Essential Elements Of A Dental Marketing Plan
Apr 16, 2018
Apr 16, 2018
10 min read
10 min read
Table of contents
Getting the word out about your dental practice is now easier and cheaper than ever… thanks to the internet!
For dental practices of today, spending a considerable amount of money on marketing no longer means spending half of their budget on TV adverts and praying they’d bring in more patients. It’s more about making your every buck count utilizing the power of the internet...
We have already covered the active role your dental website plays in the grand-scheme of things when it comes to marketing your dental practice online. It’s basically the start and end point of all your marketing efforts. So, it’s vital to have a good looking website that can convince users that you’re really serious about your practice.
Before we begin with discussing the vital elements of a dental marketing plan, let’s first look at some basic objectives that your marketing efforts must absolutely fulfill -
- Attract: Grabbing the attention of a potential patient is paramount when it comes to making your marketing efforts a success.
- Capture: Setting up a mechanism to collect information from users. Taking feedback, offering newsletter subscriptions, e-books & other resourceful information is a nice way to do it.
- Convert: By this point, your potential patients are ready to convert to a customer.
- Retain: According to a study, existing customers bring in 67% more business than new customers. While acquiring new patients is kind of the reason you are marketing your practice online in the first place, you must never lose sight of your old patients.
With the objectives of a marketing plan set, you need to choose the mediums you will target to get the best out of your marketing efforts. And the mediums or elements or areas of executing a dental marketing plan I am going to tell you are not, in any way, specific to dental practices but are widely used all over the globe for other niche industries as well. Here we go -
Content Marketing
Pushing relevant, quality content to your patients (or potential patients) that helps them in solving real-world problems related to your industry should always be at the heart of all your varied marketing efforts, doesn’t matter the platform or medium.
That’s the true essence of content marketing right there and not the self-promotional stuff from brands you see online.
Starting a new blog is the right way and often times the first step to kickstart your content marketing journey.
Say, for a dental blog, the topics you can capitalize upon could be about ways to maintain the right dental health, the latest treatments in town and other informational but relevant topics.
If done right, a well maintained blog can generate a steady flow of traffic coming to your website from scratch and keep the momentum going for long. But don’t think your content marketing efforts are confined to just marketing your own blog, even the content on your web pages can serve you well if marketed in the right place and at the right time. And it doesn’t matter if you’re posting a on Social Media, if you’re playing with content, it’s already a part of your content marketing efforts.
Search Engine Optimization
I am pretty sure you must have used Google or some other search engine at some point to make your life easier.
Infact, I don’t blame you, there are 32.8 million searches made on Google everyday and they are all made by people looking for some answers.
Suppose, even if a small fraction of them are using Search Engine Optimization for best dental practices around them, you could be drowning in some serious traffic right now but in order for that to happen, you need to rank on Google.
Making yourself visible on Google is no walk in the park. You’ll have to base all your website and blog content (see, I told you it’s all about content) around keywords and that takes a lot of time and research.
If you are looking to give keyword research a go, our keyword research guide can give you a headstart.
Yes, it’s a pain... but if done right, Google can drive massive traffic to your keyword optimized website.
Social Media Marketing
Can you name a place where all your potential dental patients hang out?
It’s Social Media (or Facebook to be more precise).
In recent years, the entire Social Media space has evolved as a marketing arsenal of its own.
You can expand your outreach endeavours on Social Media and build a loyal following with the help of engaging and visual posts, provide exceptional & quick customer support, have a look at important marketing analytics and what not, all through a single platform... which I think is amazing!
And it can turn out to be amazing for your brand exposure as well. You can choose to spend money on marketing on these platforms or stay organic, it’s completely on you.
Yes, paying for marketing on Social Media has its own advantages but staying organic usually reaps enough exposure to get the ball rolling, after it, it’s up to you how creative (but relevant) you can get with your posts to make your fans stay.
Patient Support
Remember the part about retaining patients? Patient Support is all about that and more.
