blogging
The Case for “Simple” and What Works on Your Dental Website Platform
I’m not here to debate their music. In fact, I’ll go on record and say that I’m a major U2 fan.
It’s their platform – like your dental marketing platform – that enables them to deliver consistently whenever and wherever they choose to make music.
Speaking of wherever, New Yorkers were drawn to a gathering of “street performers” on a subway platform. Imagine the signature sound being created not by some local tribute band but Bono and crew themselves.
I experienced U2 a few years ago in a massive, produced, high-energy, sold-out stadium show. It was epic and I would expect nothing less from an impromptu, street gig as well.
It’s what fans expect from an iconic band.
And it shouldn’t surprise you that the simplicity of an unplugged, street-level gig would have the same awe inspiring impact. That’s U2.
Whatever your “music”, simply deliver
These days dental website copy and content seems to migrate towards a massive, produced, shiny-object approach. Maybe it’s an attempt to legitimize your services in an increasingly competitive market.
Equally popular is the trend towards content “fluff.” Dental-speak, tech-speak, call it what you will.
And even more trending are the easy-way-out, set-it-and-forget-it website platforms that replace your unique “story” (your dental practice brand) with cookie-cutter branding.
It’s time to simplify.
Your dental practice story deserves a platform. In fact, to cut through the noise, it’s required.
You’re in the business of providing dental services and skilled treatment to people. As you’re aware, those who seek your services are, more often than not, motivated by pain (e.g. a tooth ache, swollen gums, tooth loss, etc.).
They don’t wake up daily with the notion of, “Hey, I think I’ll surf the internet for dental information…” But if they’re in pain or if they’re aware of the benefits of dentistry to their overall health, your opportunity to create a “fan” is higher.
So what’s unique about your website?
I’m not talking about graphics, flashy design, pop-ups, sliders, slide-shows, YouTube videos, stock images of beautiful people with Hollywood smiles, page headlines that include the words “state-of-the-art” (promise me you’ll STOP using those words…PLEASE!) and any words that end in “-est.”
Think simplicity.
Okay, let’s define it.
Ready?
Be useful.
Time is of the essence when you capture the online attention of a current or potential dental patient. They stop to listen for one reason – they found YOU.
YOU – in a massive, produced, crowd of dental websites.
And they aren’t there to admire your website.
They want information. Easy to read, easy to understand, take-action-on information.
Information they found by a simple question or word typed into a popular online search tool (Google, Bing, etc.).
The question that defines how “useful” you are: Do they find an answer?
Here are some simple strategies to help:
- Publish blog or article page content that’s readable, conversational, lacks dental-speak, and could be understood by a 5th grader (not sounds like it was written by one…there’s a difference).
- Create downloadable, free information (e-book) on a trendy, seasonal dental topic (teeth whitening for wedding season, back to school dental care, how to use your insurance benefits before it’s too late, etc.).
- Produce a 5 minute weekly podcast episode on Frequently Asked Questions (answer one question per episode…how’s that for being simple and useful).
- Design a monthly or quarterly e-newsletter available by (free) subscription only. Give your readers your behind-the-scenes stuff here and make it appealing to belong to your “tribe” (special offers, promotions, etc just for joining).
- Brainstorm more ideas. Let your mind run free (or email me and we can start a conversation…why not?).
Remember this…
Your online success doesn’t depend on your ability to impress. It does depend on your ability to deliver simply what people have come to expect when they find you.
Simple, useful information.
How to Create Irresistible Dental Marketing that People Respond to Again and Again
The hummingbirds are back. How do I know this?
It’s the same reason people will choose your dental services without you feeling the need to hype up your marketing strategies.
Hummingbird market research (not sure if this is legit…but stick with me) says they return to my region in mid-April. And the experts are usually spot on.
But there’s another reason.
I hung my trusty feeder and filled it with an irresistible resource.
