Marketing your pediatric dental practice can be a challenge, especially when your attention is pulled in different directions. Between finding new patients and following up with existing ones, pediatric dental marketing tends not to be on your priority list. But actually, marketing and advertising are essential to the growth of your pediatric dental practice.
Because there are not many dentists trained in children's dentistry, pediatric dentistry has become a unique field. Often, parents take their children to a family dentist because they are not aware of the experience pediatric dentists offer. So how do you make your pediatric dental practice more visible to parents of young children? Many pediatric dentists are using digital marketing to reach their target audience and increase leads.
Successfully marketing your pediatric dental practice requires a combination of the right advertising and marketing strategies to achieve your business goals. Do you want to get more referrals? Do you want to attract parents who are looking for a pediatric dentist for their children? Or simply an increase in new patients for your pediatric dental practice?
Marketing your pediatric dental practice can increase your practice's online visibility, improve its brand image and connect you with a larger target audience. With a solid dental marketing plan, you can get more patients in your waiting room.
To help you get started, here are some creative pediatric dental marketing ideas that will make it easier for your potential patients to find your practice.
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Pediatric Dental Marketing Platform Ideas
A digital marketing strategy includes many moving parts; successful patient acquisition, patient loyalty, practice workflow, and online reputation are 4 critical elements to building your pediatric dental practice.
Invest in a pediatric dentistry marketing platform that integrates everything pediatric dentists need into a cohesive system, including:
- A high-performance website
- Search engine optimization
- Online scheduling
- Dental online reputation management
- Parent and patient satisfaction surveys
- Automated SMS reminders and confirmations
- Email, social media, and blog campaigns
- Telehealth options
- Integration with your existing EMR
Pediatric Dental Marketing Strategies
The most effective pediatric dental marketing strategies take into account what parents want when searching for a pediatric dentist. At every stage of their search journey, you're more likely to attract patients when you:
Appear in online searches. Although parents begin their search for a pediatric dentist by asking friends and family for recommendations, at least 75% of them will search online. So it's important to have a dental online reputation that will get your practice noticed.
Connect with a convincing website. When you meet someone in person, he summarizes your appearance and decides if you are trustworthy in less than a second.
When parents arrive at your pediatric dental website, you have a little more time - about 10 seconds - to make a good impression and convince them to trust you with their children's dental care. That's why careful website design and quality content are the foundation of your online presence.
To engage parents and get them to make an appointment, your pediatric dental website should load quickly and offer intuitive navigation. Parents should be able to easily find the information they need and then connect with you with a clear call to action.
Post online reviews. Positive reviews strongly influence parents' decisions. In a patient survey, 74% of patients said positive reviews were very or extremely important when choosing a healthcare provider online. Ideally, highlight the volume of positive reviews your pediatric dental practice receives, and be sure to keep adding recent reviews.
Develop integrated communication. In today's digital world, parents value online communication. Pediatric dentists who communicate using digital technologies are more likely to achieve exponential growth, as dental patients want easier ways to contact and communicate with their healthcare providers. For example, 66% of patients prefer text messages for appointment reminders.
Offer online services. Parents appreciate the convenience and time savings of online booking and registration, as well as telehealth services. Automated appointment reminders and online bill payments also make parents' lives easier. Technology also allows your staff to work more efficiently.
Pediatric Dental Marketing: SEO Strategies
SEO (search engine optimization) makes it easier for your website to be found when parents search for a pediatric dentist online. A solid SEO strategy allows your pediatric dental website to rank high in the list of search results, allowing you to attract more parents to your website.
The best techniques to achieve consistent results in pediatric dental practice development are:
Keyword optimization. Your pediatric dental website should contain keywords and phrases that reflect or match the way parents search online. Parents often search broadly for "pediatric dentists" or "special needs pediatric dentists," for example. But if they know their child has a dental problem, they will likely search for specific conditions, symptoms, or services, such as "toothaches," "braces" or "when should my child have his or her first dental visit."
