The world of dentistry is incredibly competitive and only continues to grow. Dental practices need to constantly bring in new patients to keep scaling their businesses. To attract potential patients, dentists must create and deploy a digital marketing plan.
Dental marketing includes any marketing efforts aimed at winning over new dental patients to your practice. A dental marketing strategy will also include current patient retention tactics. While dentists consistently need new patients, they also must retain their current patients to keep their business steady.
In this blog, we’ll explore 20 highly effective dental marketing strategies to help you attract new patients, retain your current ones, and stay ahead in the competitive world of dentistry. Get ready to transform your practice with actionable tips and innovative tools!
What is Dental Marketing?
Dental marketing refers to the strategies and efforts used by dental practices to attract new patients, retain current ones, and build a strong online and offline presence. It encompasses a wide range of activities, from creating a user-friendly website and leveraging social media to implementing SEO and reputation management.
Why is Dental Marketing Important?
- Attract New Patients: With the increasing competition in the dental industry, effective marketing ensures your practice stands out and reaches potential patients searching for dental care.
- Retain Existing Patients: Marketing isn’t just about new patients—it also involves building strong relationships with your current ones, encouraging loyalty, and keeping your practice top of mind.
- Stay Competitive: A well-executed marketing strategy ensures you remain visible, relevant, and ahead of competitors in your area.
Dental marketing is the key to growing your practice, maintaining steady business, and thriving in an ever-evolving industry.
20 Proven Dental Marketing Tactics
Marketing tactics may be new to some dentists, and creating a marketing plan can feel daunting, especially on top of all your other duties running your local business. To get you started, below are a few marketing tips and tools to help your dental office grow and thrive.
1. Create a User-friendly website optimized for mobile users
If new potential patients visit your website on their mobile phones and get frustrated by the lack of intuitive user experience, they’ll most likely leave and find another dental practice to go to. Optimizing your website for mobile users will ensure a positive first impression with potential patients using their mobile devices to search for local businesses.
Pro Tip: Test your site’s mobile responsiveness regularly, simplify navigation with clear menus, and improve page load speed by compressing images. Highlight appointment booking with a visible "Book Now" button to make scheduling effortless.
2. Claim Your Google Business Profile
A well-optimized Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is a must-have for any dental practice looking to attract local patients. This free tool is your gateway to appearing prominently on Google search and maps when potential patients look for dental services.
By claiming and optimizing your profile, you ensure that your practice stands out with accurate and appealing information, making it easier for patients to choose you.
Actionable Tips to Optimize Your Profile:
- Claim and Verify Your Profile: Take ownership of your listing to manage all its details and ensure no outdated or incorrect information misleads potential patients.
- Keep Details Accurate: Add your phone number, office hours, address, and a full list of services to ensure patients know exactly how and when to reach you.
- Upload High-Quality Images: Showcase your practice with professional photos of your office, team, and patient-friendly amenities to build trust and credibility.
- Use Google Posts: Share regular updates, including special offers, events, or dental tips, to keep your profile active and engaging.
Broadly simplifies keeping your Google Business Profile up-to-date, ensuring your information is always accurate, reliable, and optimized to rank higher in search results. With an optimized profile, you can drive more patients to your practice and stay ahead of the competition.
3. Leverage Content marketing
Content marketing is a strategy that many businesses use to connect with potential patients without overtly selling their products or services.
In content marketing, teams create content like blogs, videos and social media posts with relevant information for your current and potential patients. Content marketing doesn’t focus on direct selling but aims to establish trust and be helpful to potential patients.
Pro Tip: Use content marketing to educate and connect with potential patients. Create engaging blogs like “5 Signs You Need a Dental Checkup” or “What to Expect During a Teeth Cleaning.” Add short videos to explain procedures or showcase your team, and address common patient FAQs to build trust.
This strategy positions your practice as a helpful and reliable resource, attracting and retaining patients.
4. Get discovered on Social media
Social media is a huge part of discoverability today. It is imperative to have a robust social media presence on the social platforms that make the most sense for your ideal patient.
Social media marketing includes everything from the posts you create to the look of your profile and the tone of your voice used in captions. Social media makes your dental practice seem more approachable and can bring people into your practice. It is also an excellent way to stay connected with current patients.
Pro Tip: Focus on platforms where your ideal patients are active, such as Instagram and Facebook. Share engaging content like before-and-after photos, dental hygiene tips, and staff spotlights to make your practice approachable and trustworthy.
Broadly’s AI-powered social media manager can help you craft unique posts with tailored text and images, ensuring your content stands out and resonates with your audience effortlessly.
5. Utilize Video marketing
Consumers are using video more and more to make buying decisions. Through the pandemic, we saw a boom in video content and it has now become the norm for social content and marketing efforts alike. Videos in emails increase click rate by 96%, boost SEO rankings and provide an 87% positive return on investment, according to a video marketing study.
