Dentaltown March 2015 - (Page 54)

practice management feature Four Digital Marketing Mistakes that Impede Practice Growth by Diana P. Friedman, MA, MBA The dental market has embraced the digital world in its adoption of clinical applications and practice marketing. For the past two decades, promoting your brand on the Internet was synonymous with creating a practice website. However, a dramatic increase in competition for new patients and the sophistication of consumers means a single point of online brand development is no longer sufficient to drive practice success in your local community. This article details four marketing mistakes that could cost your dental practice new patients and cause undue attrition from your existing base. Antiquated practice website Not all websites are created equal. In order to be effective, a website needs to be accessible from all mobile devices. In today's digital age, 92 percent of smartphone users seek local information on their device, and 89 percent of them take action after looking up a local provider. This data strongly suggests it is critical that your practice website be designed for use on all mobile devices.1 More specifically to dentistry, a recent study found that 52 percent of smartphone owners use their phones to search for health-related information,2 making an even stronger case for mobile optimization. In addition, a recent study found that 57 percent of users would not recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site.3 Referrals are a key driver to patient acquisition and growth and the cornerstone of an effective referral program is your practice website. The hurdle of creating a mobile-optimized website can be overcome through a relatively new approach called responsive design. However, even the best mobile-optimized website will not accelerate patient acquisition if the content, navigation, and design do not appeal to prospective patients. Sesame Communications conducted a national research study and identified 25 principles that dramatically influence the transition from website visitor to new patient and some of that information is shared here.4 The Bottom Line: It's time to evaluate your website and ensure that it's addressing mobile optimization and patient appeal. If it's not, you need to upgrade your practice website ASAP. To avoid time delays and off-target design and content, select a web developer who understands dentistry and patient conversion. No search engine optimization (SEO) Eighty-six percent of consumers rely on search engines to find information.5 A practice website that does not rank high in search engine results is as ineffective as not having a website at all. The hard truth is that 75 percent of users never scroll past the first page of results.6 Dentists clearly understand the need for search engine 54 MARCH 2015 // dentaltown.com optimization, as 65.7 percent of dentists surveyed by Sesame Communications stated that SEO is important to the success of their practice.7 To ensure your practice website ranks well, it's important to implement a comprehensive SEO service. Make sure the service you choose goes beyond keyword optimization and includes the following: * Strategy development-this starts with a competitive analysis of practices in your area and then builds a plan to position and differentiate your practice in search results. * Directory and portal listings-proper listing in key directories and portals is a critical component of search result placement. * Review Monitoring-there are many sites out there with online reviews of your practice. Your SEO service needs to provide a list of those sites so you can see the volume and sentiment being expressed about your practice. * Links-appropriately managing the links on your website and the number and integrity of links to your website will impact your search ranking. * Analytics-you can't manage what you can't measure. Make sure your SEO service delivers comprehensive performance analytics and helps you plan for continuous improvement. The Bottom Line: There are plenty of SEO services out there. The best results are gained by working with a dental-savvy SEO provider who understands your practice objectives and positions your website for optimal performance in local search results. No social-media patient engagement Americans today spend more time on social media than any other major Internet activity.8 It's imperative that your practice be part of the conversation on social media. Practices often rely on one-way communication, which cannot generate the required engagement and excitement around your practice brand. An effective social-media strategy requires you to open and manage a two-way communication channel with existing and prospective patients in your community. Implementing this strategy requires the practice to build robust channels of communication including-at minimum-a Facebook page, YouTube channel, and blog. The content shared needs to be relevant and of interest to existing and prospective patients if you want them to engage. The Bottom Line: Engage with prospective patients where they live, work, and play. The best chance for success is to ensure you have a social-media provider with a robust dental library of content as well as proven patient-engagement tactics that are creative and fun. http://www.dentaltown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown March 2015

On Dentaltown.com
Howard Speaks: 20 Feet from Stardom: Delegate like Jagger
Professional Courtesy: Married to My Profession
Continuing Education Update
Help Me Treatment Plan This Case
CBCT Technology: What Will the Future Bring?
New Luting Composite: Variolink Esthetic
Cone Beam 3D—Is It Really for Me?
Four Digital Marketing Mistakes that Impede Practice Growth
New Products
Poll
From Scaling to Therapy: A Day in the Life of a Dental Hygienist
The Value of a Dental Practice: Why Tracking “Attributable” Expenses Matters
I am Seeing a Lot of HPV Lesions in the Mouth Lately; What is the Protocol, Remove Them or What?
Dental Podcasts: What They Are and How They Work
Service Profi le: Garfi eld Refi ning
CE: Posterior Maxilla Implant Rehabilitation: A Challenging Task
Product Profile: Dentsply Caulking
Women in Dentistry: Intro
Women in Dentistry: Work/Life Balance: Flexibility and Creative Scheduling Go a Long Way
Women in Dentistry: The Lucy Hobbs Project
Women in Dentistry: Female Dentists in Conservative Muslim Nations Face Challenges and Threats
Women in Dentistry: The American Association of Women Dentists: Representing Women from Products to Leadership
Ad Index
Women in Dentistry: Q&A
Women in Dentistry: The Sky's the Limit: Hygienist Turned Entrepreneur Shows What's Possible
Product Profi le: SmartBox
Dentally Incorrect

Dentaltown March 2015