Hummingbirds find me because they seek out the bright, flower-like feeder that contains the sweet, delicious, sugar-water (nectar) I provide just outside my kitchen window. These fascinating creatures flit back and forth for the satisfying energy source countless times from April to October each year.
I just gave you 3 big ideas with my hummingbird observations. Did you catch ‘em?
1-Stop feeling the need to “hype-up” your marketing strategies.
Why do you do this?
Frankly, why does anyone do this?
My perspective? It has to do with the age-old, in-your-face marketing approaches we’re accustomed to.
Most of us were raised on TV and radio advertising that uses over-the-top techniques to get your attention (and they still do). And this was in the hopes that you’d remember them when it came time for a buying decision.
Each morning, my wife and I have the local news on our bedroom TV while we’re dressing and preparing for our day. And every morning, much to her frustration, I make critical, tongue in cheek comments about the advertising spots that run.
Many, if not most are local auto dealerships. Their repetitious, ear-worm inducing, hyper voice over specialists make me want to reach through the screen and shout, “Enough already!”
You get my point, right?!
Be careful that the ear-worm effect doesn’t infect your next dental promotion. Screaming at people to schedule, call, “Like” (Facebook ads, contests, etc), etc risks the same as those obnoxious ad pitches – changing the channel.
The downside (for you) – changing the channel translates to changing dental providers.
And if you’re marketing to dental providers (as many readers here do), be careful you don’t risk the same. I’ve watched your mailers being routinely tossed in the trash by the designated mail “screener” when I worked in a dental practice.
No one’s opening your mailer…because you’re not speaking their language. Or you’re using techniques that are a straight-up turn-off.
It’s the equivalent principle of me placing something less appealing in my hummingbird feeder. A couple of drags off that and those lil’ birds are off to sweeter fields.
It’s more attractive (effective) to create a conversation around your service, products, offers than it is to randomly shove it in their face. Because that’s-how-it’s-always-been-done isn’t a strategy, it’s a path to marketing extinction.
- Build a relationship by providing no-strings-attached (free) content via a consistent blog presence on your website.
- Send email that informs or delivers value (see our latest blog post, etc) instead of promoting something or asking readers to schedule.
- Watch your language – or rather your tone – in each communication or content piece your deliver (ditch the salesy, pitchy tone).
2-Listening IS your market research.
Your patients or clients are asking tons of questions. And many of their questions aren’t obvious…unless you’re listening between the lines and in the margins.
Keep your ear to the ground. What are your patients or clients telling you?
Deep dive into your online reviews or post-treatment/post-sales surveys. Locate the truths below the surface (even the ones tough to hear).
Like Jack Nicholson’s character said to Tom Cruise’s in A Few Good Men – “You can’t handle the truth!”
But you also can’t handle not learning from it and improving your service and marketing strategies.
And speaking of market research.
- Survey your patients/clients with a purpose. Avoid routine, meaningless, corporate-ized, canned survey documents.
- Brainstorm some strategic questions that help you understand what your patients or clients are thinking. Then…respond with like-minded content and marketing strategies.
3-Be the expert they’re listening to.
No one really likes to brag about themselves. Unless you’re a card carrying narcissistic, pompous individual (unfortunate for us all, some are).
The better approach – become brag-able. Translation: become a recognizable expert or authority.
You (yes, YOU) provide a unique, branded approach to whatever your specialty is. Perhaps you’re thinking, “But, there are 100’s of dentists in my city or region…!”
So what?
Here’s my question – are they recognized as a go-to provider, not just in treatment…but also with valuable information about that treatment?
Or…the science behind the treatment?
Or…the latest research (explained in street-level terms)?
Or…with clear, non-technical answers to the questions people are asking about the treatment (remember the earlier point on “listening”)?
These days, people want finger-tip access to information about what’s important to them in the moment. Will you be there…with answers?
- If your website doesn’t have a blog or article page – start one…NOW!
- Make your blog a virtual library of relevant, useful information specific to your expertise, services, etc.