Pro Tip: Leverage video to engage potential patients and boost your dental marketing efforts. Create short, impactful videos such as patient testimonials, “day in the life” clips of your practice, or educational content like “How to Properly Floss Your Teeth.”
Keep your videos optimized for social platforms by ensuring they’re concise, visually appealing, and mobile-friendly to capture attention quickly.
6. Implement Pay-per-click advertising
Get your business listed above or to the right of the organic search results on the most used search engines with pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. In this model, you can pay either a fixed or bid-based price per click, and your ads will appear when people search for dental practices in their local area.
Pro Tip: Use PPC advertising to get your dental practice listed prominently on search engines. Target local keywords like “emergency dentist near me” or “teeth whitening [city]” to connect with nearby patients actively searching for your services.
Set a clear budget and regularly analyze your ROI to refine and optimize your campaigns for the best results.
7. Take advantage of Retargeting
Retargeting can be used to target potential patients who have already engaged with you and your dental practice in some way, usually through your website. It’s a great tactic because this audience is already interested, so you can further influence their buying decisions and advocate for your dental practice to provide the dental services they need.
Pro Tip: Retarget potential patients who have interacted with your website but haven’t booked an appointment. Use ads featuring promotions like “10% off your first visit,” patient testimonials, or friendly reminders to schedule a checkup.
Since this audience is already interested, retargeting helps nudge them toward choosing your practice for their dental needs.
8. Automate web chat and appointment setting
Potential patients must be able to easily set up appointments with your dental office. If people are frustrated by the user experience on your website and unable to make appointments online, they may move on to a dental care provider who has a better online experience.
Pro Tip: Ensure your website includes clear call-to-action buttons for booking appointments and provides instant responses to inquiries. Offering 24/7 availability through automated tools gives you a competitive edge, as patients can engage with your practice whenever it’s convenient for them.
Broadly’s AI-powered Web Chat instantly handles patient questions and automates appointment scheduling, ensuring you never miss an opportunity to connect with a potential patient. This not only improves the user experience but also streamlines your workflow, keeping your schedule full and your patients happy.
9. Send Email marketing campaigns
Email marketing is one of the few ways to directly contact your potential and current patients. Your newsletters engage your current patient base and entice potential patients. User-friendly email marketing platforms allow dentists to send out emails and track progress. However, many dental practices outsource email marketing to professional email companies.
Pro Tip: Use email marketing to stay connected with both current and potential patients. Segment your email lists to send targeted campaigns such as appointment reminders, dental hygiene tips, or seasonal promotions.
Broadly’s Email Marketing tool makes it easy to automate campaigns, monitor performance, and engage patients effortlessly. It’s a simple and effective way to keep your practice top-of-mind and build long-term patient relationships.
10. Improve Visibility with Local SEO
A great way to get in front of more prospective patients is by improving your search engine optimization (SEO). Local SEO relies on keywords to maximize your organic rankings within search engine results.
There is also a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes into optimizing your website and content for SEO. Depending on your time constraints, hiring an SEO marketing expert to implement this strategy may make sense.
Pro Tip: Boost your practice’s visibility by optimizing for local SEO. Use local keywords like “family dentist in [city name]” to attract nearby patients. Create location-specific landing pages and update meta descriptions to ensure your website aligns with local search intent.
Broadly’s SEO tools simplify the process by enhancing your local search rankings, making it easier for new patients to find and choose your practice online. With optimized content and expert tools, you can stay ahead in the competitive local dental market.
11. Generate Customer reviews
Most potential patients will evaluate your dental practice’s online reviews before booking an appointment. The more positive customer reviews you can get, the more likely someone is to choose your dental practice over another that doesn’t have as many good reviews. Online reviews are a big part of the decision-making process for choosing a dentist.
Pro Tip: Positive online reviews are essential for attracting new patients. Request reviews immediately after appointments via SMS or email to capture feedback while it’s fresh. Respond to all reviews—positive or negative—to show your engagement and appreciation.
Broadly’s Reputation Management tool automates review requests and uses AI-generated responses to help you reply quickly and professionally. This streamlines the process, builds trust, and strengthens your online reputation.
12. Use Local Awareness Ads
Running geo-targeted ads on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads ensures your dental practice is visible to local patients actively searching for services. These ads allow you to specify the geographic area you want to target, ensuring your message reaches the right audience in your community.
Pro Tip: Highlight specific services, such as emergency dental care or teeth whitening, to appeal directly to patient needs. Include a strong call to action like “Book a Same-Day Appointment” to drive immediate responses and turn ad views into appointments. Geo-targeted ads are a cost-effective way to connect with patients who are ready to choose your practice.
