7 Unbeatable Strategies for Orthodontic Marketing

Discover unbeatable strategies for effective orthodontic marketing. From SEO to social media, elevate your practice through proven techniques with NexHealth.

In an increasingly competitive healthcare landscape, having a distinct and memorable marketing strategy can set a practice apart from others, attracting potential new patients. Orthodontic treatments often require a significant investment of time and money from patients. Therefore, effective marketing can educate potential clients about the benefits of orthodontic care, addressing concerns and highlighting the long-term advantages such as improved oral health and enhanced aesthetics. Overall, an effective marketing strategy can help orthodontic practices thrive in an evolving market while providing valuable information to potential patients about the benefits of orthodontic care. Read on to gain 7 valuable tips to building your organization’s strategy, and how NexHealth can help you achieve your marketing goals.

1. Building a Strong Online Presence

Building a successful online presence for an orthodontic practice involves weaving together several key elements. The cornerstone of a strong online presence is a strong website, as this is most often where new patients will land first when researching orthodontic practices. The design should be intuitive, presenting a professional and welcoming image of the practice. The color scheme should be simple, timeless, and directly reflect the practice’s branding. Navigation must be clear, guiding visitors logically through sections such as services, an informational “about us” section, patient testimonials, and contact information (contact details should be prominently displayed on every page). An online appointment scheduling system should be seamlessly integrated, easy to use, and automatically populated with available time slots clearly and concisely.

Credit: Holy City Orthodontics

The quality of any website is weakened by mobile incompatibility- your website should not only be responsive but also optimized for various devices. This includes testing on different browsers to guarantee a consistent and positive experience. Mobile optimization goes beyond responsiveness — it involves fast loading times, touch-friendly design elements, and a streamlined mobile user experience.

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Orthodontists

SEO is critically important for orthodontists, as it helps independent practices stand out in a sea of web page/search engine results. Utilize on-page optimization techniques like keyword research to identify and utilize relevant terms that potential patients might use when searching for orthodontic services. Proper keyword placement throughout your digital content in titles, headings, and throughout the content helps search engines understand the page's relevance. 

Google My Business (GMB) optimization is vital. Orthodontists should ensure that their GMB profile contains accurate and up-to-date information, including address, phone number, business hours, and services offered. Choosing the most relevant categories and attributes for the orthodontic practice on GMB is also crucial. Additionally, adding high-quality photos of the clinic, staff, and before-and-after shots (with patient consent) enhances the GMB profile. Review management is another integral aspect. 

Orthodontists should encourage satisfied patients to leave positive reviews on platforms like Google, Yelp, or Healthgrades. Responding professionally to both positive and negative feedback helps build trust. Services like NexHealth offer robust review management features that can help increase your number of positive reviews, just like it did for Perfect Smile Dental Care. All of these factors will contribute to your website’s rankings on search engines, resulting in higher visibility to new patients.

3. Harnessing the Power of Social Media

There are a handful of extremely effective strategies for successfully utilizing social media to enhance online visibility for an orthodontic practice. Firstly, develop engaging and friendly content, such as orthodontic tips and tricks, before-and-after photos, and success stories. Whimsical and informal content can be fun, but be sure to keep it professional at all times. 

                                            Credit: Cali Smilie Orthodontics

Maintain a consistent posting schedule- a posting calendar may be useful in this regard. Utilize visual platforms like Instagram to really drive home the point (that before-and-after content doesn’t shine the same way when it’s in text format). Engage with your audience with prompt responses to comments and queries, posting polls, and encouraging them to share their own stories, to foster a sense of community. 

Your practice should also use hashtags strategically to increase post visibility across all platforms. If your local community has influencers with any level of local following, they could help to bolster your online presence in a big way. Finally, Facebook advertising is a highly effective and affordable way to promote your business in your area and key demographics.

4. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising for Orthodontists

For an orthodontic practice, effective PPC advertising involves setting clear goals, conducting thorough keyword research, and crafting compelling ad copy. Create targeted ads that emphasize unique selling points, and ensure a user-friendly landing page with a clear call-to-action. Utilize ad extensions, focus on geo-targeting, and consider device targeting based on user behavior. 

Carefully manage your budget, implement conversion tracking, and regularly optimize campaigns based on performance data, as these can be powerful metrics for tracking your success. Exclude irrelevant keywords using negative keywords for better targeting- continuous monitoring and optimization are crucial for ongoing success in the dynamic realm of online advertising.

5. Content Marketing Strategies

Content marketing should be engaging, informative, and should stir up an inquisitive reaction in the audience. The specific in and out, techniques, and procedures of orthodontia are only known intimately by orthodontists, as they specifically studied it for years. Use this to your advantage in content marketing, and pick out specifically interesting content that the average person may not have even considered previously. 

Create informative blog posts, educational videos on treatment options, and downloadable guides. Blogs should cover various orthodontic topics, addressing concerns and sharing success stories. Videos can simplify procedures, showcase transformations, and feature patient testimonials. Downloadable guides consolidate information, positioning the orthodontist as an authority. Oral procedures of any kind can be worrisome to patients, so do your best to replace their concerns with intrigue.

         Credit: i-Orthodontics

6. Email Marketing in Orthodontics

Effective email marketing in orthodontics involves targeted communication to segmented lists of current and potential patients and is an effective method for acquiring new patients. Create newsletters offering tips on orthodontic care, oral hygiene, and general dental health. Tailor your content to address specific concerns or stages of treatment wherever possible. Additionally, you can entice subscribers with exclusive promotions and discounts, highlighting their value and piquing their interest in your practice. 

Highlight special offers on treatments, consultations, or orthodontic products, but ensure the emails are visually appealing, mobile-friendly, and include clear calls-to-action for easy engagement. Most importantly, consistency is key- establish a regular email schedule to stay on your audience's radar. Monitor and analyze metrics like open and click-through rates to refine your strategy. You can even personalize messages whenever possible to enhance the connection with recipients, which reduces the feeling of just another mass message blast.

                                           Credit: New York & New Jersey Family Dental

7. Monitoring and Analytics for Continuous Improvement

You may think the work is done once you have established all of these marketing tools, but unfortunately, that’s not the end. Continually monitoring your marketing campaign’s effectiveness through various methods is crucial to its ongoing success. By implementing tracking tools for website traffic and conversions, the organization gains insights into the online presence and user behavior, which is invaluable information for understanding the effectiveness of your digital efforts, identifying popular content, and recognizing potential areas for improvement. 

By analyzing in a deep and all-encompassing way, you can identify the specific elements that contribute to positive outcomes. By identifying the most effective strategies, your organization can allocate resources more efficiently and tailor future campaigns to capitalize on successful approaches. Armed with insights from website tracking and campaign analysis, an orthodontic organization can optimize its strategies in real time. By fostering continuous improvement, you can ensure that your organization remains responsive to market dynamics and creates orthodontic marketing ideas that deliver positive results.

 Credit: NexHealth Analytics

Elevating Your Orthodontic Practice Through Strategic Marketing with NexHealth

NexHealth’s powerful, built-in marketing features can assist you in the lengthy journey of creating a successful orthodontic marketing campaign and make it as simple as a single click. With one-click messaging options, personal text and email campaigns take moments instead of hours.

One case study even showed that a dental practice gained a 15% increase in patient retention thanks to NexHealth’s marketing features.

Credit: NexHealth Marketing

Utilizing a multi-faceted, comprehensive marketing strategy can dramatically increase your patient retention and acquisition rates affordably and sustainably. By utilizing robust monitoring and analytics tools, you can adjust along the way to ensure the continued success of your efforts and the ultimate growth and sustainability of your practice. Give NexHealth a shot today with a demo, and start on your path to renewed visibility.