Social Media Tips and Tricks

By Sara Markovic, DDS, MSC

Social Media is a great tool to promote your practice and expand your referral base with minimal effort and cost – so what’s holding you back? Perhaps, the thought of branching out into the metaverse is overwhelming and outside of your comfort zone? Rest assured, you are not alone! The following article will provide some helpful tips and tricks to guide you on your social media journey.

Keep it Simple:

Start with basic content. Showcase your practice with examples of your work. Discuss techniques that you use to retrieve a separated file or locate a heavily calcified canal. Post radiographs and a clinical photo of a complex case you recently completed. Introduce a member of your staff and highlight something unique about their personality. Provide a glimpse into your office culture by sharing photos of holiday parties or birthday celebrations. Sponsor a local team or volunteer for a charity? Share these special moments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Expand your Audience:

Maximize your reach by posting content on multiple platforms like Facebook, Ticktock, LinkedIn, and Instagram. This will allow you tap into a larger network of dentists and prospective patients. Instagram is one of the most utilized platforms due to its reach and ease of use. Instagram is also fully integrated with Facebook so you can sync your posts seamlessly saving you both time and effort. Adding music or including viral trends in your content will catch your audience’s attention but are by no means mandatory.

Content is King:

Create a diverse content library. Use bold and vivid imagery that incorporates your logo. Stay consistent with colors, fonts, filters, and style. Utilize both static and video posts. Video in the form of Reels and Tick Tocks lead to more interactions then traditional posts.  Keep captions concise and videos short. Consider sharing some high resolution images, patient testimonials, and incorporate interviews with you and your staff.

Most importantly, develop a strategy that works for you. Do you prefer a team approach or want to take the lead on all content? Initially, my staff would focus on holiday and office culture whereas I would post on cases and dentistry-related content. This worked well particularly when I was less comfortable with social media. However, a team approach can be time consuming and create inconsistency. As such, it may be easier to designate one person to create the majority of content whether it be you or a team member. Select someone who is both passionate and comfortable with social media and appreciates feedback. Ensure you have a shared aesthetic and understanding of your brand.

 

Plan-Plan-Plan:

Have a clear idea of your brand and what aesthetic and story you want to share. What makes your practice standout? What values are important to you? Do you a have a practice philosophy? Be clear and concise in your message.

Know your audience. Is your primary focus expanding your referral base or speaking to potential patients? Or both? Some have established a huge following by creating humorous and relatable content strictly geared towards other dentists. Great success can also be achieved with before and after pictures of cases aimed at prospective patients. Any of these options are viable. Social media platforms have free analytic tools which indicate which posts performed the best. Using this insights to help you determine what works for you and your practice.

Create a social media calendar starting with key seasonal events & themes. Set aside time to create content on days where you or your staff have some downtime – a last minute cancellation or a week where you are out of the office. A week’s worth of content can be created in just a few hours. Posts can be scheduled in advance using Canva, Instagram, or Facebook. Start with 2-3 posts a week and work up from there.

Creating a social media presence can seem like a daunting task. However, there are plethora of tools and options that you can use to make the process far less painful and time consuming. Start simple, include your team, utilize multiple platforms, and schedule content in advance. Doing so will make a world of difference.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Sara Markovic is endodontist of River Street Endodontics in Toronto. She was named a Save Your Tooth Month “Endofluencer” two years in a row.