Social media can be an incredibly powerful tool, especially for small businesses like dental practices, but it can also be daunting. In this post, we’ll go over how social media can help your business and tips for using it effectively.

Why Use Social Media

Social media can be a low-cost (even free) way to engage with your community. It’s a great way to help the community get to know you, your practice, and your staff. It can also be a way to showcase your work and happy clientele.

A Pew Research Study in 2021 found that over 80% of US adults used social media. This means social media has a broad reach that would traditionally be very difficult (and expensive) to achieve.

Why You Need Social Media Policies

Before you dive in and start going hard into social media, it’s important to set some guidelines and policies for your staff. Make sure to have rules in place that limit the possibility for issues or liability. Document any rules for staff to follow to ensure any content is compliant with privacy laws and other regulations. For example, if you’re an orthodontist who wants to post before and after photos, make sure you’ve received the proper permission or consent.

View the ADA’s blog post on Social Media Policies for Dentists for more tips.

Balancing Your Content

While it can be tempting to create content that is very clinical or directly focused on what your practice offers, this content can tend to be very dry and unengaging. It is important to show your community what your practice has to offer, but it’s also important to humanize your business and let people get to know you!

Participating in a popular trend or sharing a funny moment with staff can be a great way to engage with people – without it feeling like a sale pitch or ad. When creating content, try to maintain a consist brand image. This will help people recognize your content when it comes up.

As users see your content and become familiar with your business, they will have top-of-mind awareness once it comes time for them to seek dental care. If you’re looking for new employees, the more casual social media content can help potential recruits get an idea of the culture and environment of working for your business.

While your goal may not be to become the next big dental influencer, social media can still be an incredible way to engage with your community and to ultimately help grow your business.