So, you’ve made the decision to share some news about your practice or you’re launching a new marketing campaign to grow your business but how are you going to make sure your patients hear you?
Getting your patients to see and engage with your communications is key to the success of any campaign. In this blog, we explore some of the most popular strategies, explaining what each one involves to help you connect effectively with your patients.
Before we look at your options, you need to keep in mind your intended audience, there’s no point creating an email campaign to later realise your patients don’t use email!
Although not everyone within a set demographic is the same, it’s worth considering the best method of communication for your audience.
Creating a list of your patients will help you review the kind of contact details you have available for your chosen patients. With this list you might find you have more mobile numbers than email addresses or that your patients are older.
You know your patients better than anyone so inevitably only you will know what works best for you and your patients.
Email is one of the most popular and accessible communication tools, making it a natural choice for connecting with patients. With just a few clicks, you can create and send an email – and start seeing the benefits of increased patient engagement.
But what about the patients who choose not to open your email or those who never receive it in their inbox? Some email providers automatically categorise emails into folders only for the emails to never see the light of day again.
Unfortunately, there is not much you can do when it comes to what email provider your patients choose to entrust their emails with. However, you can use a multi-channel approach and use a variety of communication methods to engage with a wider range of patients.
Text messages are an increasingly popular option to reach your patients. With most adults owning a mobile phone, the chances of your messages being seen are extremely high.
The biggest downside to text messages is the length of your messages, as this format is best suited for short, concise messages. Try keeping your messages to a paragraph or two long and consider using hyperlinks to online content on your website, blog, or social media for more detailed information.
With the potential to have the biggest impact, reaching new and existing patients, encouraging interaction and engagement with your business, social media platforms could be the perfect communication tool for your dental practice.
But before you sign up to every social media platform there is, it is important to ensure you understand what you wish to achieve and how you are going to manage your digital presence.
Things to consider when creating a social media presence for your business:
📱 Your brand identity, consistency, and value-driven engagement.
📱 Establish your brand voice, extend your in-person approach to enhance your brand, reassuring patients while showcasing your expertise.
📱 Consistency in posting and messaging builds credibility; aim for a regular frequency and reinforce key themes, such as your unique care approach.
📱 Balanced content such as educational posts, patient testimonials, and visually engaging material.
📱 Engage with your audience by responding to comments and messages promptly, showing attentiveness and approachability.
These are only a few of the elements you need to consider when considering your social media presence. Depending on the size of your business, managing social media can be a job itself!
The one thing consistent through all the options we have already mentioned is the ability to link through to another online platform with your website being the ideal destination. Your website is a fantastic tool, available all the time and accessible by many of your patients whenever and wherever they may be.
Maintaining and updating your website with relevant content, including your practice updates and promotions will help increase awareness for anyone who visits your website. By directing all communications recipients to your website, you are also getting the added benefit that they will have easy access to your online booking functionality.
Postal communications is an option that should never be overlooked. Physical mail achieves good rates of success when it comes to communications and something that is made easy when using a mailing house.
With modern technology, you can bring your patients into the digital world via physical mail by utilising QR codes linking readers straight to your website of choice.
If you are looking for assistance in creating or sending communications with EXACT our team is here to help.