Orthodontics marketing plays a crucial role in attracting and retaining patients for your orthodontic practice. In an increasingly competitive healthcare landscape, effective marketing can help you stand out and grow your practice. This guide will walk you through the key strategies and steps to create a successful orthodontics marketing plan.
Online Marketing Expert, MIB Graduate From HEC Montréal and Serial Entrepreneur. Founder/Owner of Nexunom.com, ReviewTool.com, Allintitle.co and Tavata.com. Working in Digital Marketing Field Since 2008.
Knowing who you want to target is crucial to ensure your marketing dollars aren’t going to waste. Be diligent in your research upfront so you know that the work you are going to put in is going to reach the correct audience.
Identify your ideal patient demographics (age, location, income, etc.).
Determine their needs, preferences, and pain points.
Conduct market research to understand local competition.
Competitors Radar – Image From Nexunom’s Comp. Insider
2. Competitor Analysis
Analyze Competitors’ online presence and identify gaps and opportunities.
Regularly monitor the online presence, customer reviews, content, and SEO strategies of the identified competitors.
Based on the competitor analysis, identify gaps in your orthodontic online presence and develop strategies to address them.
Keywords Gap Analysis – Image From Allintitle.co Keyword Gap Tool
3. Branding and Positioning
Your brand sets you apart from your competitors. It should highlight who you are as a practice and create a welcoming tone for patients.
Develop a unique and memorable brand identity for your practice.
Highlight what sets you apart from competitors (e.g., specialized treatments, advanced technology, same-day start, in-house financing, board certification, etc.)
Craft a compelling value proposition.
4. Online Presence
If you don’t have an online presence, you’re already losing to your competitors. In today’s digital-obsessed world, everything can be done at our fingertips – finding the right orthodontist is no different.
Create a professional website with clear information about your services, team, and contact details.
Optimize your website for search engines (SEO) to improve visibility.
Consider a mobile-responsive design for accessibility. Patients are on the go, and they should be able to access your information from anywhere.
5. Content Marketing
Your content can say a lot about who you are as a practice. Your patients want to know you are an expert, and your content is the best way to position yourself as such.
Start a blog on your website to share informative articles about orthodontic care. This can set you apart as an expert and highlight your practice’s services.
Create videos explaining common procedures and patient experiences. YouTube Shorts is a great place and can quickly attract new patients to your orthodontic practice. Start by sharing short videos about different orthodontic treatments or the pain points that orthodontic treatments can address for different types of patients.
Utilize social media platforms to engage with your audience and share valuable content. You can repurpose or cross-post your blog content on your social media sites.
Ensure you have a well-written, well-structured, complete, and optimized page for all the orthodontic treatments you offer, patient types you serve (children, teens, and adults,) and a page dedicated to what sets your practice apart from other competitors.
Create a patient gallery page with high-quality before-after photos and add new photos every few months.
Ensure all marketing materials and practices comply with industry regulations and ethical standards and avoid false claims or misleading information.
6. Online Reviews and Reputation Management
What others have to say about you is important. When potential patients are looking for an orthodontist, one of the first things they do is ask for recommendations and turn to review sites.
Encourage satisfied patients to leave positive reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, and Healthgrades.
Address negative reviews professionally and offer solutions.
Monitor online mentions of your practice to maintain a positive reputation.
Respond to all reviews, both positive and negative, on Google and other review platforms to show engagement and address any concerns.
Note: You can use a review management tool such as Review Tool to automatically send text, email invitations, and reminders to ask your patients to write a review for your orthodontic practice on important review sites (Google, Yelp, Facebook, etc.) Review Tool also helps you to manage and see helpful insights for all your online reviews from all review sites under one roof and reply to your reviews right from inside your Review Tool account.
Stay in contact with your patients by building a relationship with them. Staying in regular contact makes the experience more than transactional and helps your patients feel like family.
Build an email list of current and potential patients.
Send newsletters with updates, promotions, and helpful dental tips.
Personalize emails to make patients feel valued.
Create different segments for patients, specifically one for the ones that have come to the initial consultation appointment but yet have to start their treatment.
Send email blasts to current and past patients, encouraging them to refer their family and friends and win prizes or referral points.
8. Social Media Marketing
Potential patients are using social media, so make sure you are where they are. Highlight services and showcase your practice on social media platforms.
Choose the right social media platforms for your audience (e.g., Instagram, Facebook).
Share before-and-after photos, patient testimonials, and educational content. Repurpose your blog content and share a short version of them on your social media sites.
Use paid advertising to reach a wider audience.
Utilize geo-targeting features on social media platforms to reach audiences in specific nearby locations with tailored content and ads.
9. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising
SEM and PPC advertising ensures you stay at the top of Google so potential patients can find you.
Invest in Google Ads to appear in sponsored search results for relevant keywords.
Set a realistic budget and target specific geographic areas. We can help you find the minimum budget you need on ads to receive an optimum ROI from your ad campaign.
Your orthodontic practice is local, so be sure the patients in your area can find you.
Claim, optimize, and regularly update your Google My Business listing. Make sure to update the hours, add relevant images, and post updates, respond to all the reviews, add treatments and services, etc.