You absolutely need to have a relationship manager for your dental practice who will be the sole point of contact for all your patients.Being present on all the various platforms (including your website) comes with responsibilities.By marking your presence and actively marketing on all your preferred platforms, you give your users a way to contact you as well. And Social Media has emerged as a preferred way for users to submit some feedback (good and bad) or get support. But they can give you a call as well or submit a query on your website or send you an email, so you need to be present for them when they need you wherever they are or you’ll lose them if their queries go unheard or unreplied.
Most practitioners don’t pay much heed to this part of their marketing plan and loose patients through the back door. But sometimes, a good support system or a complete lack of it can make all the difference in the level of success of your marketing plan.
Modern day marketing is not about doing one thing, you’ll have to do a lot of things and do them all simultaneously and in sync to keep the ball rolling.
Only optimizing your website for SEO won’t work well unless you have keyword wrapped content on your website. Having Social Media profiles for your dental practice is great, but if you don’t have a website to channel them further through the sales funnel, you won’t see much conversions. Just adding content on your website won’t help you gain exposure if it fails to create value….
It’s all interconnected and you will have to optimize your practice for each of them to see the best results.
Why Google Tag Manager Can Improve Your Site’s Conversion Rates
Needless to say, digital marketing has at least one thing vaguely defined: a good content. What can qualify as a good content? We have had surveys that took the length of the content as a parameter while others relied on the emphasis of visuals, more data to gain more user attention. However, there is still no sure-shot formula that can explain what a good, successful content is. Even through web analytics, the ideal content parameters have not emerged. It is hard both for marketers as well as industry influencers to determine what content can yield you better in terms of traffic acquisition, conversion, tendency to get viral, etc. Where are our metrics failing? Maybe the key to exploring this can be found in the way we treat our metrics. We certainly keep a check on Page Views, Bounce Rates , and other stuff, but then do they give you the complete picture, if at all? Not Tracking Content Interaction While the Page Views and Bounce Rates do tell you about the user’s behavior on the page, but the crucial information about the user’s interaction with the web page is missing. Did the user read the whole page, did he scroll below to check more, and did he share the content after he scrolled to the bottom or was it shared just after a 2 sec glance? Such information can reveal to us about the impact content generated on the audience and how to convert impressed visitors into future customers. Unless you know how the user interacted with your web page, you can’t do much about improving the user experience either. Google Tag Manager Your business can perform better when it can extract accurate data from your website. Instead of deploying each tag to measure the activity log and keep a track of such crucial website data, you can use Google Tags to make things work simpler and quicker. Google Tags are snippets of website codes, generally in JavaScript, to track the visitor behavior and understand the efficiency of your site. Adding tags and setting up campaigns will work only when it is efficiently managed. While redundant or incorrectly applied tags hamper the site performance and result in duplicate costs or missing data, it is a very time-consuming task for IT team to add or modify tags. Image: SourceHaving a tag manager such as Google Tag Manager can help you create multiple tags that can be managed single-handedly without incurring any delay in time. Define your triggers and get the most up-to-date tag configuration whenever someone visits your site. Apart from monitoring custom activities, Tags can: Minimize Coding Errors Since manual tagging can be difficult and time-taking for any team, Google Tag Manager will help you condense the tags in a manageable form. No more worrying about improperly applied or duplicate tags: your data is secure, and the costs are optimized. Decrease Load Times Your page loads slow due to several factors, one of them is having a lot of individual tags inserted in the web pages. Wouldn't it be helpful if you could replace all the tags with one or two line of code? That is what GTM does. Loading code asynchronously, GTM deploys the application that is relevant to the visitor and the page. This feature reduces the page loading time and boosts the performance of the site. As per a study by Aberdeen Group, even a second's delay in site's response can lower the conversion rate up to seven percents. When your code is streamlined, and no individual tags offer resistance in page loading, your site can bring more visitors and can have better conversion rates. Ever changing digital marketing business requires you to keep your site relevant. While analytics tools like Google Analytics are helpful in extracting the data accurately, factors like deployment delay and site's performance are often dubious under GA. Also, sometimes one may forget to add a Google Analytics event to a critical form submission, or there might be errors in changing a key configuration setting. With a strong tool like Google Tag Manager, things can become more seamless, thereby allowing the marketers access to a larger range of information resources. Working perfectly on both desktop sites as well as mobile apps, this can reduce the manual effort and increase both the preciseness of website data and the performance of the site. ...
