Due to #physicaldistancing, our means in which to connect with our fellow humans has shifted to purely digital platforms, so, naturally, the digital world is very noisy right now. How in the world can dental practices cut through the clutter and reach their patients with valuable content, updates, and overall support? 

Focus on Heart Share

With things changing so quickly in dental, and really, everywhere, adapting is necessary. Normal circumstances call for normal content marketing strategies, but we’re not really in “normal” times at the moment, so why would the strategies stay the same? Or worse, stop all-together? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again...radio silence is not the answer. 

The answer (you guessed it): capture heart share. 

When we talk about heart share, we’re talking about the way in which you interact with your patients. We’re talking about your commitment to their wellbeing and health, and that passion, drive, and dedication that we all know you have for your craft. 

Now more than ever, is your chance to go above and beyond with that commitment by showing up for your community digitally. Boosting your posts is just one strategy to help ensure you’re actually doing it. 

Boosted Posts vs. Ads

First, let’s view the difference between a boosted post and an ad at 30,000ft.

Say you have a post on your Facebook Business page (like a video or an article) that has received a good amount of likes or comments from your Facebook audience, but you want even more people inside and even outside that audience to see or interact with the post. Instead of creating a new ad and losing the organic traffic you already gained, boosting the post allows you to simply throw more coals on that fire, and reach an even larger audience. Typically this would involve people who like your page, friends of people who like your page, and people in your local area. 

Similarly, an ad can target audiences, use the same content, and establish brand awareness, name recognition, and market share. But, there are some key differences in the flexibility of an ad as opposed to a boosted post, such as how your budget is spent and the types of ads that can be run.  The main difference, however, are the intentions behind both strategies. 

Traditionally, the goal of an ad is to receive some sort of response (like a phone call or a form submission), whereas with a boosted post, the goal is to gain more organic reach, and in turn, have that audience interact with your post. In today's current climate, you can utilize either or both (ps. we like both) to strengthen your message, stay in front of your audience, and market through the storm.

To learn more about how to structure your ad strategy during this time, check out our article: How to Market Through Coronavirus

Utilize Organic Content

It’s no secret that Facebook’s most recent algorithm doesn't do any favors to businesses’ organic reach, but that doesn't mean you should disregard the social platform entirely! On the contrary, having a good understanding of your audience, staying tuned into what’s trending (like, I don’t know, COVID-19?), and being creative with features like Stories, videos, and boosted posts, are all ways to keep your practice in front of your community when they need you most. 

Does that mean you should boost every single piece of content you post from here on out? No. That’s not even something you should do under normal circumstances. 

Instead, look at your content calendar and decide what posts, videos, or articles would be most important for your audience to see on that given week, and boost accordingly. Another option is to let your audience speak for themselves by boosting the top post (ie. had the most likes and/or comments) from that week to keep the momentum going.

When it comes to what kind of organic content to post, it could be anything from a cell phone video message from your homestead, to updates regarding your practice’s health & safety measures, to giveaways or special offers for future dental appointments...the list, quite literally, goes on and on.

That all said, don’t let the possibilities overwhelm you. What matters is that you're providing a source for information and support for your patients, and your entire community, during a difficult time. Leveraging boosted posts, ads, and a solid content marketing strategy will simply help your practice stay ahead of the game when things do start to normalize again, and set your practice on the road to recovery much, much faster.