Internal website links. Internal links on your website allow parents to easily navigate to all of your web pages. It is recommended that you create separate web pages for each pediatric dentistry service or procedure you offer. When organizing your content, the best practice is to create logical links between the different pages. Smart internal links establish your expertise and make it easier for search engines to find relevant pages, which can increase your visibility in online search results.
Improved backlinking. Links to your pediatric dental website from other trusted websites (such as other medical practices or child health organizations) can also improve your search engine rankings and help you position yourself as a trusted authority on pediatric dentistry. You can ask child-related businesses to link to your website or write articles for relevant publications that include a link to your pediatric dental website.
Frequently published content. A new webpage or blog makes your content more relevant, which improves your SEO and search results. Stick to a regular blog publishing schedule so that you always have fresh content to increase your visibility and help parents become familiar with your services and expertise.
When you publish a blog post that regularly addresses children's dental health, you're more likely to attract new dental patients and retain current ones.
Tactics to Build Your Online Presence
Build and maintain an active online presence to give yourself a competitive advantage. Highlight your website, blog posts, social media content, and online business profiles to demonstrate how your pediatric dental services are unique from other pediatric dentists in your area.
Additionally, online and digital communication through website resources, blogs, emails, and text messages has the potential to transform pediatric dental care. This is critical, considering that:
20 percent of children under five years of age have dental caries
Approximately 50 percent of children ages 6 to 19 have dental caries
74% of parents do not take their children to the dentist until their first birthday
The transformational power of online communication was recently demonstrated by an urban pediatric dental clinic. The clinic recruited parents to receive regular text messages about children's dental issues, such as sugary drinks, fluoride, and brushing. Participating parents were more likely than the control group to brush their child's teeth twice a day, and their attitudes toward scheduling regular dental checkups improved.
Pediatric Dental Content Marketing Ideas
Quality content can help your pediatric dental practice differentiate its services and expertise. Digital content marketing includes sharing posts on social media, provider blogs, email campaigns, and informative videos on your website. The versatility of content marketing allows your pediatric dental practice to reach parents of children of all ages, depending on the procedures and services you want to highlight. You can also reach parents using seasonal or regular email campaigns and text messages. For example, you can send an email to parents encouraging them to schedule regular dental cleanings for their children or remind them of the need for orthodontics during their pre-teen years.
Pediatric dentists who regularly publish engaging content can reach more parents who appreciate timely information about pediatric dental technologies that make treatments less noisy and more enjoyable for children, as well as tips on daily dental care.
Creating and publishing content can seem tedious, but there are many topics to choose from to offer your expertise and ideas. Here are some topics to discuss:
Teeth cleaning for kids
Dental exams
Orthodontics
Braces
Invisalign®
Cavities
Veneers
Sealants
Baby teeth
Tooth decay
White fillings
Fluoride treatment
Root canal
Nitrous oxide
Oral surgery
Laser dentistry
Tooth extraction
Mouthguard
General anesthesia
Early dental care
Special needs dentistry
Emergency dentistry
Airway dentistry
Cosmetic dentistry
Holistic dentistry
Biological dentistry
Pediatric dental checkup
Within these general categories, there are also more specific topics to address. For example, you can focus on answering parents' frequently asked questions about oral healthcare and nutrition or addressing concerns about early tooth decay.
Best Dental Advertising for Dentistry Professionals
Don't neglect the opportunity to attract more dental patients to your website through paid online advertising.
Both Facebook and Google allow you to target your ads and create online ads that fit your marketing budget.
Advertising on Facebook
The Pew Research Center reports that 69% of Americans use Facebook. The numbers are even higher in the age group commonly targeted by pediatric dentists because they are likely to have children: 77% of adults ages 30 to 49 use Facebook.
When buying advertising on Facebook, start by defining your advertising goals. You can design your ads to increase brand awareness or drive people to your website to book an appointment. You can also generate hot dental patient leads from advertising by asking people to request information or sign up for a newsletter.