Ensure accurate information (name, address, phone number) across local directories. An up-to-date N.A.P profile on all important local listing directories can help gain better rankings on local results. Check your N.A.P score using our free N.A.P citation scan tool.
Acquire local backlinks by partnering and collaborating with other local businesses and relevant healthcare and dentistry-related websites in your target nearby locations.
Optimize the website and content for local SEO keywords related to your target nearby locations to increase reach and attract more customers from those areas.
Add landing pages for each target nearby location, providing relevant information, services offered, contact details, and any other useful information, such as how to get to the main office from that location.
Create blog posts and articles targeting the concerns and interests of residents in the nearby locations, incorporating local keywords and information.
Engage with the local communities through sponsorships, partnerships, and participation in local events and activities.
Other than Local SEO, you need to be sure that all the Technical SEO elements are in check. This includes keyword optimization, title and description tags, image optimization, content optimization, mobile optimization, internal linking structure, schema markup, page speed optimization, and adding all the necessary E-E-A-T signals.
Optimize each website page for relevant keywords related to orthodontic treatments and services.
Incorporate long-tail and local SEO keywords to capture more specific and localized search queries.
Ensure every page has unique and descriptive meta titles and descriptions, incorporating relevant keywords.
Optimize meta descriptions to be compelling and encourage click-throughs from search engine results pages.
Optimize all images with descriptive alt tags and compress them to reduce page load times.
Use high-quality and relevant images to enhance user engagement and understanding.
Develop and maintain high-quality, informative, and engaging content that addresses user queries and needs.
Regularly update the content and publish blog posts related to orthodontic care, Invisalign, dental health, and other relevant topics.
Ensure the website is optimized for mobile devices, providing a seamless and user-friendly experience across all device types.
Optimize the internal link structure to distribute page authority and help users and search engines navigate the site effectively.
Use descriptive anchor texts and link to relevant pages within the site.
Implement schema markup to provide search engines with structured information about the site’s content, improving the display of search results.Some of the Schema Markups you have to use are Local Organization Markup, Dentist Markup, Author Markup, and Article Markup.
Optimize page load times by compressing images, leveraging browser caching, minimizing HTTP requests, and reducing server response times.
Enhance the site’s Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E.E.A.T) by adding your bio and credentials and linking to reputable sources that feature you or other orthodontists working at your practice.
On-page Optimization Checker – Image From Nexunom Free SEO Checker
12. Community Involvement
Patients want to know that their orthodontist cares about the community and their patients. Be involved and build relationships throughout your service area. You can then post relevant articles about these community involvements, building on the website’s relevance to the local areas you serve.
Sponsor local events, schools, or sports teams.
Offer free educational workshops or screenings in the community.
Build relationships with referring dentists and physicians.
13. Patient Referral Program
One of the best ways, and yet easiest ones, to find new patients is by having happy patients recommend you. Provide opportunities for your patients to refer you and reward them for it. You can create your own in-house referral program or use a third-party referral program software.
Encourage satisfied patients to refer friends and family.
Offer incentives for successful referrals, such as discounts or gifts.
14. Tracking and Analytics
Don’t forget to ensure the work you’ve put in is actually effective. Pay attention to your metrics and make adjustments as needed. Build a list of the top key performance indicators (K.P.Is) to monitor for each of your marketing campaigns and keep tracking them to be able to make informed decisions.
Use tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, social media insights, and email marketing metrics to measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
Adjust your strategy based on data-driven insights.
Monitoring Orthodontic Marketing KPIs – Image From Allintitle.co
15. Continuous Improvement
Stay up-to-date on what is happening in the orthodontic world. Staying abreast of the good, the bad, and the gimmicky can keep you ahead of your competitors.
Stay updated on industry trends and emerging technologies. Be active and take part in communications in orthodontic insider groups. Follow top dental marketing gurus and read their articles to stay ahead and get to know the latest trends ahead of time.
Regularly review and refine your marketing strategy to adapt to changing patient needs and market dynamics.
Effective orthodontics marketing requires a well-thought-out strategy that combines online and offline efforts to reach and engage your target audience. By understanding your patients, building a strong online presence, and maintaining a positive reputation, you can grow your orthodontic practice and provide valuable services to your community. Remember that marketing is an ongoing process that requires dedication and adaptation to stay competitive in the healthcare industry.
This may seem like a lot, especially on top of keeping your practice running efficiently. That’s where dental marketing agencies likeNexunom come in. We provide all of the marketing services and tools you need to help you stay ahead of the competition, gain new patients, and keep current patients. Our services include:
Our services can help your orthodontic practice get a website that converts, controls your online reputation, and increases your online visibility. The satisfaction and success of our clients is our number one priority. Learn how Nexunom can help you successfully market your orthodontics practice in 2023 and beyond by calling 844-736-3699 today.
Online Marketing Expert, MIB Graduate From HEC Montréal and Serial Entrepreneur. Founder/Owner of Nexunom.com, ReviewTool.com, Allintitle.co and Tavata.com. Working in Digital Marketing Field Since 2008.
