Thiago Carvalho is the founder of Implant Prospect, a dental marketing agency for dental offices.
As a dentist, you probably know how crucial it is to attract new patients to keep your practice growing. But when it comes to advertising, it can be tricky to figure out the best route.
Here are three ways you can advertise your dental services today:
1. Hire a marketing agency.
This is a good route for those who do not have time and want to see solid results. A dental marketing agency can help you get started with SEO (search engine optimization), making sure your practice shows up when someone searches for dental services in your area. On top of that, they have massive databases of potential leads, which means your ads are being seen by the right people.
What to consider when searching for a dental marketing agency:
Track record: It’s important to choose an agency with a track record of helping dentists successfully close big dental cases in volume. Look for a good amount of client testimonials on their website, clear communication on how the process of marketing will work and how much investment is needed for you to successfully start marketing your dental implant services effectively.
Costs: When you hire a company to manage your pay-per-click (PPC) ads (like Google or Facebook ads), they usually charge you a fee every month. The cost of hiring an agency will depend on how much money you’re spending on ads or how much extra help you want from them. Monthly costs tend to vary, but typically stay around 20% of ad spend.
Training: A main factor to consider when hiring an agency is training. Are they able to train your team on how to close big dental cases in volume and get them up and running with the consultation process, dealing with objections and effectively approving dental patients for financing or closing the deal? Make sure they have enough material and staff to support your team’s goals during the process of choosing a dental marketing agency.
Lead Source Tracking: You want to understand where your leads are coming from. Is it Meta ads, Google, organic or any other source? Once you have this information, you and your agency can double down on the sources that are working and invest more money in it, if necessary.
Video Production Team: The quality of your leads will always match the quality of your advertising material. If your agency is using only stock photos and generic images, the same as most dental offices, you will probably get very low-quality leads.
2. Do it yourself.
You could also try to handle the marketing yourself.
If you are on a budget and have the time to do it yourself, you can try your hand at creating your own marketing campaign. Take advantage of a Meta page or Google ads account, and launch a campaign in a few steps by selecting your goals and uploading a few sentences of your offering and photos to be displayed as ads.
A few components to include in your campaign:
Define your offering. This could be a free consultation, a discount amount or easy payment plans.
Create and incorporate high-quality videos and images. These should preferably be made in your office with patient testimonials so that you can reach an audience that will resonate with your practices.
Include messaging about alleviating your audience’s pain points. If it is pricing, make sure you mention that you’re offering flexible pricing payments. If it is quality, highlight the high standard of the materials and the guarantees you provide.
3. Use plug-and-play software.
There are also plug-and-play software and services where you simply set your advertising budget, input your service offerings and define your goals. From there, the software does the heavy lifting.
These tools are becoming more and more sophisticated, using AI to create ads for you and provide automated dashboards to track your results, meaning they can generate quality leads without you needing to be a marketing expert.
Choosing The Best Automated Ad Platform:
Platform Compatibility: Ensure the tool supports the platforms you want to use. Usually, Meta and Google ads are best.
Ease Of Use: Look for a user-friendly interface in which you can just put your budget, upload your offer and have your ads running.
Reporting And Analytics: Ensure that you’ll have reporting on leads and cost per lead and that you will have clarity on how much you are spending to acquire a lead.
Cost: Evaluate the pricing and determine if it aligns with your budget. A lot of advertising platforms have different pricing structures depending on how complex or simple your campaign may be.
Support And Resources: Ensure that you have customer support if any questions arise.
Here are some keywords that you can copy and paste into Google that will help you find an automated yet professional platform to run your ads more effectively:
• Automated Facebook ad platforms.
• AI ad management software.
• Self-service advertising platforms.
• Ad automation tools for small businesses.
• Automated Google and Facebook ad management.
If you’re just getting started with advertising or don’t want to commit to a full-scale marketing agency, this option allows you to dip your toes in the water without too much risk.
Conclusion
Advertising your services isn’t always as simple as it may seem if you are serious about results. It can take time to invest in the right tools, develop your marketing materials and implement systems that will allow your dental office to grow.
Be patient and committed to the process. If financial investment is holding you back, start small with a lower budget, and as your practice grows, you can hire the right partner to help you succeed.
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