Include videos, images, or calls to action in your Facebook ads. You can also offer an exclusive deal, such as a one-time discount for new dental patients. In brief, Facebook ads are flexible and can meet the changing goals of your pediatric dental practice.
Advertising on Google
When you advertise your pediatric dental practice on Google, the ad appears above the search engine results. Your ad looks just like any other search result, except that the word "Ad" appears next to the listing.
This automatically puts you and your practice's website at the top of the search results when a parent searches for a pediatric dentist. Link your ad to particular keywords to get targeted results. Google uses a (PPC) pay-per-click system, so you only pay when someone clicks on the ad to learn more about your pediatric dental practice.
When your ad is complemented by an SEO-optimized website with relevant content and clear calls to action, you are more likely to convert parents and their children into potential dental patients.
Dental Online Reputation Management
Is your pediatric dental practice the subject of a negative review that negatively impacts your business? When potential patients are searching for a pediatric dental practice, they often look to Google reviews or other platform online reviews for suggestions. Potential dental patients are more likely to trust online reviews and testimonials than paid advertising campaigns. Dental Online reputation management is essential for pediatric dentists, as it helps them strengthen their relationships with existing and potential patients.
Patient reviews play a critical role in growing your business. Nearly three-quarters of patients rely on digital reviews to choose a healthcare provider, and 69% would not consider visiting a doctor with an average star rating below 4.0 out of 5.
Less than a third of providers think reviews play an important role in growing their pediatric dental business, but you can't afford to ignore online reviews. When you maintain and manage reviews, you gain a strategic advantage over your competitors.
Dental patient reviews may worry you because you can't control what people post. However, there are specific tactics you can use to boost your dental online reputation.
Here's how:
Evaluate your dental practice. Evaluate your practice from the patient's viewpoint. The type of review parents write starts the moment they walk into your pediatric dental office. Is your waiting room bright and child-friendly? Does the front desk staff smile and make every patient and parent feel welcome? How long do patients wait to see the hygienist or dentist? What steps do you take to relieve children's anxiety and provide a positive experience? If you fall short in any of these areas, you are likely to get a negative review no matter how the dental exam goes.
Ask for parental reviews. The best practice is to send automated satisfaction surveys via text or email shortly after each visit. This serves two purposes. First, parents who are asked for feedback are twice as likely to submit a review online. Second, reading patient feedback gives you the opportunity to learn about and respond to their suggestions for improving your practice.
Complete your online business profiles. To improve your reputation and search engine rankings, complete your online business profiles and keep the information up to date. Your online visibility skyrockets when you claim your business profile on Google (Google My Business), Yelp, Healthgrades, WebMD, and other popular sites.
Add great photos of providers and staff, provide details about your services, and include a profile with the details parents want to know when choosing a dentist for their child.
Improve your star rating. If you only select one business profile, use Google My Business. Google has 87% of the market share, so parents are more likely to see reviews of your pediatric dental practice on Google.
Respond to negative reviews. Always respond to negative reviews as quickly as possible, ideally the same day they are posted online. A negative review can be an opportunity to regain trust; parents want to be heard if they have a problem with their child's care. You have a good chance of retaining a patient if you respond to their concerns with a thoughtful message online and then follow up directly with the patient (parent) offline. 83% of patients who receive a prompt response are satisfied. In comparison, patient satisfaction drops to 2.8 % when you don't post a response.
Build Your Pediatric Dental Brand
Your brand represents the values and mission of your pediatric dentistry practice. While branding is important for all businesses, it is essential when you specialize in caring for children.
Periodically review your brand to ensure that it conveys exceptional oral healthcare for children, safety, and comfort. Elements that reflect your brand include your logo, website design, and other visual elements that communicate your practice's mission and goals.
A strong, consistent pediatric dental brand image in your content and online communication will help you compete in your local market and stand out to parents.