- Build a tribe of loyal readers and sharers by promoting your content to your patient or client list via email updates.
And if you’ve delayed starting a blog because you’re concerned about time or have a fear of writing…
- Hire a content curator and/or a copywriter to research and ghost-write your content on a consistent schedule.
It’s your time to stand out as an expert by taking a few intentional steps. Create the content, share the content, and the results will show.
Let’s review…
Stop the hype. Listen as research. Highlight your expertise.
People, like hummingbirds, migrate to where they find what they need.
How to Make Your Dental Website More than a Digital “Brochure”
The squirrel was efficient, I’ll give him that. But as I watched him, I wondered about something.
And it prompted my thinking about the set-it-and-forget-it approach to your dental website.
These days a website is essential…but it’s far from enough.
The diligent squirrel outside my office window makes sure he has adequate food supply. He finds a food source, searches for a storage location, and buries it.
It’s fascinating to watch (and often a significant distraction). My question: does he remember where he buries all his resources?
That’s a question of survival for the squirrel.
What about you?
Will YOU survive?
I’m not talking existentially. What concerns me here is whether or not you’ll survive the online marketing landscape.
You were wise – however long ago it was – to bury (invest) a significant amount of marketing resources in your dental website. Having a website is as basic as…well…brushing and flossing is to your oral health.
But what good is a website, really?
For starters, your website home page and/or about page captures your reader’s attention. The unique benefits of your practice story and culture should compel readers to click through to the all-important reason they visited your site.
We’re talking treatment, right?
Your dental services pages highlight the benefits of your treatment expertise. And the copy/content should compel them to ultimately click to your contact page to schedule an appointment or connect with one of your team members via email (an ongoing gold-mine if you use it effectively).
Hopefully, your website copy is designed to accomplish those primary functions. If not, we should talk.
The bigger issue
I intentionally omitted what (these days and I suspect for a long time) is the linchpin of an effective online presence.
Be warned, if you’ve adopted my friendly squirrel’s approach – burying it and forgetting it – you’re missing something that will turn your precious website into nothing more than an electronic brochure (and we know what people do with brochures once they’ve read them…).
Back to your dental services – this is where your current and potential new patients often decide via their ever present smart phone or tablet to schedule. A keyword (e.g. dental implant, dental fillings, dental veneers, dental crowns, etc.) landed them on your site.
But here’s the scary part.
They could have landed on any of the 100’s of dental websites locally. How do you stand out?
You tell me…you’re the expert!
I’m not being sarcastic. Actually, I’m paying you a compliment.
The missing element that sets your dental website a part from the crowd is content. Your expertise is the reason people schedule.
It’s also the path to how today’s search engines rank you. No longer is it enough to have a website.
You must have a reason for existing online. Being useful and helpful is first and foremost.
3 Basic Strategies to Prevent Your Dental Website from Being a Wasted Investment
1-Blog consistently
This is content-101. A regular channel that provides useful information is now a marketing essential.
But this is vital!
The content you post, publish, or otherwise share on your blog must be relevant and above all useful. Your blog content will be ignored and possibly penalized (by Google) if it’s lacking authenticity.
By authenticity, I mean – true to your voice, practice culture, expertise, etc. No longer can you post warmed-over, stale, keyword-baited “crap” just to “tease” the search engines (they’re smarter and for good reason).
Be useful! Enough said.
- Dial into the questions your patients are asking (are you listening?) and write blog posts about THAT!
- Make your content interesting at the same time you make it search effective.
- Give patients, site visitors something they can use at the bathroom sink when they’re practicing good oral hygiene.
- Provide first time site visitors something they can share with others about good dietary choices and their link to healthy teeth.
- Be the go-to dental expert in your local search area for not only good dental care but also outstanding dental information.
They find you by your dental keywords. They return by how well you create content around those words via a channel like your dental blog.
