More than 85 percent of Americans believe that oral health is extremely important to their overall health. Now, you would think that it means more patients are available for dentists to tap. But it doesn’t exactly mean that way—dentists still need dental patient marketing strategies because 42 percent don’t see the dentists as often as they should, the Delta Dental Plans Association said.
It is clear that there is no shortage of patients. But what’s even clearer is that patients are not exactly knocking on dentists’ doors and making appointments. Dentists need to put themselves out there. They need to make their presence known. One of the many ways this is effective is to claim the online directories under your name.
Sites such as Facebook, Yelp, and Google My Business automatically generates profiles for businesses. If you haven’t already, you must claim your profile on these platforms. Doing so will allow you to manipulate the information that customers find on those websites. You can make sure that the name is right, as well as the business address and the contact information.
Taking ownership of your profiles on these platforms will also allow you to link them to your website. This is an important method of reaching out to your customers and making your presence known on the internet. When customers or patients search for your name on Google or Bing, platforms such as Facebook, Yelp, and Google My Business will promote the links to the website.
Depending on the platform, you can also allow your customers or patients to leave reviews, ratings, and recommendations. You are also allowed to respond to these reviews and comments. That way, you can stop negative reviews from going viral on social media because you will be able to respond directly to your profile.
Claiming your profile from these platforms is easy-peasy. All you need to do is provide the information that the platforms require such as your business registration and other means of identification. Once you have cleaned these directories, you can use their dental patient marketing features to your advantage. Remember that on Google alone, patients will see first the business listings before the appropriate website and social media page of the dental clinic.
This is also important to manage your dental profession’s reputation. When you have a presence on these directories, patients will automatically think that you are the real deal and that you’re a legitimate dentist registered and licensed to do procedures.