There are hundreds of thousands of dentists working across the UK – and the most competitive among them know the value of a dental marketing plan. But even those who pledge their time – and a healthy budget – to an online strategy can still fall short and miss their business goals. Today, our digital marketing experts in Nottingham share some common dental marketing mistakes to avoid.
A Poor Website
Whether it’s the quality of the images and videos, badly-written content, broken links and pages or a confusing, slow-to-load experience, your website is a cornerstone of your digital presence and needs the same care and polish as your dental practice. We’d recommend:
– Investing in a professional photographer or videographer
– Having your website drawn up by a digital designer
– Using a copywriter or content specialist to write, edit and proofread your content
– Establishing your own domain name
– Prioritising fast download speeds and a simple navigation
Ignoring Social Media
We’ve covered our top ideas for advertising on social media in a recent blog post, so you can learn more about the benefits and strategy you’ll need in a more in-depth way. But, as a starter for ten, remember that:
– Social media allows you to target and segment your audience
– You can grow your reach and diversify your client base
– You can advertise organically, use paid ads, or try a combination
– Social media can also give you in-depth analytics for greater business insights
Carving out a presence on social media is absolutely essential for any business – not just dentists – and a key aspect of dental marketing.
Not Keeping Up With The Competition
You need to be keeping tabs on your competition – at all times – to plan your next move. Following their online activity can help you work out who they’re targeting, what treatments they’re offering and even the SEO keywords they might be using. You can then use those insights to create a more distinctive offering or try a new angle on something they themselves have found successful.
Targeting Too Widely
Local search – that’s targeting people in your area by using location keywords, creating a Google My Business listing and ultimately ranking more highly in your locale – has taken off in recent years, and it’s a central part of any digital marketing strategy. But we see many dentists who haven’t adapted to this approach and may be targeting too widely, or not using any kind of location targeting.
Getting Left Behind
Whether it’s a new trend or treatment, or a new platform or technology, this point is linked to your competition – because the moment you stop adapting, you stop competing. The same is true for your overall digital marketing strategy, too – often, you’ll need to overcome a few hurdles and bumps in the road to be truly successful, whether it’s changing keywords in a paid ad, being open to targeting other demographics, or even growing a partnership or new business idea. As an example, consider how COVID-10 changed your business – like opening up virtual consultations for dental practices across the country.
Failing To Manage Your Reputation
In the dental sector, reputation matters. One bad review can be all it takes to bring down even the most established dental practice – and leave you in the dust. Whether it’s Trust Pilot, Google Reviews or even testimonials on your own website, these all help to grow trust among your patients and ensure you’re the dentist they choose for their treatment. Gathering positive reviews – and working out how to combat a bad review – is essential to your business’s survival, be it customer service reps managing your social media, collecting feedback through online forms and responding to your patient’s concerns.
Not Trusting The Marketing Experts
As digital marketing specialists in Nottingham, we know exactly who to target, where, how, and with which treatments. We’ve got eyes on every social media platform; know all the ins and outs of website design and building; have a team of experts across content, SEO, web development and more; and most importantly, practice what we preach. We know how to advise the many dental practices that use us as their digital marketing agency of choice because we use the same tactics, tools and technologies ourselves. So when it comes to planning a digital marketing strategy – and knowing the dental marketing mistakes to avoid – you couldn’t be in better hands.
To find out more about our team and how we can help, fill out our online form, send an email or give us a call today at 01159 140640.
