote their services reach more patients than those who don’t.
Requesting a review through a text message, while your patient is still in the office, significantly increases the success rate.
There are also several softwares that have been developed that send patients a review request via a text after they’ve checked in for their appointment. This automated approach is extremely helpful when Orthodontic team members become overwhelmed with additional tasks around the office and forget to ask patients for reviews.
The best approach to increase your online reviews is to run a short term in-office campaign a couple times a year. During the times that you’re not running an in-office reviews campaign turn on your automation.
Don’t have automated review texts? We can provide automation.
4. A Well-Designed Orthodontic Website
Almost all Orthodontists have a website and most have a great looking website. Of all the specialities in dentistry Orthodontists need to have an extremely clean and technologically proficient website. Orthodontic patients expect an easy, mobile friendly experience when visiting an Orthodontic website.
The first impression of your practice for new patients will most likely take place on your orthodontic website. There are many things you can do to ensure a positive first impression.
Optimize your website for better user experience with lightning-fast load times and ensure it’s super simple to contact your practice.
When choosing an orthodontic website company, keep in mind that it is absolutely critical that your website is mobile-friendly to support local searches. 86% of local searches are done on a mobile device!
Beyond being great looking and mobile optimized an Orthodontic website needs to be HIPAA compliant and technologically proficient. Most Orthodontic websites are not fully compliant. And that’s not because Orthodontists don’t care, it’s because HIPAA regulations are extremely defined and robust.
For example, most contact and appointment request forms are not compliant because they are not end-to-end encrypted. ePHI must be encrypted at rest as well as in transit.
Secondly an Orthodontic website must meet the requirements of Google and the other search engines technical aspects. Most of the technical aspects that are required relate to speed and user experience. All of the search engines want consumers to be satisfied with the search results. If your website loads slowly, slow enough to irritate a potential patient, then you’ll be rewarded with lower search engine rankings.
It’s important to run a technical SEO report on your Orthodontic site a couple times a year.
5. Utilize Video
Consumers prefer to watch a video then read content. All of the social media algorithms are tweaked in a way to emphasize video content, which is why video is so valuable. This is why TikTok marketing has become such a massive social media platform for Orthodontists.
Video is the most common type of content consumed. When done the right, orthodontic video marketing can generate more responses than any other kind of content.
It’s not necessary to invest in fancy equipment or professional editing to create effective video marketing.
Instagram and TikTok have editing tools in their platforms that help you produce authentic short-form videos for your orthodontic social media profiles.
You don’t need a professional photographer anymore. You can shoot fantastic video content right from your cell phone. Most of the social media tools like Instagram Reels, TikTok and Facebook have video editing capabilities that put software developed ten years ago to shame.
All you need to do is take advantage of trending social media opportunities. One of the best ways to do that is to follow us on out blog. We consistently publish super cool ideas that]and Orthodontists should leverage in their Orthodontic marketing.
To get started with a bit more direction download our TikTok and Instagram Reels Ebook.
6. Host Giveaways and Contests
Some of the best marketing strategies for Orthodontists involve patients. Contest, give-aways and drawings are all great ways to increase reach and improve your online engagement.
Orthodontic contests do not need to be massive. It’s not like giving away cars and trips. Focus on local benefits like tickets to a local movie theater, or gift cards to some of your favorite restaurants.
“How do I get people to pay attention to what I’m sharing on social media?”” is a significant concern among orthodontists marketing their practices online. What’s the solution? The solution is to give something of value and make it enjoyable for patients, fans, and your orthodontic team members to participate in.
This may be done through a variety of social media tactics, such as running a Instagram or Facebook contest or giveaway on a regular basis! Even a ten-dollar gift card is enough to catch the eye of current and potential patients.These 13 fantastic suggestions will guarantee that your page gets lots of attention.
Giveaways and contests provide a big opportunity for orthodontists to reach new patients and build trust and rapport with current patients.
A pro-tip with contest would be to collaborate with another business in your area. When you collaborate you can usually get a blog and social media posts on other business assets which increases your reach.
7. Invest in Paid Promotions
It’s no secret that Facebook and Instagram have turned into pay-to-play platforms. However, when you have excellent orthodontic marketing content and know the few fundamental principles about how to boost posts, you’ll realize that paid promotions (boosting) is an excellent investment for your orthodontic marketing dollar.
Small, targeted investments to increase the visibility of posts can considerably increase your reach and impressions.
On social media platforms your content will have a more difficult time getting through to your audience — even if they follow your page. Even your most loyal patients who like your page may find it more difficult to discover your posts on their feeds.
Adding a little bit of your marketing budget to paid social media or boosting content will go a long way especially if the content is already engaging and sharable.
We Can Help!
Orthodontic patients are educated and know how to do their research. They don’t trust what you have to say about your orthodontic practice online, but instead trust the experience of others. This is why digital marketing for dentists is so important.
The rules of digital marketing and social media for orthodontists have changed considerably in recent years. The old ways are no longer effective. Orthodontists’ use of social media and websites is more than just having them up. In 2022, potential patients are searching for honesty, a personal connection, and a reputable orthodontist based on social proof. Patients want to know who you are before they contact you.
The experts at My Social Practice will develop a strong digital marketing strategy for your unique orthodontic practice and help your practice reach more patients than ever. Chat with an expert today.
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About the Author: Adrian Lefler is a dental marketing expert and a key member of the dental marketing team at My Social Practice. My Social Practice is located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Adrian is passionate about helping dental practices grow. If you’d like to book one of the members of My Social Practice’s speaking team, you can do that HERE.
