Social Media Ideas For Dentists

Celebrations and Achievements – Keep it positive and showcase the real people in your practice by highlighting anniversaries, certification achievements, and other milestones in the lives of your staff. Show appreciation for your patients and celebrate when a patient overcomes a fear or has a cavity-free visit, or spotlight loyal patients as they hit milestones of 5, 10, or 15 years with your practice.

Promos, Discounts, and Giveaways – Run contests and encourage followers to interact. Fill up a jar with toothbrushes, floss, or other dental tools and run a “Guess how many?” contest. Ask followers to “Caption this Photo.” Take part in “Trivia Tuesday.” There are endless opportunities to create engaging content that boosts your relationship with your followers. Add a tie-in with discounts or giveaways for winners (and even participants!). Mix it up and keep your followers coming back for more!

Better than an Alarm Clock– Use social media to remind patients of changes to your hours due to upcoming Holidays, or let patients know when it’s time to change their toothbrush, reinforce the importance of brushing after meals. Your patients will begin looking forward to these posts, especially when you get into a routine that utilizes some of the most popular hashtags to influence weekly postings.

#FactoidFriday – Bump up your hashtag game and create a following with branded hashtags that correspond to your posting strategy. Post interesting dental facts, articles and videos, or encourage interaction by posting a commonly asked question and inviting followers to respond with answers. Tie into your promo strategy and incentivize responses. The American Dental Association and Academy of General Dentistry both maintain a formidable presence on social media and are a virtual treasure trove for possible post content (when properly credited, of course).

Share Laughter– Show your sense of humor! There are plenty of comics and memes out there about going to the dentist, so take advantage of this ready-made content to debunk myths about dentists, make kids laugh, and show that dentists aren’t as scary as some may think!

Graphic Photos – While you may think that a particular case is interesting, even possibly groundbreaking, graphic images can be triggering for many. Although you may be posting with the best intention, take time to consider that as many as 60% of people experience dental anxiety. Overly graphic photos, or even photos of dental equipment, may do more harm than good when trying to educate and attract new patients to your office.

Copyrighted Photos – You’ve got to give credit where credit is due. Don’t post copyrighted photos or content without written approval or giving proper citations. If you’re going to repost content from other sources, it’s always best to cite your sources. In addition to remaining in compliance with copyright policies, you can further establish yourself as a leader in information, staying up to date on the latest advancements within the dental profession.

Patient Info – Remember your HIPAA rules. Never post information about a patient (or employee, for that matter), without proper written authorization. This extends to reviews and testimonials, photographs, x-rays and other identifying content. You can capture permission on your intake forms, letting patients opt-in easily.