Social media can be a great tool for orthodontists since it generates brand awareness, website traffic, and user engagement, all for as little as a few hours per week and at minimal cost.

Social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn should be a key component of any orthodontic practice marketing strategy given how valuable and cost effective it can be as a marketing channel.

If you’re not leveraging social media as an orthodontist, you’re simply leaving money on the table for your competitors.

A lot of orthodontists believe in the power of social media but they’re usually unsure of where to start and also what benefits they can get from investing their time and money into social media optimization.

At Zivvy, we have the expertise required to leverage social media for orthodontists in order to grow their practices.

Top Benefits of Using Social Media for Orthodontists

When done properly, social media can achieve great success for your orthodontist practice. It can create brand ambassadors and drive a high volume of potential patients on a regular basis. In this article we dive in our top 6 benefits of using social media for orthodontic practices.

1. Improved Brand Awareness

When it comes to getting more visibility for your brand, social media can be a very influential tool and a cost effective strategy to get your brand out there in front of thousands of users.

Having a well-crafted social media strategy will increase your brand awareness dramatically given that you’re engaging a broader audience.

You can start by creating your social media profile for your orthodontic practice like a Facebook business page, Instagram page and a LinkedIn business profile. As soon as you’re done, you can start publishing articles and engaging with your fans and followers.

You can post tips about getting braces or Invisalign or other educational content you think may be useful for someone thinking about getting braces or Invisalign. You can even ask your employees to engage on your page by liking and commenting on posts. You can increase your engagement by commenting on their posts as well.

By doing the above you will increase your brand awareness and visibility online. Also, if you post great content, your posts will be shared with many more people which will increase your flow of new patients since they will also find your content useful and engaging.

2. Increased Website Traffic

Social media can also help you reach new prospective patients outside of your usual circle. Every social media platform that you’re active on can contribute to the amount of the traffic your orthodontic practice can receive on a monthly basis.

Each piece of content that you publish including blog posts for example is a new chance to drive more traffic to your website which will result in more new patients and starts for your practice.

This is called organic traffic because these patients reach you naturally through the value of the content that social media offers.

When you invest in social media you can open the gateway to a constant flow of new traffic to your website.

3. Boost Search Engine Rankings

The majority of orthodontists who use social media to market their practices indicate that their search engine rankings improve with greater social media engagement. Google tracks engagement of your website with social media and rewards websites with greater social media engagement.

Like many people, new patients use Google to find more information about your practice and then book an appointment. Dental referrals can be a great way to drive new starts to your practice but search engine optimization for orthodontists is a totally different method and a much better way to keep your business flow going so you can be independent of dental referrals.

If your practice doesn’t appear on the first page of search engines, then it’s time to reconsider your marketing strategy and adjust it to make sure that your practice is on page one of Google for relevant orthodontic keywords that potential patients search for.

One of the best ways to rank on the first page of search engines is to create very informative content with your target keywords integrated in it. This content can vary between blog posts or case studies.

As soon as you start posting relevant content to your social media, your content will be liked and shared with other users and that will widen your audience and directly increase your search engine rankings.

4. Greater Conversion Rates

Once you start seeing better search engine rankings for your website you have a chance to convert these website visitors into patients. Each time you publish a blog post or a case study to your social media, you get a good chance to drive these users to your website and that will increase your organic traffic.

When you actively engage with followers, you give your brand a human element and a personality. Taking the time to respond to comments will develop close relationships with your future patients in a positive way.

Studies have shown that social media networks have a much higher percentage of lead-to-close rate than any other marketing channel. This is a proven strategy to convert users into new patients.

5. Better Patient Experience

Your social media presence can create a voice for your orthodontic practice and that adds a human factor to it. Your future patients will always appreciate receiving a personal response from you instead of just an automated message when responding to their comments.

By acknowledging your patients’ comments and questions, you will create a better patient experience. When your followers have questions or concerns, social media gives you the chance to connect with them and show them compassion.

An orthodontic practice that devotes the time and effort into showing patients that they care will increase patients’ level of satisfaction and will get your practice viewed positively whether you’re responding to a comment or even a complaint.

6. Increased Brand Loyalty

One of the main goals of any orthodontic practice is to increase the loyalty of their patient base. Since brand loyalty and patient satisfaction go together, it’s important to keep engaging with your patients and bond with them.

That is something that social media can also help with since it’s not limited to just introducing your service areas and what you can offer to your patients but also communicating with them In a direct way.

Most patients are more loyal to brands that continually engage with them on social media platforms since all these platforms are built on real communication and orthodontic practices must implement this as one of the main aspects of their marketing strategy.

Final Thoughts

Social media marketing for orthodontists has its advantages. So if your practice doesn’t already have the appropriate profiles, create them! Fill out your orthodontic practice information and post some engaging content to begin gaining followers.

Ask your existing patients, staff, family, and friends to “like” and “share” your page to increase your reach. With consistent efforts, the right social media marketing strategy will lead to better SEO, increased traffic, higher conversion rates, and improved brand loyalty. These days, there are just no reasons not to include social media in your orthodontics marketing strategy.

With the right effort and consistency, social media can help you increase your website traffic and that leads to better SEO. At the same time, social media can help you keep your current patient base happy and attract new ones by personally engaging with patients.

In a nutshell, social media for orthodontists can transform the way you do business in a positive way that leads to overall higher revenue.

Need Help with Your Digital Marketing for Orthodontists?

Zivvy is one of California’s top orthodontic marketing agencies and we have helped many orthodontists triple their number of new starts by using effective digital marketing strategies to boost their web presence and branding.

Give us a call today and claim your free strategy call with one of our orthodontist marketing experts.