13. Send Automated Appointment Reminders
Automated appointment reminders are a simple yet effective way to reduce no-shows and keep your schedule running smoothly. By sending timely reminders, you ensure patients remember their appointments and stay committed to their dental care.
Pro Tip: Send reminders via SMS or email 24-48 hours before the appointment, and include an easy confirmation option to make it convenient for patients to respond.
Broadly’s Appointment Reminders tool automates this process, helping you seamlessly notify patients and reduce missed visits.
14. Respond to Customer Reviews
Customer reviews play a significant role in shaping how potential patients perceive your dental practice. Engaging with reviews not only builds trust but also enhances your local SEO, helping your practice rank higher in search results. A proactive approach to reviews demonstrates your commitment to excellent customer service and your willingness to address patient concerns.
Pro Tip: Respond to all reviews promptly—thank happy patients for their feedback and handle negative reviews professionally to showcase your dedication to patient satisfaction.
Broadly’s Reputation Management tool simplifies this process by helping you monitor, manage, and respond to reviews quickly and effectively, saving you time and strengthening your online reputation.
15. Post to Instagram Reels
Instagram Reels offer a dynamic way to connect with potential and current patients through short, engaging videos. They allow you to showcase your expertise and personality while reaching a wider audience on one of today’s most popular platforms. Reels are perfect for creating memorable content that resonates with your followers.
Pro Tip: Create videos featuring before-and-after shots of treatments, introduce your team members, or share quick dental hygiene tips. Use trending music and captions to make your content visually appealing and engaging. Consistent, creative Reels can boost your visibility and make your practice stand out.
16. Get Comfortable Using AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer just a futuristic concept—it’s a practical tool that can make your dental practice more efficient and patient-focused. By automating routine tasks like appointment scheduling, answering FAQs, and sending reminders, AI tools for small businesses free up valuable staff time and help deliver a seamless patient experience.
Pro Tip: Use AI tools to improve patient interactions and streamline operations. For example, local AI chatbots can provide instant answers to patient queries and even handle appointment bookings.
Broadly’s AI-powered Web Chat works 24/7 to engage with patients, ensuring their questions are answered, and appointments are scheduled so you can focus on delivering the best care.
17. Set Up a Referral Program
Referral programs are one of the most effective ways to grow your patient base. Patients who are happy with your services are likely to recommend your practice to friends and family—but a well-structured referral program provides the extra nudge they might need to take action.
Word-of-mouth referrals are not only cost-effective but also bring in new patients who already trust your services based on recommendations.
Pro Tip: Offer simple rewards like gift cards, discounts, or free dental cleanings for referrals. Promote the program in-office, via email, and through SMS campaigns to maximize participation.
18. Enhance Convenient Communication with SMS
SMS communication is an incredibly efficient way to stay connected with your patients. Text messages are read almost instantly, making them ideal for appointment confirmations, reminders, and even promotions. They ensure your messages are received promptly, improving patient engagement and reducing missed appointments.
Pro Tip: Keep messages short and action-driven, like “Confirm your appointment by replying ‘C.’” Use Broadly’s SMS features in your centralized inbox to automate reminders and simplify customer communication.
19. Leverage Email Marketing
Email marketing remains a powerful tool for nurturing patient relationships and keeping your practice top of mind. Regular email updates allow you to share valuable information, promote special offers, and maintain consistent communication with your patients. It’s a cost-effective way to retain current patients while encouraging them to schedule their next visit.
Pro Tip: Send monthly newsletters with personalized content, such as seasonal dental tips or special offers. Automate your campaigns with Broadly’s tools to save time and improve efficiency. Explore how your leads and customers engage with your campaigns right from their contact records.
20. Attend or Sponsor Local Events
Connecting with your community through local events is a great way to build trust and establish your practice as a caring, approachable business. Events like health fairs, school activities, or community fundraisers offer opportunities to interact with potential patients in a friendly, informal setting.
Pro Tip: Sponsor health fairs or school events and offer giveaways like dental kits or free consultations to attract attention and build goodwill.
How Broadly Can Transform Your Dental Marketing Strategy
Broadly is your all-in-one solution to grow your dental practice, enhance your online presence, and attract more patients. With Broadly’s Dental Reputation Management tools, you can effortlessly increase online reviews to strengthen your reputation and drive more patient leads at a lower cost.
From creating professional email campaigns to designing a modern, mobile-friendly website with real-time web chat, Broadly simplifies your marketing efforts while helping you connect with patients effectively. Features like AI-powered web chat and streamlined SMS tools ensure you stay engaged with patients 24/7, boosting satisfaction and loyalty.
Ready to take your dental marketing strategy to the next level? Schedule a demo today with Broadly and see how our innovative solutions can transform your practice.
This article was updated on January 2nd, 2025.
