5 Ways to Build Community in 2017
June 22, 2017 - David Hall
Category: Marketing
Dentists have an advantage that many small businesses do not. People have to see a dentist. They may not like it, but they will eventually step foot through your doors. The great part is, through a few marketing tricks, and a friendly staff, you can create a community of patients that actually love coming to you!
One great way to show your potential patients that you’re the dentist they should be seeing-is through community outreach. Not only does being involved in your community fulfill your civic duty, but it builds trust with your patients. And if there’s one thing we at IDW stress, it’s building trust!
Building a loyal following through your community is pretty easy nowadays with technology. The key is getting people involved! Here are 5 ways to use content to get people involved in your business. Some of these can be done in house, and others your wonderful marketing team can help with! (That’s IDW by the way!)
Interactive Content
Games, quizzes, and places where people can give their general feedback are one great way to build community. Giving people an outlet to give their opinion on something your practice is doing is a surefire way to make them feel like they have a place in your community! Just make sure you have a trusted employee, or marketing agency, watching the comments section!
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is by no means a new idea, it just has a fancier name now. For years cereal brands have been splashing NBA players all over boxes to drive up sales. How can a dental practice use this idea? Reach out to local media influencers and ask them if they’d like to come in to tour your practice, or for a free whitening treatment. By giving away just one treatment, you gain a well known persons influence, and endorsement! Think local newscasters, social media influences, and even state sports players!
Video Content
Patients and customers will consume video content more than any other type of content in 2017. In fact we’ve touched on this before at IDW! There are many different ways to incorporate video into your practice’s every day. Video allows people to see the personality behind a practice, and its welcoming atmosphere.
Live Streaming
Live streaming, or the act of creating a video with no editing and in real time, is the end all be all of video for 2017. From Facebook to Instagram, all social media is getting on board with it- and for good reason. Facebook’s like and comment features during a broadcast allow patients to directly interact with you during your video. This makes it great for Q&A’s and just generally getting to know your audience. You can also use this feature to your advantage when you have out-of-office excursions. By live streaming a staff member’s baseball game, or a Habitat for Humanity project you will gain trust and credibility with your patients.
Personalization
Coke did it right when they started printing names on the front of their bottles. Who hasn’t spent an extra 30 seconds looking to see if the local Circle K has your bottle? Why do we love this marketing campaign so much? It’s because from birth we’re always trying to find products, brands, information that speaks to us. And by putting our name on something-you really are speaking right to us!
How can you use this technique? Specialized texts, calls and emails for appointment follow ups. Or get super creative and make personalized stickers, treatment boards, and always make sure to tag patients in any social media posts!
With a little extra work your practice can creating a booming, and supportive community! Having patients that are willing to interact with you and share your information is a great way to make sure your chairs are always filled.