2-Showcase your authority with sidebar content (ebook, case study, Podcast, YouTube channel, Social media, etc.)
Think of this as the “something-extra.” Sidebar content is the mint-on-the-pillow (throwback to when 5-star hotels did this kind of thing).
No one comes to a dental website expecting anything more than smiling stock photos of pretty people, right? (That’s another post for another day…don’t get me started.)
Give them more than they expect.
Now, I’m not suggesting that people are reserving precious reading time for your 10 page ebook on teeth whitening. But, they will consider you above the norm if you provide them a compelling title and useful info to go with it.
Make it easy access. Ask for their email address (this is gold). Deliver content to their inbox or smartphone at the click of a sidebar button.
And speaking of smartphone – make certain ALL your online, delivered content is readable on a smart phone or tablet. You greatly reduce your reach and your relevance by missing this all-important benefit.
Use a variety of content products.
- An ebook (10-20 pages) on a frequently asked question (what are patients asking about – teeth whitening, veneers, non-metal braces, etc.?)
- A podcast or downloadable mp3 featuring you and a noted expert on a popular dental product (Sonic Toothbrush, oral cancer, etc.). Portability is key here. Many might not read your expertise but they’ll listen to it on a walk, run, during a workout or on a commute to work.
- Social media relationships. Set up and maintain an active Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Vine, etc. relationship with your patients and site visitors. And by active, I mean more than a random post every 4 weeks. Or only when you’re promoting an office special. And please stop gaming your social relationships with prizes (they get the angle and it makes you look…well…you get the picture).
Connect just because. And if you maintain an active blog presence you should have plenty to share and engage with via social media.
3-Use email better than most (newsletter, blog links, promotions)
This is why I earlier said the email address is “gold.” Once you have this resource you can communicate freely.
Be careful…
Don’t always be hitting their inbox with promotions, treatment specials, and product pitches. This will numb your readers and they’ll hit delete or unsubscribe quicker than you can rinse and spit.
Be intentional, strategic…and (once again) useful with your email content.
- Give as much thought to your subject line as your email content (this will make or break…open or spam your content).
- Balance your email content – less promotions, more usefulness (are you seeing a theme here).
- Tell a story in the first few lines to gain reader attention (like my squirrel story in the this post – you’re still thinking about that spunky lil’ guy arent’ you?)
- Transition naturally from your intro story to your reason for emailing and your all-important call to action.
- Link to your valuable, useful content (speaking of a call-to-action).
And about that squirrel.
He does remember where he keeps his food supply. I’ve watched him.
Instinct is a fascinating thing.
Stop “Selling” Your Dental Services-Try This!
I started selling when I was around 10 years old (give or take a year or two). If I knew then what I know now, well, who knows?
“Selling” your dental services (I was tempted to use “marketing” because it sounds less,…salesy. More on that in a moment) means being comfortable with the process. If you’re not careful your perception will get in the way.
My involvement in scouting organizations introduced me to sales opportunities (in a roundabout way). It wasn’t the organization itself – though I enjoyed my experiences – it was the collateral.
My scout membership entitled me to a direct mail publication. Boy’s Life would arrive in my mailbox monthly and I’d leaf through the magazine to the back portion.
There, in the back pages, was the marketplace! And what I saw there I considered my ticket to a new bicycle, new shoes, or whatever held my attention at the time. No, it wasn’t the offer of those items but the process I believed would get me there.
An emotional connection
Back of the magazine ads hocked everything. And I dove into the sales funnel head first!
I sold garden seeds, greeting cards, stationery – you name it. My door-to-door-in-my-own-neighborhood taught me some valuable lessons.
I now realize I was more courageous then than I am now. Perhaps my goals were different.
Back to basics
You don’t need to be a master at sales to sell. You simply need to understand the basics of the process.
The secrets to more people and/or dental patients “buying” your dental services isn’t rocket science. Frankly, there’s no need to manipulate the process or engage in the latest shiny-object marketing trends.
