Digital Marketing For Dental Clinics – The Human Touch

In business, everything is about strategy.

Opening a new dental clinic needs a strategy. So does a new marketing campaign.

The point is that success rarely happens by chance. You have to align your decisions with a plan for it to work smoothly. And if it doesn’t, you will know what caused the problem so that you can rectify it next time.

The same applies to digital marketing, one of the most useful tools you have for getting more clients for your dental business.

Most people now turn to the internet when they search for services.

If that’s the case, why not make yourself available where your customers spend most of their time, regardless of whether they’re looking for your services or not?

Essentially, that’s the whole point of digital marketing. It’s about using web-based channels to connect with your ideal audience. That way, you will build connections that can later translate to business.

In this article, we share seven digital marketing strategies for dental clinics and how you can put them in place.

1.     Implement Local SEO

Why do digital marketers recommend local SEO for dental clinics? To understand why, it helps to know what it means.

Local SEO is the practice of optimising your web content for it to be relevant to local searches.

Google and other search engines index online content based on factors like relevance. As such, you want your content to appear for search queries with geographical context. These include near-me searches and so on.

Examples of local SEO strategies include;

• Opening and optimising a Google Business Profile. This tool helps you indicate your operating hours, location, and contacts.
• Creating local landing pages. A local landing page is a dedicated webpage within your website that you publish static content to target a specific location.
• Encourage your past clients to leave online reviews. Online reviews can improve local SEO because they mention details like the location of your dental clinic. Check the Ahpra guidelines on testimonials before asking patients for reviews.
• Add location-specific keywords in your content. For instance, if you are writing a blog post, include dental services in [YOUR CITY] for an exact match.

Local SEO is an effective and relatively inexpensive strategy you can adopt for your dental business. Just make sure you have a plan for how to approach it because you might end up not seeing results if you don’t.

2.     Start Content Marketing

Content marketing is a broad form of digital marketing with a long track record. Its primary goals are to educate, entertain, and engage.

People who consume content related to dental services are mostly looking to learn. Therefore, you can invest in creating educational content that informs about various topics related to dental health.

Creating content for various online channels, including social media, websites, and video platforms allows you to establish your dental clinic as a credible service provider.

Content marketing is also about being visible. Brands that publish regularly tend to get more engagement, which can lead to more bookings.

You can also get organic reach if you use the right strategies. Organic reach means appearing in search results without having to spend on advertising. This can be achieved using strategies such as SEO.

3.     Develop Social Media Marketing

Social media has become a key online channel for marketing businesses, especially local businesses like dental clinics.

Your ideal customers have access to the internet and they are spending time on social media. That means you should too.

The common platforms where you’re likely to find your ideal audience are;

• Facebook – Mostly made up of middle-aged audiences, with a strong presence of users aged 35-65. It’s ideal for building brand awareness and community engagement.
• Twitter – Popular among younger, tech-savvy users (18-34 years), Twitter is great for real-time communication, news sharing, and direct interaction with your audience.
• Instagram – Attracts a younger demographic, particularly millennials and Gen Z, with a strong focus on visual content. It’s effective for brands targeting lifestyle, fashion, and beauty markets.
• LinkedIn – Mostly used by professionals, with a focus on business, networking, and industry-related content. Ideal for B2B marketing and professional service providers.
• TikTok – Dominated by Gen Z and younger millennials, TikTok is a strong platform for viral content, trends, and short-form video marketing.
• YouTube – With a diverse user base across all age groups, YouTube suits long-form video content and educational material. It’s a key platform for product demos, tutorials, and entertainment.

So, if you have a specific target audience, you can focus on the platform that closely aligns with them. The good news is that a dental clinic caters to a large demographic. This means your chances of winning with social media marketing are increased.

The main goal of social media marketing is not marketing in the traditional sense. It is about building a community. Over time, some of that community will become patients.

4.     Invest in Paid Advertising

Paid advertising is another digital marketing strategy you can use for your dental clinic. It involves setting up and running adverts on various online channels.

The goal of paid adverts is to bypass the organic ranking and get recommended to the user. That means you will have to pay either the social media platform or search engine you want your advert shown.

Types of paid advertising include;

• Google Ads – Best for high-intent keywords
• Social media ads – Best for brand building
• Display advertising – Best for remarketing campaigns
• Remarketing ads – Best for retargeting
• Influencer marketing – Best for brand association

As you can tell, each type of paid advertising is created for a specific type of platform or online channel. Therefore, the approach you use must be different and follow the ad guidelines for the platform.

The good thing about paid advertising is that you can target a specific demographic. For instance, Facebook lets you define your audience when setting up ads. This helps you reach the type of clients you want.

Tip: Use paid advertising sparingly.

This means you should not rely too heavily on this form of digital marketing for your dental clinic. Many people dislike ads and see too many of them as spam. Therefore, you might ruin your credibility over time.

5.     Optimise Your Website

Website optimisation is more than just using a bunch of keywords to make it visible in search results. It’s also about improving the user interface for a better user experience.

For one, if your website is not mobile-friendly, you’re losing a lot of business. Many people now browse on their phones.

A website that loads slowly or does not display properly on a mobile phone will turn visitors away.

You might be wondering how this is a digital marketing strategy for your dental clinic. It is because the whole point of digital marketing is to get customers using the internet.

Therefore, if your website does not have an intuitive UI, is slow to load, or is not optimised for mobile, you need to get in touch with professional web designers for help. It will be worth the investment.

Lastly, make sure your website has clear CTA buttons for better conversion. CTA stands for call to action and it gives directions to web visitors to take desired action.

6.     Practise Online Reputation Management

How do you handle negative comments or reviews? The worst thing you can do is ignore them. There will be times when a patient is unhappy with your services.

Typically, they might leave a negative comment on your social media, GBP page, or other channels, detailing what happened. In that case, your online reputation will be at stake.

Online reputation management is a digital marketing strategy that handles such scenarios. In other words, it means being in control of how people perceive you online.

Some common strategies include;

• Handling negative reviews and comments professionally
• Checking the Ahpra guidelines before using any patient testimonials, as they are restricted in health advertising
• Detailing your conflict resolution process

Reputation management is also about fairness. In some cases, you might be misrepresented either intentionally or unintentionally. If this happens, you need to set the record straight so that correct and fair information is on the web.

7.     Build Relationships with Email Marketing

Some people say email is outdated. The truth is that email has been around for some time, but that doesn’t mean it’s outdated. It’s the email marketing strategies that are becoming redundant.

Email marketing shouldn’t only be a sales tool. It should also be used to build relationships with your existing and potential clients. Those relationships can lead to repeat business.

Email can also be used to share news (including discounts and promotions), and important updates. For instance, you can share appointment schedules with your customers because it syncs easily into their calendars for reminders.

Ready to Market Your Dental Clinic Online?

These are seven digital marketing strategies you can use to stay ahead of your competition. Remember that your competitors are likely using the same strategies, so it pays to approach digital marketing in a planned, professional way.

For dental clinics and medical practices in Perth looking for help with all seven of these strategies, see how SLINKY approaches medical and dental marketing in Perth for health practices competing in the local market.

SLINKY is a Perth digital agency, founded in 1998. You deal directly with senior people, with no account managers. Let us handle your digital marketing while you focus on your patients.