After Facebook, Twitter is arguably the next most important social media platform for dentists attempting to get more patients. Unlike Facebook, however, Twitter moves at a lightning-fast pace. This means that a different strategy is required to stay relevant and keep your practice at the top of prospective patients’ minds. Here are some ways to use Twitter to grow your patient list.
Customer Service
Twitter is a wonderful way to answer patient questions that do not violate confidentiality. All of your Twitter followers can read the answers, and these can be excellent jumping off points for conversations between patients or prospective patients. The longer you can keep someone on your Twitter page, the more he or she will be exposed to your services and branding. And free advice is priceless. If patients can get help on your Twitter page, they are more likely to remain loyal to you.
Tips
Another form of free advice, daily or weekly dental tips can encourage people to remain active and engaged with your Twitter page. You can boost your number of followers by posting signs in your office, complete with your full Twitter URL, encouraging patients to follow you for free tips. Just be sure to always deliver content as promised.
Coupons and Promos
Want to increase your business on consistently slow days? Offer a promotion that provides a discount on a specific service, valid only on a certain day of the week or during a particular month of the year. Twitter is an easy way to announce these promotions without spending a lot of money on advertising.
Patient Insights
If you are interested in tweaking your practices to better fit your patients, Twitter is a natural place to ask patients what they like and dislike. For example, you might toss out a general question such as, “What one thing could we do better?” Or you might ask for more specific feedback: “If you have had a filling since we switched to laser dentistry, how do you think the new procedure compares to the old way?”
Networking
One of the most valuable aspects of Twitter is its tremendous networking capacity. Follow others in your industry and regularly retweet their content to help your patients. Join various dental events throughout the year, and be sure to post about them on Twitter using the event’s dedicated hashtag. You can also stay on top of trends and current events that may give you ideas for content to create.
Community Connections
Be sure to follow other small businesses and organizations in your community. This helps build your standing in the community, shows other local businesses that you are open to networking, and helps to strengthen your credibility and your relationships with both current and prospective patients. You can also search twitter.com for your city to find people’s questions about dentistry, and then respond to them. This can help you build connections with those who need oral care.
Ascent Dental Solutions is a full-service agency dedicated to helping dentists build their practices and map out their careers. It is the brainchild of Dr. Kevin Coughlin, who earned his doctorate at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and currently serves as a faculty member there. While Dr. Coughlin continues to practice dentistry as the principal owner of the 14-location Baystate Dental PC, he has a strong passion for helping fellow dentists maximize their success. If you are interested in learning how to take your dental practice to the next level, please contact Ascent Dental Solutions today at 413-224-2659 to learn how Dr. Coughlin can help.