“The Three Fundamental Rules of Selling”
I credit my virtual mentor and master copywriter, Michael Masterson, for the following sales basics. You will improve your marketing copy and content a thousand times with his insight.
1-“People don’t like the idea of being sold.”
Goods and services move daily from marketplace to consumer, from dental supplier to end-user, from dental practice to dental patient. Billions of dollars change hands annually in the sales process.
If sales make the world go round, why is it taboo? According to Masterson, “People want to buy, but they don’t want to be sold. Buying implies control. Being sold, the opposite.”
This explains why you prefer to browse. It’s comfortable. Browsing puts you at ease as you view your options.
Perhaps it explains why “browsing” is commonly associated with web usage. The purchases and choices you make online don’t include an invasive, in-your-face salesperson putting the “squeeze” on you.
Put people at ease when marketing your dental services. Give them a “browsing” experience not only on your website (you do have one…right?) but most certainly with your copy and content.
A blog that’s consistently updated with fresh content, a social media presence, and engaging, story-focused, non-salesy email content are effective dental marketing tools. These approaches engage people in the buying process – they compel more than they manipulate.
2-“People buy things for emotional, not rational, reasons.”
Rational people wouldn’t spend the significant amounts of money they do on cars, trips, food, etc. Consider the debt people take-on for those and countless other shiny-things.
People try, buy, and use your dental products and dental services for a reason. You assume that your diagnosis and related treatment plan makes complete rational sense.
But the out-of-pocket costs would say otherwise (even if dental insurance is in play).
For example, why do you buy cars, houses, clothes, jewelry, or take trips you can’t afford? Why do you eat food you know isn’t good for you?
Because it makes you feel good!
There’s an emotional connection to what you invest in or spend money on. Tap into emotions and you’ll connect with people.
Fear, greed, vanity, lust, pride, envy, laziness are a few emotions in your operating system. These powerful emotions have led to the success (and the downfall) of countless people (including you…and me).
Include them in your dental marketing copy and content and you’ll see positive results. Consider what the driving emotion (the real motivation) is behind your client’s or patient’s decision.
This means you’ll need to listen for clues (personal benefits) more than you drone on and on about your latest state-of-the-art this or that. Stop talking about what you/your services can do.
Listen…
- Listen to what results the client/patient wants. They’ll get personal (i.e. emotional) if you listen effectively.
- Listen and learn. Then write (sell) to those emotions.
Sell to the heart first. The mind will follow.
And speaking of the mind…
3-Once sold, people will justify their emotional decision with rational reasons.
This is why (and I’m stretching here) television ads have a remote chance of connecting and selling their products.
Think about an automobile ad.
You see a breathtaking image of a scenic highway. A speeding blur of an image (a car) flashes by on the screen. Leaves erupt from the pavement against the sound of a finely tuned, high-performance engine.
The camera pans to the drivers seat. A gloved driver with sunglasses strokes the wheel with one hand. The other hand is on the thigh of his gorgeous female passenger.
For a brief moment, as the commercial concludes, a voice pitches the car, make, model and he latest purchase or lease financing available as the tail lights disappear into the distance and the music fades.
What just happened?
You’re still thinking about the stunning passenger seated next to the driver, aren’t you? Or you’re recalling the sound of the engine as it gripped the road, right?
Either way your heart is racing. But here’s a bigger (more valuable) question…
Why does the commercial clutter up the eye-candy with a list of data?
Answer:
Engine size, torque, fuel economy, interior space, financing options, etc. are designed to make you feel good about the decision you’ve made to consider the purchase.
Fuel economy speaks to your frugal, money-saving self. The ABS braking system and road-gripping suspension appeals to your sense of protection for you and your family.
Good, effective selling appeals to emotions. How you stir those emotions varies.
What’s important is to know what motivates your prospect.
You must ask yourself – “What am I actually selling, promoting, sharing, giving to people?” It’s not the surface features of your dental services, the latest technology in your office, or the newest approach to oral health care.