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What is SEO Semantic Markup and How to Make Your HTML SEO-Friendly?
One element frequently overlooked in improving a website's visibility on search engines is the importance of Semantic Markup. As search engines evolve, they focus more on understanding content's context and meaning. Semantic markup organizes your HTML structure, making it easier for search engines to understand your content's context and meaning. This can improve your site's rankings and visibility in search results. This guide will cover everything you need to know about SEO semantic markup. We'll discuss its significance and benefits and offer tips on implementing it effectively on your website. This information is valuable for experienced developers and curious marketers interested in making their web content more SEO-friendly. What is Semantic Markup? Using HTML elements and attributes to convey the significance and arrangement of your content to both people and search engines is known as Semantic Markup. Semantic markup goes beyond merely presenting information visually; it aims to provide context and relationships within web pages. At its core, semantic markup is about using the right HTML tags for the right purpose. Instead of relying only on generic tags like <div> and <span>, semantic HTML leverages more descriptive elements such as <nav>, <header>, <article>, and <footer>. These elements give search engines and other machines a clearer understanding of your content's structure and purpose. Importance of Semantic Elements for SEO Implementing proper semantic markup can have several benefits for your SEO strategies: 1. Improved crawlability: Search engine bots can more easily understand and index your content when properly structured. 2. Improved user experience: Semantic HTML often leads to better accessibility and usability for your visitors. 3. Featured snippets: Well-structured content is more likely to be featured in rich snippets and other SERP features. 4. Mobile optimization: Semantic markup SEO ensures your content is properly displayed across various devices. 5. Voice search optimization: As voice search becomes more popular, having content with good structure and semantic keywords increases the likelihood of being included in voice search results. In conclusion, semantic SEO services enhance crawlability, user experience, visibility in featured snippets, mobile, and voice search results. Navigation Block Element - <nav> The <nav> element is crucial for defining the main navigation areas of your website. Semantic markup assists search engines in comprehending the architecture of your website and the connections among various pages. Best practices for using the <nav> element: Use it for primary navigation menus. Include links to your most important pages. Keep the structure simple and clean. Where do people go wrong with the <nav>? There are several common mistakes when using the <nav> element: No <p> Tags One frequent error is including paragraph tags within the navigation structure. The <nav> element is meant for navigation links, not for paragraph text. No Heading Tags Another mistake is using heading tags within the navigation. While using headings to structure your menu might seem logical, it's not semantically correct. No Keywords Are Included While it's important to use descriptive anchor text, some webmasters need to take advantage of the opportunity to include relevant keywords in their navigation. When appropriate, try to incorporate keywords that describe the linked page: How do you style the nav if you cannot include heading & <p> HTML? Rely on CSS to style your navigation without inappropriately using semantic elements. Use classes or IDs to target your navigation elements for styling. HTML Tag - <body> The <body> tag contains the primary content of your webpage. It's crucial to structure the content within the <body> correctly for optimal SEO. Best practices for the <body> tag: Ensure all visible content is within the <body> tag. Use a logical hierarchy of headings (<h1> through <h6>). Use paragraph tags (<p>) for text content. Utilize semantic elements like <article>, <section>, and <aside> to structure your content. Footer Tag - <footer> The <footer> element defines the footer section of a document or a section. It typically has information about the author, copyright data, or links to related documents. Best practices for the <footer> element: Use it for site-wide footer content. Include copyright information and important links. Avoid using it for main content or navigation that should be in the <nav> element. Here are some common mistakes we find: Including main content in the footer: The footer should contain supplementary information, not primary content. Overloading with links: While including some important links is fine, the footer should not become a secondary navigation menu. Using heading tags inappropriately: Avoid using <h1> or <h2> tags in the footer, as these should be reserved for the main content. Duplicating content: Make sure that the information in your footer isn't unnecessarily repeated elsewhere on the page. What prevents you from using semantic elements within the <nav> and <footer>? The reason for avoiding certain semantic elements like heading tags (<h1>, <h2>, etc.) and paragraph tags (<p>) in the <nav> and <footer> is to maintain a clear hierarchy and structure of your content. Heading tags carry significant weight for semantic SEO. They should be used to structure the main content of your page, not for navigation