When you step into your practice each day and look at the patient roster, your content marketing strategy is the last thing on your mind. You’re thinking about the root canal first thing in the morning, the cavity fill you’ve got right after lunch, and the countless cleanings and perio exams in-between. You don’t have time to think about dental content writing, much less an entire content strategy. But that doesn’t make it any less important!
Every dental practice needs some form of content writing in today’s day and age—whether you practice general family dentistry, periodontics, orthodontics, or cosmetic dentistry. Establishing your presence online through consistent, relatable, authoritative content is key in engaging current patients and attracting new ones to your practice.
Done right, dental content writing is more affordable than most other forms of marketing and better for fostering trust among patients. The benefits don’t stop there, either! Ongoing content marketing efforts by an established dental writer open the door to all kinds of valuable opportunities. Here’s a look at some of them.
Establish your practice as legitimate
No one wants to visit a back-alley dentist who only takes cash and has no website. In fact, that’s every patient’s worst nightmare! You spend a lot of time cultivating an office and an atmosphere that puts people at ease—you need to do the same online. Content writing is the first step in establishing your practice as welcoming and reputable for people who have never seen it in person.
When your website shows up online and someone clicks through, good content builds their confidence in your practice. They’ll read informative blog posts, written in a friendly tone. Web pages about your services will tell them everything they need to know about the types of dentistry you offer. Even your social feeds will put them at ease, with evidence of your many satisfied patients.
The power of persuasive dental content writing sets the tone for your practice, building people’s confidence and legitimizing your brand.
Advertise your services
Advertising is a cornerstone of any dental practice’s patient outreach program. You might advertise in local periodicals or get exposure from sponsoring an event. More direct advertising like mailers, email marketing, and flyers are also effective. But nothing will give you bang for your advertising buck like a good dental content writer. Done right, your practice’s blog could be its biggest source of free, effective advertising—especially when optimized for local searches.
More than a quick call-to-action, good dental content writing lets you shape a convincing appeal to your audience:
- Highlight individual services you offer and explain them in depth
- Answer potential patient questions about unfamiliar procedures
- Help patients identify the need for services and persuade them to schedule them
- Provide oral health tips that correlate with services offered
Content marketing doesn’t only communicate a call-to-action or push people to your practice. Instead, it helps them make good decisions about their oral health—decisions that lead to the many services and procedures you offer.
Engage current and potential patients
People make it a point to visit the dentist as little as possible. They’ll schedule biannual cleanings or make an appointment when there’s a problem, but outside of these interactions, they’ll likely avoid you. The same goes for new patients. Unless they need \ a dentist, don’t expect them to reach out. For both current and potential patients, good content marketing helps you get their attention and stay in their world, without being intrusive.
- A blog post about teeth whitening might answer nagging questions they’ve had and justify the investment for someone on-the-fence about it.
- An end-of-year email blast might encourage people to schedule an appointment to maximize their flex-spending account balance.
- An optimized landing page might showcase your practice’s state-of-the-art equipment, convincing new patients to book an appointment.
Providing informative content without a direct call-to-action connects you with patients new and old, without any aggressive undertones to put them off. Someone is more likely to read your content if they know they’re not being marketed to!
Educate clients and answer questions
A funny thing happens when your patients take the time to read your content: They become more informed about your practice, your capabilities, and their own oral health! A more informed patient is a more responsible one, and someone less hesitant to reach out to you when they need answers. The relationship between your patients and your practice grows.
A good dental writer behind your content marketing efforts can bring your advertising efforts full-circle. You’ll establish your practice as an authority, earn the trust of new and recurring patients, and provide education that deepens their appreciation for you. They’re thankful for the oral health tips and more confident about the procedure they have scheduled. They aren’t afraid to ask questions and are more receptive to your recommendations. Good dental content writing creates a continuum of patient care like no other marketing or advertising approach can.
Why do dentists need content writing? Because the benefits touch every part of the patient experience. People do their best to avoid the dentist. A practice that establishes rapport with patients is one that’s destined for success.