Identity Dental Marketing

You are on your way to becoming a key opinion leader, have a groundbreaking take on business management, or are teaching others how to run a great practice. Is it time to write an ebook? Here are tips from the experts on how to create one that sells.

Choose a topic. First, ask yourself what you really want to communicate. The topic needs to be clear and focused, and align with the needs of your target audience.

Develop an outline. There are many ways to organize ebook chapters. Some people create the kind of Roman numerical outline you perfected in school; others create idea buckets and fit all the elements – anecdotes, statistics, visuals, and concepts – into the appropriate slots. These form the basis of your chapters.

Write on a schedule. As any author will tell you, concepting is easy; the actual writing can be difficult. Many find it helpful to set aside a specific time of the day and simply flex that writing muscle. Don’t let that harsh, invisible editor in your head stop you from putting your ideas on screen; you will edit it later.

Add calls to action. Because most ebooks are business-oriented, you are not just making a point; you are selling a point. You want the book to have a purpose: to get you more speaking engagements or consulting jobs, or subscriptions to your newsletter. Whatever your underlying message, sprinkle compelling reasons to take action throughout the book.  

Edit ruthlessly! When you edit your manuscript, do so multiple times. Show it to more than one person. Consider enlisting the help of a professional copy editor to check for spelling, grammar, and flow. You may have truly breakthrough ideas that your audience can’t live without, but a spelling mistake will detract from your credibility.

Design with care. Just as you might want to hire an editor, also consider a freelance graphic designer to give the visuals some professional punch. Well-placed graphs, photos, and quotes draw the eye through the copy and make reading easier.  

Think about your goals. According to WiseBread.com, only about one percent of all people who self-publish books make significant money at it, so it is important to write an ebook with the right motive: To help your target audience solve a problem. You may not get rich (although you might), but you will position yourself as a thought leader delivering an impressive message to a target audience.

If you are interested in marketing your ebook and promoting yourself as a dental KOL, contact CEO Grace Rizza directly at grace@identitydental.com for a complimentary consultation.

As a dentist or dental office manager, it is difficult to keep track of patient interactions and market your services. Emails can be an effective way to accomplish all these elements. In particular, a drip email campaign communicates the right message to the right audience at the right time. It is a tool that showcases your practice as efficient, caring, and savvy.

Email Campaigns for Dentists

Drip emails are an automated sequence of emails designed to get an audience to take a certain action or feed them information. They can be personalized with each recipient’s name and relevant details. Each campaign builds on a single message or theme, with a set number of emails deployed over a specific timeframe. 

The messages, targeted to specific audiences with “drips” of information over time, increase contact and build trust. Here are three examples:

Existing patients: Drip emails can remind patients about their upcoming semiannual appointments. Each email will contain the appointment date and time with a confirmation link. However, each will also carry a slightly different message that is engaging, enlightening, and educational. 

For example, the initial email can present information about team members with a link to your About Us page; the second can link to your newsletter or request a follow on social media; the third can discuss a new piece of equipment in the office; a fourth can reinforce the safety measures you follow or introduce a promotion. The final email can be a thank-you after the appointment with a link to your Google review page.

Highlighting your services: Drip emails are a low-pressure way to increase awareness of your higher level services such as cosmetic procedures, clear aligners, sleep apnea treatments, and sedation dentistry. 

Before treatments or procedures: If a patient has been scheduled for a procedure, such as a filling, teeth bleaching, or a crown, you can create three emails: one explains the procedure and its benefits; a second could feature testimonials, if applicable; a third could highlight any special night-before instructions. After the procedure, you can follow a customary phone call with an emailed thank-you, aftercare instructions, and invitation to leave a review. 

Welcome new patients: It is important to make new patients feel comfortable and accepted into the “family” from the beginning. You could, for example, send an email thanking them for choosing you. The second touchpoint could be a friendly reminder of any follow-up appointments and a link to your About Us page. Other emails, say monthly or semimonthly, can highlight the different services you offer with links to each.

Email marketing can connect your audience to services pages, videos, review sites, and newsletters. It can easily direct patients to your social media and YouTube channels. 

What Makes a Successful Drip Email Campaign?

The keys to successful drip email marketing include a clever subject line that prompts your audience to open the email. The body needs a call to action without being overtly salesy. Images or videos embedded in the email can also spark interest. In addition, analyzing each campaign, or testing different subject lines and messages, can help you sharpen your focus and increase open rates. Sending out drip emails is automated, and therefore easy; the setup takes work. Do you have the time? Software can help you schedule emails and personalize the message, but setting the right tone for each type of email is an art. Contact Identity Dental Marketing to help you craft effective messages for each point in the marketing lifecycle, deploy your emails, and analyze your campaigns’ effectiveness.

Video posts are the future of social media. They imprint your brand on your intended audience and generate more engagement than other types of content. 

• Twitter reports its video posts get ten times more engagement than text alone or text and images. 
• A recent Instagram Engagement Report shows video content on that platform gets more than twice as many comments as posts with images alone. 
• Facebook video posts have three times the engagement of status posts and twice the engagement of linked posts. 

Why Video Works So Well with Social Media

The personal nature of videos connects with people on an emotional level. Done correctly, video marketing can position you as an authority. The emphasis here is on done correctly. If you have hesitated about creating video posts for social media because you’re afraid of coming off stilted or scripted, here are some tips to make the job easier.

Know your goals. What does your target audience need to know? What information is important to them? Answer that question and you will have the seeds of relevant video subjects. 

Create a content mix. Decide how frequently you want to post videos and then create broad subject categories. If you want your community to know about your technology, your services, and what sets you apart from the competition, create video posts around those three categories. 

Create prompts, not scripts. People rarely come off as authentic when they read from or memorize a script. We have all seen commercials or videos in which it is painfully obvious the speaker is reading from a TelePrompTer or memorized text. It is much better to prepare prompts or questions that you can answer in a natural way from experience.

Stick to what you know. Using your content mix and prompts as references, talk to the phone camera as if it were a patient in your chair (or a client seated across your desk). “As long as you are talking about your area of expertise, actual communication should be pretty easy for you,” says Identity Dental Marketing CEO Grace Rizza. “Just stay within your area of expertise.”

Designating someone to do your videos. If you are wildly uncomfortable with the idea of appearing on camera, you can designate someone else, but choose someone who is extremely unlikely to leave your practice. “That person is going to become the face of your brand,” cautions Grace. It is best to choose an associate dentist, a spouse, or other family member who works at the practice. 

Don’t overthink video length. While some social channels have guidelines, Grace recommends making your videos as long as needed to make your point without extraneous information. Think streamlined but complete. 

Here are two points to remember: If you don’t get all your ideas across in one video, file away the unused points for the future. If your video feels too long, create a short video teaser and link to the complete version on YouTube. 

Are You Ready to Jump into Video Social Media?  

If you’re sold on the idea of videos for social media but don’t have the time to plan, Identity Dental Marketing offers the perfect solution: Our 52-Week Video Marketing Series. 

This package provides a full year’s worth of weekly prompts and instructions customized to your specialty. It offers flexibility for busy professionals. Post your own videos live and on your schedule or record and send them to us for scheduling and posting.

The Identity Dental Marketing team can also manage all your video marketing across channels and provide professional videographer services anywhere in the country. 
Contact us today and learn about our hassle-free, affordable video social media marketing options for dentists and consultants.