items or footer information. Using them in the navigation or footer may cause search engines to become confused regarding the main emphasis of your content. Similarly, paragraph tags are meant for body content. Navigation links and footer information are typically separate from the main content flow, so using <p> tags in these areas isn't semantically correct. Instead, for styling purposes in these areas, use <div> tags with appropriate classes and style them using CSS. This approach maintains semantic correctness while allowing for flexible styling and improving semantic markup SEO. More about <h1> and Heading Markups Headings play a crucial role in both structuring your content and signaling its importance to search engines. Here are some best practices: Use only one <h1> tag per page, usually reserved for the main title or headline. Follow a logical hierarchy: <h1> for the main title, <h2> for major sections, <h3> for subsections, and so on. Avoid skipping heading levels (e.g., don't jump from <h2> to <h4>). Use headings to create a clear content outline. Include relevant keywords in your headings when they make sense naturally. Does structured data Matter? Absolutely! Structured data, often implemented using JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data), plays a significant role in assisting search engines in comprehending the content and context of your web pages. Structured data can improve your site's appearance in rich snippets, showcasing details like star ratings, product prices, or recipe cooking times. These rich results can significantly improve your click-through rates from search engine results pages. When implementing structured data: Use the appropriate schema for your content type (e.g., Product, Article, Recipe). Include all required properties for the schema you're using. Ensure your structured data matches the visible content on the page. Validate your markup using Google's Structured Data Testing Tool. What other Semantic elements should you review? While we've covered some of the most important semantic elements, there are several others worth considering for your SEO semantic markup strategy: <article> Use this for self-contained content, like blog posts or news articles that could be distributed independently. <aside> This is perfect for content that's tangentially related to the main content, such as sidebars or pull quotes. <main> This element specifies the main content area of a document. <section> Use this to group related content together, especially when you want to create a hierarchy within your page. <time> This element is useful for marking up dates and times, which can be particularly helpful for event schemas. <figure> and <figcaption> These are great for images, diagrams, or illustrations referenced in the main content. Want to reduce your CAC to half? Book a strategy call When is Technical Debt a problem? The buildup of out-of-date or subpar HTML practices is known as technical debt, and it can impact your website's search engine performance negatively. It becomes a problem when: Your site's structure is difficult for search engines to crawl and understand. You're not taking advantage of newer HTML5 semantic elements. Your markup is inconsistent across your site. You're using deprecated HTML elements or attributes. Your site's performance is suffering due to bloated or inefficient code. To address technical debt: Perform regular site audits to pinpoint areas needing improvement. Stay updated about the latest HTML standards and adhere to best practices. Gradually update older pages to use modern semantic markup. Implement a style guide to ensure consistency across your site. Consider the long-term impact of SEO when making development decisions. Common Mistakes to Avoid in SEO Markup Avoiding common SEO markup mistakes is crucial for improving search engine rankings and user experience. Here are key errors to watch for: Overuse of generic tags: Relying too heavily on <div> and <span> tags without utilizing more semantic alternatives. Misuse of heading tags: Using headings for styling rather than creating a logical content hierarchy. Neglecting the importance of the <title> tag: Failing to create unique, descriptive title tags for each page. Ignoring alt text for images: Not providing descriptive alternative text for images, which helps both accessibility and SEO. Improper use of the <nav> and <footer> elements: Including content in these elements that don't belong there. Neglecting structured data: Failing to implement schema markup to provide additional context to search engines. By addressing these SEO markup mistakes, you can enhance your site's visibility, accessibility, and overall performance in search engines. Want to reduce your CAC to half? Book a strategy call Conclusion To sum it up, think of SEO semantic markup as making your website easy to understand for both search engines and people. It's like organizing everything on your site so it's easy to find. You should use specific labels for your content, keep everything in order, and add extra bits of information that search engines like. This is a good idea whether you’re starting a new website or revamping an old one. By doing this, your website will be easier for search engines to find and people to navigate. Start doing these things now, and you’ll make your website better and easier to find. Book a Strategy Call to discover how Saffron Edge can elevate your website with the power of semantic markup. It’s your time to get noticed by both search engines and your audience! ...
