When was the last time you watched a VHS tape? Or used dial-up to get on the internet? For that matter, when was the last time you used a PC to check your personal email? The answers to these questions all factor into digital marketing trends for dental practices.
As we’re obviously hinting, evolving technology changes how we do things. It’s worth noting that when people are looking for a dentist, they pick up their smartphones and jump on Google or social media. Technology has improved the effectiveness of things like search engine inquiries. But digital marketing trends for dental practices that we’re most likely to see become even more prominent?
Authenticity Matters
Consumers are savvier than they’ve ever been. The truth is that they have to be. The internet and social media are crawling with fraudulent characters and phony claims. One side effect of being exposed to so many frauds is that people have grown very distrustful of traditional advertising. Look for more brutal honesty from brands in the future. Also, expect to see more companies wanting to be seen doing good deeds for local communities, etc.
Consumer demand for authenticity is especially high among teens and young adults. For example, a newspaper or magazine ad promoting a restaurant chain is practically meaningless to millennials. It doesn’t have much credibility as far as they’re concerned. What influences millennials to make purchases? Influencer marketing. If enough people on social media like that restaurant, they’ll want to go there.
This is part of that authenticity equation. Some slick magazine ad doesn’t speak to them. On the other hand, people on social media that they see as equals can greatly influence millennials to make purchases. This idea also extends to online reviews like Yelp. And it’s not just millennials. This mentality is spreading to other age groups as well, albeit more slowly.
With so much scrutiny, companies can’t get away with a marketing message that rings false. They also can’t easily get away with offering an inferior product or service because people will call them on it. Actually, that’s a nice way of putting it. Inauthentic companies tend to be torn to shreds by influencers and people posting online reviews.
Ethical Marketing Matters
This discussion goes hand in hand with ethical marketing, which is one of Dreamscape Marketing’s most important concerns. Making exaggerated claims in marketing materials will reflect poorly on dental practices. Therefore, we never take part in such unethical marketing techniques. Consumers can spot deceptive or suspicious advertising very easily these days. It’s better for dental practices to be forthright, authentic and approachable.
General dental practices have always been about forming relationships with patients. Now, that idea is more important than ever. Some digital marketing trends for dental practices are about the technology. Authenticity, however, is really about keeping it real.
Look for Voice Search To Become an Even Bigger Thing
Typing in keywords on Google is slowly becoming outdated. It’s amazing to consider that something like 3.5 billion Google searches every day are actually voices searches. Personal assistant devices like Alexa and Siri are spearheading a trend that is bound to become one of the more obvious digital marketing trends for dental practices.
Voice recognition is getting more sophisticated every day. As a result, people are using it more and more, not because it’s a novelty but because it’s helpful. This increasing reliance on voice recognition is already having repercussions on how SEO (search engine optimization) is evolving.
A voice search bears little resemblance to a text search. If you Google something using text, you’ll get literally hundreds of pages to consider. You definitely have a lot of choices to pick from. However, it’s a whole different story with a voice search. For example, let’s say you ask Siri, “Where can I get dental implants near me?” Siri will give you only a few results, maybe even just one. That’s bad news if your dental practice doesn’t come up in these abbreviated results.
To be blunt, if your dental SEO strategy stinks, your practice doesn’t stand a chance of showing up in most voice searches. As important as effective SEO is in text searches, it needs to be stellar if you hope to rank highly in a voice search. For dental practices wishing to increase their production, a good SEO strategy is imperative. As always, it’s wise to work with experts in SEO to improve your ranking for both text and voice searches.
Some digital marketing trends for dental practices may only be in their infancy. Voice search isn’t one of them. Having an effective SEO strategy for text and voice search is necessary for your dental practice right now.
Digital Marketing Trends for Dental Practices – Is Your Practice Ready For Them?
Innovation drives every business. Any company that doesn’t climb aboard the innovation train is bound to find itself left at the station by competitors. That’s why keeping up with digital marketing trends for dental practices is so important. If your marketing message isn’t relevant to prospective patients, you’re in trouble. If your website doesn’t have what it takes to stay competitive, your production is likely to go down.
Dreamscape Marketing, a Premier Google Partner, has the knowledge and experience to keep your website up to date and competitive. We’ve built websites for hundreds of our healthcare clients. Contact us today at 888-307-7304 or through our Contact webpage. Don’t struggle to keep pace with competing practices’ marketing. Get ahead of them!