If there is one thing the pandemic has taught you as a practice owner, it is probably the importance of patient communication. Communication tactics such as Social Media and Email Newsletters can help your practice take a more proactive approach with your messaging and tell your patients and prospects what they need to know. So much continues to happen with the pandemic, and your patients must know their local dental office is aware of what is happening out there.
Your patients and prospects are bombarded with tons of messages every day, and your practice needs to promote patient safety and share what your practice is doing to keep your patients secure. Using communication such as Social Media and Email Newsletters are great ways to educate your patients about new safety protocols, highlight team members, share new office technology or enhancements, and promote the importance of regular checkups and critical treatment services to boost patient interest and production.
Dentistry is a relationship business. You must communicate, build rapport with new patients, and strengthen existing patient relationships. When you create consistent patient communication, your practice can influence patient retention and top-line revenue.
Here are three main reasons you need to implement communication, such as patient-driven methods like Organic Social Media and Email Newsletters, to interact with your patients and prospects.
Tell Your Story
When communicating to your patients and showcasing your practice’s brand, it’s easy to get caught up in what your competitors are doing. However, it’s not about what your competitors are doing; it’s about letting your audience know what is unique about your practice.
Utilizing communication methods such as Social Media and Newsletters are great ways to update your patients on what’s new in your practice and the dental industry. Overall, keep them up to date about what makes your practice unique to establish a sense of trust.
Consistency is Key
When we talk about consistency, we refer to both the frequency of communication and sending out the same message and visuals across multiple channels. Social Media and Email Newsletters are long-term branding plays, meaning that while you may not see leads come in right away, these forms of communication are integral to ensuring your messages are received by your patients and prospects. Posting content consistently will ensure your office stays top of mind, as your audience will continually see your content, and your practice will have the chance to ensure your message comes across accurately.
When creating the content for your communication methods, it is also important that you have both visual and vocal consistency. Your dental practice has worked hard to create a unique brand and environment that makes your patients want to come back, so lean into the voice and persona you have created and what your patients expect when producing other types of content.
Take the time to ensure the visuals associated with your brand are consistent across multiple channels, such as your Email Newsletter and Social Media platforms. If you feel the need to create content for the sake of simply “getting something out there,” you’re not creating it for the right reasons. Think about posting with a purpose – plan out what your practice will post and make sure you understand why (hint… the why should always relate to your brand). If you don’t have content to post, wait until something valuable you can provide your audience. Here are some content ideas to get you started:
- Company Overview or About Us Videos
- Service Education Posts
- Testimonials
- Office Tour and Staff Highlights
Listen to Your Audience
One of the best things about using communication methods such as Email Newsletters and Organic Social Media is that your audience will tell you what content is the most valuable and engaging. You can lean into this and create more of that content in the future.
You can tell what content resonates with your audience on Social Media by the likes, comments, and shares each post receives. Email Newsletters that receive higher open and click-through rates contain content that resonates with your patients and prospects. It’s vital to take this information and create more content your audience wants to see.
Listening to your audience is a two-way communication tactic – you create the content you think they’ll find the most compelling, and in return, they will let you know what they think by how they interact with it.
Key Takeaway
If your practice is looking to foster a relationship with your patients, remember this – if you’re talking to everyone, then you’re talking to no one. It is imperative to identify who your audience is and focus on creating content they want to see.
At SmileShop, our Creative Services team can help you create unique, branded communication methods for your practice. Reach out to learn more, and check out the video below to learn more about fostering patient communication.