What do your services deliver to your patient’s emotional desires? Answer that question and promote to it.
Lead with the heart. The rest will follow.
Question: What bugs you about “selling” your dental services? Comment.
3 Compelling Ways to Use Story in Your Dental Marketing Content
Stories have power. It’s why you enjoy a night at the movies or a compelling summer beach read.
And speaking of compelling – that’s the super-power element of effective stories. They compel you.
Your dental marketing content will succeed these days over the marketplace noise for one reason. And you should evaluate your copy and content by this emerging standard.
Story sells.
A recent post on Copyblogger compelled me to explore more deeply this whole idea of story telling content. I’ve been a fan of it for awhile.
The Copyblogger article carried me to another dimension in my future writing for clients. And it will do the same for you if you value having your dental marketing content stand out.
Sean D’Souza says your content storyline must have three core elements to compel a response.
1-The sequence – the events (points, ideas, etc) that build upon each other and create meaning.
2-The suspense – the drama of what’s happening, what’s up, or what’s approaching.
3-The roller coaster – the up and down and all around of good to bad to good, etc.
The reason story works.
A fair amount of marketing content is full of hubris. It talks about YOU, YOU, YOU.
Overused phrases like “state-of-the-art,” and “We’re proud to (announce this or that),” offer very little compelling value.
Where’s the story? And if there is one how does it benefit the reader?
Leaving out compelling benefits mutes your storyline. It’s like reading a clearance-rack biography or paying good money for a 1-star movie – boring and disappointing!
A story (your job: to find it – or hire someone who can – and tell it) has the advantage of a logical and compelling sequence of events. Add in some suspense and a roller-coaster of features and benefits to draw your reader in.
What does this have to do with dental marketing copy and content? Good question.
Enough “suspense.” Here’s the scoop.
3 Story-Intense Dental Marketing Content Tools to Compel Interest in Your Services
1-Case studies
These are story super-powers. A case study is basically a success story.
A dental case study would include a “villain” such as oral cancer, periodontal disease, bleeding gums, yellowed teeth, crooked teeth, etc. Your sequence of events would include the problem, product/treatment/service, and the solution story.
When a patient or prospective client finishes reading this brief success story they’re compelled to take action. Your offer is the action that will solve their problem and create a profitable outcome for you.
2-Blog posts
Appear regularly on your reader’s radar. Blog posts have viral capacity because they create a “what’s next?” response.
Read a compelling blog post and you’ll anticipate the next one. Blog content is evergreen and ever evolving.
Exceptional bloggers earn a spot on your newsfeed. You bookmark their content like you do a favorite passage in a novel or non-fiction book.
Your blog posts will move up the list of fave-reads when you add in story factors.
Keep your posts to between 350 and 500 words on average. Tease the next post by not giving away too much “plot.” Your readers will thank-you by returning again and again to follow your “story.”.
Blog posts build trust too. Become a trusted expert by delivering trusted content week in week out.
Eventually readers become patients, clients, or customers. They will buy/seek your services when you’ve proven yourself as a trusted source of expertise via your blog content.
3-Email
Email is a perfect (and overlooked) canvas for story based copy. Avoid jumping in with your promotion or facts that tip the reader that this is another sale-sy email.
Lead with a story. How?
Listen to culture, current trends, local events, your own experiences. Use these to craft a story that introduces your email.
Lead with a story in your email copy. The added drama will compel your reader to stay with you.
Two essentials – make a good transition from the story to the email purpose (promotion, information, etc.).
And…don’t miss this…
Write a subject line that prompts the email to be opened. Many emails fail at the inbox level because the subject line is anything but compelling.
An email subject line is like a movie trailer. It must move your reader to see the full feature.
Add some drama to your dental marketing copywriting and content. Use story to compel interest and your expertise will profit.
Which content “tool” do you most often use to promote your dental services?