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How Can 'Virtual Try-on' Help You Get More Eyes on Your Business?
Virtual Try-on - the next big thing in the eCommerce business world. It enables customers to try on your products using their camera-equipped devices. Let's know how this bleeding edge technology can leverage your business. Over 53% of consumers say they are more likely to purchase from companies that provide augmented and virtual reality experiences. It's an undeniable reality that people spend more time looking at their phones and computers than at print ads or stores. In a nutshell, the key to success is putting your brand onto the consumers' rectangle displays. Let's put aside the what, and the how for now and go more deeply into the topic of WHY. Here's a rundown of why augmented and virtual reality experiences are so important right now: By 2030, the metaverse will have adopted AR and VR effects, which are predicted to boost consumption by 10%. Engagement with augmented reality try-on and filters may reach astounding heights (up to 90%). The reasons go on and on, but the bottom line is that augmented reality is crucial to the continued existence of high-end companies in today's hyper-digitized environment. Check out the guide below to learn about the evolving fashion business and its potential in the metaverse. What Is Virtual Try-On? Customers may virtually try on items like apparel, jewelry, and makeup using their mobile devices - all thanks to a virtual try-on option available on many shopping apps and websites. The concept of augmented reality, in which digital information is superimposed over a user's view of the environment using a mobile device's camera. To put it another way, virtual try-on technology allows consumers to "try on" garments using an avatar before actually purchasing them. The term "virtual try-on" refers to the process of virtually trying on a piece of clothing or an accessory that was digitally created. That way, you can tell if an item will fit without actually trying it on by seeing how it appears on an avatar of yourself. Therefore, virtual try-on technology could make it possible to test out garments before purchasing them. These days many online retailers' sites and apps are providing virtual try-on options for their customers. And it is expected that more and more retailers and DTC brands will gradually adopt "Virtual try-on" options to improve their customers' experience. By 2025, the augmented reality market is expected to be worth $198 billion, up from $3.5 billion in 2017. When augmented reality is used in tandem with 3D body scanning, revolutionary strides may be made in the retail fashion industry. Virtual Try-On for E-commerce Brands The virtual try-on feature has several advantages, but one of the most significant is the improvement it may bring to the client experience. However, this feature can also serve as a useful tool for learning. In order to better serve your clients, you may monitor your sales data, analyze your product offerings, and adjust your promotional strategies accordingly. In the midst of the dynamic landscape, when people are increasingly purchasing online and approaching every personal interaction with trepidation, the virtual trial can help decrease the enormous expenses paid by the return of items. After the pandemic, there was a noticeable surge in online shopping, making a more quantitative e-commerce audit crucial. Insights on the Advantages of a Digital Fitting Room The use of augmented reality (AR) is increasing in popularity every day, mostly because of its availability on most modern computers and smartphones. Because of this, consumer demand for virtual try-on solutions is substantial and readily available. This is a fantastic chance for businesses to connect with their target audiences on their chosen channels. When it comes to advertising and sales, a virtual try-on may make a huge difference for businesses. Customers may get a realistic, individualized visual of a product in a matter of seconds with a virtual try-on, whether they use a smart mirror in a physical store or a specialized smartphone application. Customers can rapidly try hundreds of things, and they may even receive suggestions for additional purchases. As well as aiding your consumers in their purchasing decisions, a virtual try-on may provide a wealth of information. For instance, you may monitor which goods are selling well and modify your distribution to serve your clients' requirements better. At a time of worldwide pandemic when people are increasingly buying online and approaching every customer with a personalized experience, a virtual try-on may also help businesses save the enormous expenses that sometimes accrue due to the return of items. Even more so when shopping online, customers benefit greatly from being able to try on the product of their interest. Customers are