Do you own a dental clinic? Then we know you need a steady stream of new and old customers. We have a long experience of promoting dental practices and we are aware of the high costs of maintaining one. That's exactly why we decided to give you a step-by-step guide on how to promote a dental clinic with little money in the digital environment so that you constantly have potential customers.

1. A website that is adapted to the newest requirements:

You will always start with a website that inspires confidence, you need to create the impression that only experts work in the clinic. Given the fact that it is a private dental office, the website must look, quite simply, flawless. As online, so in the clinic: this is what your customers think. Remember that before calling you, the client will most likely look at the photo gallery and want to know who is part of the medical team, as well as how many years of experience they have behind them. So, focus on each team member (especially their experience: national and international).

2. Content marketing:

We know you have one goal in mind with your website: to get visitors to schedule an office visit. But unsuspected are the intentions of the online searcher. Usually, people online have different agendas. Some want to get information: when the user searches for information, such as how to properly care for the teeth, what type of brackets are the most recommended, what foods stain the teeth, etc.; or, they want to navigate to a specific site; intends to make a transaction – anticipates an action, such as making an appointment.

Tips for creating content that will engage your page visitors:

1. Provide a lot of value – don't be afraid to be generous with information. Potential customers will appreciate your openness and the fact that you always take everything you produce very seriously.
2. Consciously work in an attention grabber - online you need to be dynamic, positive, and brave. Demonstrates a high level of energy and always comes with a friendly approach to visitors.

3. SEO optimization:

Non-optimized site does not appear in search results. Or you made a beautiful, professional, and informative website for nothing if no one visits it. So, SEO is a marketing discipline focused on increasing visibility in organic (unpaid) search engine results. SEO encompasses both the technical and creative elements needed to improve your search results and increase the understanding of your site by search engines. There are many aspects to SEO, from the words on your site page to how other sites link to you on the web.

We recommend that you focus on relevant keywords and optimize at least the basics, such as:

• It starts with a keyword analysis - one of the most important activities in search engine marketing. An effectively performed analysis will positively influence the site's ranking in the top search engine results. So, the purpose of key phrases is to attract the target audience, that is – visitors interested in the content of the site.
• Write Meta tags for each page: Title and meta description Title tag (the title of a page must be an accurate and concise description of the content of that page). It is critical for user experience but also for search engine optimization. The length of the title should be 50-60 characters.
• SEO keywords must come first in the title. Meta description (the meta description tag is a kind of summary of the content of a page). This description can also be seen as a source of "free Search Engine Advertising", you can get a much higher click-through rate (CTR) from users to your page if it sounds good. Length should be 150-160 characters.
• Opt for informative and quality content on the website: a good idea for dental clinics is to promote themselves with useful guides and articles written in extremely simple language that is of real use to website visitors.
• Optimize page load time – this is the page load time for a sample of page views, try not to upload huge files directly to your site (such as large images, PDFs, video files, and other media files).

4. Try to use Google Ads, and especially Google Display

When it comes to promoting your clinic, a good image is certainly very important. Smiling faces and new gear: these are the things your potential customers want to see. A good way is by displaying banners that will link to your site, and their content can be customized according to your preferences.

5. Use retargeting services (Remarketing)

Another effective automated marketing tool is retargeting (or remarketing). While the user visits your site, the special software downloads a small code in his browser, which allows you to monitor him later. Now you know when and which sites your user visits. In the next step, you can follow this user with relevant banners, offers, and discounts on the networks: Google (+ his partners) and Facebook. Some of the messages you can share with those who have already visited your site would be:

• Free consultation/ Free first visit.
• Testimonials from satisfied former customers, on a brand template.
• Limited-time offers and discounts.

6. Do Social Media Marketing

You could have a good organic impact on social networks if you know how to provide useful information. Here's what types of content will work well on your Facebook Page activity:

• Organize an online survey (you can even do it in stories) to find out what your patients would like to find in the waiting room.
• Talk about your team and members' achievements. Don't be afraid to bring up the people who make the clinic's existence and prosperity possible. You can even resort to a little trick here, namely: posting pictures of dentists with their families, children, or pets. Since patients are usually afraid of the dentist, present it in a friendly and humane context.
• Offer "Tips & tricks": tips on how to brush your teeth correctly, how to choose the right dental floss, how many times to brush your teeth a day, etc.
• Post funny dental videos. Why not share some humor too?
• Post pictures of happy customers.
• Don't forget to "brag" about your latest press appearances: share your event participation, conference presentations and articles, etc.
• Use live videos: you can present the clinic and the members in short and pleasant videos.
• Features various curious case studies, only no blood images, please!
• Engage your audience by asking questions.

Asking for reviews from your customers is also part of social media, ask them to leave testimonials. It needs to go right into your company's internal scripts.

7. Paid advertising on social media

Creating a paid ad involves graphics, text content, and a landing page. Be careful, targeting is a complex discipline that is learned over time, otherwise, you could waste serious budgets. If you can't afford to hire someone with experience, limit your daily spending budget to a few dollars at most.

8. Maintain a stable relationship with the press

Send media releases, opinions, research, and solutions. Be persistent with the materials you want to disseminate. In front of the press, you have to establish yourself as an expert in your field of activity, to be added to the list of sources. With the image of a specialist in your pocket, you will be contacted often for comments. Don't forget that dental health is a topic covered extensively in both niche and mainstream media.

9. Keep your information up to date on Google My Business

What your GMB profile must contain:

• Company name;
• Type of business;
• Address;Working hours;
• Phone number;
• Website link;
• Rating, reviews;
• Quality pictures of yourself: uploading personal pictures is also recommended, which will increase the level of trust of potential customers. The following types of pictures must be placed:
  -Profile photo (profile picture);
  -The logo;
  -Cover photo (background picture).

10. Ask for referrals

Sometimes you need to make it clear to people what you expect from them: encouraging patients to leave positive reviews online (on Facebook and in Google My Business) is a good way to do this you show how to do it, step by step. This is the cheapest way to promote yourself and bring new, qualified clients to your clinic.

11. Automate communication with your customers

Another good way to keep in touch with the clientele is to use a CRM and communicate with your clientele constantly: at least once every six months to remind them about scaling and the routine visit to the dentist.

Good luck building genuine and vibrant online communication!