Fresh marketing ideas for pediatric dental offices

If your marketing strategy has been on the back burner for a while, coming up with new marketing ideas for your pediatric dental office might feel like a looming chore. Luckily, there are dozens of resources at your fingertips to help you find new patients and build a strong presence for your brand. Whether you find marketing ideas on Pinterest, through the examples of other dental practices, or on social media, the possibilities for growth are endless! 

These nine tips will help jumpstart your marketing efforts, provide tangible results, and breathe new life into your pediatric practice.

Find easy ways to create social media content

Sometimes the easiest marketing ideas are the most successful. There’s no rule that says you must create a massive giveaway or pump thousands of dollars into paid advertising. It’s OK to start small with things like:

• Candid photos of your team members
• A dental hygiene pop quiz
• Prizes for patients who come in for a cleaning
• Adding to your Instagram, TikTok, or other social media stories daily

Another great and simple idea is to have a few photo op signs in the office for patients and team members to take pictures with and share on social media. This complimentary set of pediatric dentist social signs makes a great ice breaker, end-of-visit segue, and memorable moment for patients. Just be sure to get consent before sharing patient photos on your social accounts.

Download this free HIPAA consent form to make photo sharing easy and compliant. Social media signs are a perfect example of internal pediatric marketing ideas, which are ways you can affect change from within your practice. As you use these fun social ideas, patients will be more likely to share your content, which will lead to new-patient leads.

Make a YouTube channel

YouTube might seem like old news, but it’s still the second largest social media platform in the world and one of the easiest ways to share videos online. Having a polished YouTube channel builds credibility, puts a face to your practice, and creates opportunities for SEO optimization and link-building. The Mama Dentist is a great example of a pediatric dental YouTube channel. Dr. McFarland created the channel a few years ago to feature helpful tips and answer frequently asked questions.

The production quality is high, the videos are engaging, and the doctor keeps the page updated with consistent content. The videos are also featured on the practice’s website, which is a great way to entice new patients. If people visit your website for more information, and they see helpful YouTube videos with actual dentists and staff members, they’re more likely to feel comfortable making an appointment.

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It’s not too late to blow up on TikTok

If you’re new to the world of TikTok for pediatric dentist marketing, don’t worry—there’s still time to make your mark on this social media platform. Learn how to go viral on TikTok, and try different trends with your staff or on your own. The more you try, the more likely you are to reach a huge audience. Here’s a pediatric practice that used a fun trending audio and video format to highlight their office space, point out features kids will love, and show their personality. 

Even if your videos don’t get thousands of views at first, TikTok is a great way to engage with current and potential clients. Be sure to use relevant hashtags, post often (at least a few times per week), and share a link to your TikTok page on your website. As your audience grows, prospective patients will see a fun, creative side to your practice, making them more likely to come in. Have fun with your videos and check out these viral TikTok ideas for more inspiration.

Don’t forget about Instagram

As you delve into dental marketing social media ideas, don’t forget to dedicate time to Instagram. Pediatric marketing on Instagram is a great way to build your online presence, interact with the community, and reach parents. Your Instagram strategy should include posting photos to your page, using applicable hashtags, posting to your story regularly, and taking advantage of Reels. This pediatric dentist used an image of a young patient to explain common causes of tooth decay in an engaging, yet super simple informational video. You can also use Reels to show off your team members, fun office decor, or hop on current trends. Download this guide to TikTok and Instagram Reels for more ideas on how to get started.

Try out Snapchat to reach teen patients

Did you know that 9 out of 10 young people are on Snapchat? Teens use the app mainly to communicate with each other, but businesses can tap into this space as well. Whether you want to build awareness or collect leads, your pediatric practice can create an ad budget that includes experimenting with Snapchat advertising. Like Instagram and TikTok, Snapchat has a 24-hour story feature. You can create a simple video or image ad that shows up between stories and choose exactly how much money you want to spend. Snapchat will even give you an estimate of how much reach your campaign will have.

This is a great opportunity to reach older pediatric patients who may have their own smartphones and spend a lot of time on Snapchat. If teens see your practice pop up there, they’re more likely to look you up and possibly even become new patients. If you’re not sure how to get started with paid advertising campaigns, consider getting help from a pediatric dental marketing company. They can take care of all the technicalities and let you focus on your practice.

Become involved in a local charity

Another idea for pediatric marketing is becoming involved with charitable giving. By supporting a local charity, you can engage with the community, build your brand awareness, and show current and potential patients that you care about giving back. The e-book, Why Giving Practices Grow, dives deeper into how philanthropy can transform your practice, and provides helpful tips on how to get started.

I know you don’t want to … but start blogging

If you’re wondering why dental blogging is so important, it all comes down to exposure. The more you write, the better your practice’s website will perform in Google search results. It can be helpful to hire a dental marketing firm or other writing service to complete these blogs so that you have time to focus on your practice. Ideally, you should be blogging at least once a week at first to get your impressions up. Once you hit a good rhythm you can scale back to two blogs per month, but it all depends on how your practice is performing with SEO. The more blogs your website publishes, the more your search results and impressions will climb. Download these blog templates to get started today!

Optimize your Google Maps listing

One of the most important marketing strategies is to focus on SEO for pediatric dentists, which includes your ranking on Google Maps. Potential clients will often search for a dentist within Google Maps, so it’s crucial that your information is up-to-date and accurate. Do you know how well you’re ranking on Google Maps?  Find out which competitors in the area are out-performing you, which keywords are most relevant to your community, and how to improve your results. The higher you rank on Google Maps, the more new patients you’ll see. 

Update your ancient and broken website 

Pediatric dental websites often get neglected and become broken down, dusty relics. If your website has been long  forgotten, it’s time to shake off the cobwebs.

• First, make sure your website is technically sound. This means it should be optimized for mobile, contain images and videos in the correct formats (WebP and MV4 in most cases), and be secure.
• Once your website is functional and running smoothly, you need to update your content. Update your pediatric dental bio, flesh out your services page, and add links to your social media pages.
• After the technical aspects and content are good to go, remember to make your website look esthetically pleasing and professional. Choose a color scheme or theme that reflects your practice. Include real images from your practice. And make sure your font choice is easy to read. 

Breathe new life into your practice by working on these suggestions as part of your new marketing strategy. You can drive new traffic and regular growth without spending thousands on advertising and create organic leads through social media.