more likely to make a purchase and be satisfied with it if they are confident in the product's ability to meet their needs. After receiving such treatment, clients are more inclined to return for future purchases. Industries Using AR Technology Successfully Several well-known sectors are using this technology. There is no limit to the number of industries and businesses that might benefit from a virtual try-on solution, including but not limited to the ones listed below. One common application of augmented reality technology is the ability to try on eyewear such as glasses and sunglasses virtually. Customers can save time and energy by using this technology to virtually try on eyeglasses and sunglasses from the convenience of their own homes before making a final purchase decision. The optical industry is being revolutionized by providing the customer with these options. In addition, virtual try-on technology has also been widely adopted in the clothing sector. How to Develop a Virtual try-on? Each brand's virtual try-on experience needs to be unique. It ought to be simple to navigate and show off things convincingly. Each client's virtual try-on experience should be customized to meet their unique requirements. But the fundamental stages of growth remain consistent no matter the context. To begin, you must have the ability to recognize a face in an image or video. Using a total of 99 facial points, you can be able to identify and follow the movements of human faces in real-time using advanced technology. This makes it such that the 'product of choice' follows the user's gaze in the same way a mirror does. All the user has to do is turn on the camera for it to start recording. Then, the items are meticulously displayed to their full potential Showing the features that are relevant to customers as accurately as feasible is crucial for this technology to be beneficial for customers and profitable for businesses. For example, initially, red lipstick may seem like a basic product, but consumers will notice the difference between the many red tones and the glossy vs. matte finish. To ensure your customer gets the most accurate detail of your products, it's essential to work on your products' technology and 3D model. Finally, the application must be created More and more companies are allowing customers to test things via mobile applications or on the company's website. With the apparent advantages of contactless testing and purchasing, virtual try-on solutions are also widely deployed on tablets or smart mirrors in actual stores. How Can You Benefit from Using Virtual Try-On for Your Company? The market is very competitive due to the rapid expansion of the online industry. Now, customers have tremendous leeway to reconsider their purchasing decision. That's why it's important to clarify the product's benefits to the buyer so they can make an informed buying decision. To minimize product returns, the retailer or brand needs to improve the in-store experience as closely as possible online. Keeping your system up to date with the newest technological developments is a certain method to give your organization a leg up on the competition. Since augmented reality and virtual try-on technologies are in high demand right now, adopting them might significantly impact your company's bottom line. What's Next for Virtual Try-on? If integrated into a larger company plan and able to support how you do business, virtual try-on may be a fantastic way to improve your customers' in-store and online shopping experiences. By allowing customers to try things out and providing guidance at uncertain times, they have the potential to become a standard pit stop along the customer journey. The virtual try-on feature can benefit your firm if you understand how to employ it, why you're employing it, and how to integrate it into your overall service strategy. The Next Big Thing in Virtual Shopping Experiences! 3D technology is crucial to winning over the next generation of customers. Innovative and flawless goods and excellent customer service are the keys to success, especially for fashion brands. Try-cutting-edge tools, like Virtual try-on, make shopping more exciting and satisfying for customers in the digital age. As a brand, your objective is to develop experiences that promote impact, visits, and higher revenue through virtual try-on. It helps your green initiatives along as an added advantage. In conclusion, you should immediately begin working on implementing a virtual-try-on function for your customers. Get in touch with our experts; we will brief you on how this bleeding-edge technology can lift the way you do business. We facilitate your customer experience by creating the best version of your products so your customers can virtually try them and may make a decision that goes in your favor. Contact us now! ...
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