19 Brilliant Dental Marketing Ideas to Grow Your Practice

I hate the dentist. I hate going to the dentist more than I love going to the hospital or eating my vegetables. And, due to the fact that I move around a lot, I’m constantly looking for a new dentist for my teeth.

I heard friends tell me horror stories about having trouble finding a dentist, getting fake fillings in their teeth, or being charged exorbitant amounts of money for services they never received. We can all agree on one thing: finding a good dentist is hard.

You may think that getting good clients—and there are a lot of them—is even harder! Here are some smart marketing ideas to make it easier for your potential clients to find your practice.

1. Local Awareness Facebook Ads

While you want to get the word out about your dental practice, it’s important who you’re marketing to. You probably don’t want your practice’s ads to appear outside of a 50-mile radius; if you’re in Pennsylvania and someone in California is seeing your ad, it won’t benefit anyone.

Local awareness ads are a great way to reach a local audience, and now you can use the new map cards to share locally relevant details about your dental business, such as the address, distance to the business, hours of operation, and a “Get Directions” link. Your CTA can also be a call button, an easy prompt to make an appointment.

2. Click-to-Call Ads

The main goal of dental marketing or advertising is to get patients and potential clients to book an appointment, ​​which is usually done by picking up the phone and calling the office. Facebook and Google Ads (formerly known as Google AdWords) offer click-to-call advertising for mobile, desktop, and tablet devices. This extension can be added to existing ads, or you can create a call-only campaign.

3. Mobile Call-Only Ads

According to Google, the majority of healthcare searches are done on smartphones. And one in twenty Google searches is for health information. Don’t forget that. You can create ads specifically for mobile with a call-only campaign through Google Ads.

4. Facebook Demographic Targeting

Facebook has a lot of demographic targeting available, and you can take advantage of it. Besides the obvious, you can also target potential customers based on language, relationship status, employment, income, and interests. Research has shown that 90% of dental purchasing decisions are made by women. To make sure you’re reaching the right people, focus your ads on local women who have recently purchased baby clothing.

5. Appointment Reminders

Whether it’s in the form of a postcard or a phone call, appointment reminders are crucial to ensuring that your patients show up. Simplify this process by emailing appointment confirmations and reminders and using Google Calendar notifications.
You can also easily use these methods to remind your patients to make appointments, i.e., for annual cleanings.

6. Google Ads Income Targeting

Yes, everyone should floss regularly and visit the dentist for annual cleanings. Truth be told, most people don’t. You can target different demographics in Google AdWords according to your income range.

Go to the Settings tab and select “Advanced Locations.”. This will bring up this menu:

Select the “Location Groups” tab, and you’ll see a list of three options. The one you want is called “demographics.”.

Now, select the household income level (or levels) you’re interested in and click the big red “Add” button!

This can be used to target higher-income groups, such as through advertisements for veneers or teeth whitening. People on lower incomes may be more concerned about maintaining their basic health.

7. Remarketing Ads

Remarketing is often described as “easy money.” It helps you reach people who have visited your website (here are some of the best dentist websites) or practice by delivering specific ads focused on re-engaging those potential customers. In your dental practice, if you collect email addresses, you can leverage these through Customer Match on Google Ads and Facebook! To create a remarketing audience, simply upload email addresses. Then, create an ad that encourages patients to come back to your clinic—perhaps as a reminder to whiten or clean their teeth.

8. Facebook Messaging Ad Types

Facebook announced an ad feature that uses Messenger to communicate with businesses. Advertisers will be able to use “Send Message” as a CTA on their ads, which will then take the prospect to Messenger. This is only in beta right now, but it should be fully rolled out soon!

9. Google Maps Ads

An ad on Google Maps can literally take a potential patient straight to your dental practice. When searching for a dental practice, finding the right one is easy.

Speaking of Google Maps, find out how your Google Business Profile and other directory listings look with our free Business Listing Grader.

10. Waze Ads

Like Google Maps, you can also advertise directly on Waze. Because Waze is a community-based application, the ads are a little different; ​​customers near your business will see a “digital billboard” on the map as well as in the search results. They can either visit your dental practice or save the location for later.

11. Emergency Keywords

Two months ago, I found myself searching “emergency wisdom tooth extraction Boston” on Google at 2 a.m. The third-highest-rated result and two other results from Google Maps were my selections, as the first two results lacked a “call” CTA. None of them picked up the call (which was expected), but I made an appointment with the first practice that called me back.

Bidding on keywords like “emergency” or “urgent” is an easy way to get clients with immediate needs and high intent; imagine the return on investment for those keywords! But make sure your practice can handle emergency cases and provide an easy way to contact the practice; otherwise, you may get poor reviews on Google.

12. ZocDoc

If there’s anything Millennials hate more than paying for Wi-Fi, it’s talking to medical professionals over the phone. ZocDoc is a mobile app that helps patients find doctors based on speciality, insurance, location, and availability; it’s almost like booking a doctor’s appointment on OpenTable. It’s in most big cities now—and some smaller towns, too!

13. Yelp

According to a study done in 2014, 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations! I can’t stress the importance of Yelp enough—claim your business! Reviews of your practice are probably already being written; these should be responded to and their authenticity confirmed. Yelp is the first place Millennials look for a good dentist, ensuring you’re getting in front of potential patients.

14. Instagram

Have you ever heard of Dr. Pimple Popper? Although it’s not for the faint of heart, this dermatologist made pimple-popping popular on Instagram. Celebrities advertise teeth-whitening products on their Instagram, and orthodontists show off stunning before and after photos.

Instagram has also become the place to shop. Create an Instagram account for your practice where you can show off your unique techniques and advertise to potential patients via social media. If you update regularly, it will keep your practice top of mind for your followers.

15. Email Marketing

Imagine a world where your patients can email the practice to make an appointment. After the receptionist gives you some possible times, the appointment is scheduled and placed on the calendar. Even better, you can send bills, reminder emails, and cute “we haven’t seen you in a while!” emails this way.

16. Referral Bonuses

The Pride Institute reports that 93% of people trust their friends’ recommendations. Encourage those referrals! Referral bonuses can be used to retain existing clients and expand your practice. Express your gratitude and offer a $10 discount on a dental visit for every referral that makes an appointment! To make this easy, give patients a business referral card at checkout and include it in any mail you send them.

17. Video Ads

As Margot recently pointed out, the healthcare industry is increasingly using video marketing. Don’t miss it! Videos with real people from your practice can help build personal connections with your potential clients, leading to trust, recommendations, and more appointments.

18. Direct Mail

The days of filling mailboxes with postcard ads are not over. Direct mail still works, especially for baby boomers, and it’s a great opportunity to show off your speciality or competitive price points. One practice found that for every 5,000 postcards sent, they received an average of 35 phone calls and 7 new patients. That’s a great return on investment!

19. Local Programmes

As a kid, I played in recreational sports leagues where each team was sponsored by a local business that paid for our team shirts with the business’s logo. Not only can this get your business in front of parents with young children, but you can also give them a free toothbrush and a small postcard with information about children’s dental health. One practice that did this with kindergarten children reported that 70% of parents joined the practice after receiving this information.

Conclusion

Marketing your dental practice may seem difficult, but with the right strategies, you can effectively attract and retain patients. From leveraging local awareness ads and click-to-call campaigns to using social media and email marketing, these 19 great ideas offer a variety of approaches to growing your practice. Remember, the keys to successful dental website marketing are consistency, engagement, and a genuine commitment to providing excellent patient care. Implementing these strategies will not only help you reach more potential customers but also build trust and loyalty among your existing patients.

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