3 Things We Wish Dentists Knew About Social Media

When you’re starting or acquiring a dental practice, your whole life becomes “build mode.” 🛠

You’re building a team, building workflows, building trust with new patients, etc. So naturally, when it’s time to turn your attention to digital marketing, you approach it like any other project: What tools do I need?

You’ve got your SEO wrench, your Digital Ads hammer, and your beautiful new custom website as your level. And then there’s Social Media.

It’s still a tool, of course, but the vibe is actually more Bob Ross than Bob the Builder!

Think of social media like your paintbrush: it doesn’t fasten things in place, but it brings your brand to life, infusing everything with color, dimension, and personality!
But here’s where confusion can set in. A lot of practice owners pick up the social media paintbrush... and expect it to work like a power tool.

Social media isn’t as clear-cut as SEO. Instead of reaching one audience (Google) social media aims to reach hundreds of diverse, thinking, breathing humans. It's also not as trackable as paid ads. It doesn’t always come with instant feedback or a neatly packaged ROI. For these reasons, it’s often misunderstood, underutilized, or expected to do things it just wasn’t built to do.

After years of working alongside many wonderful and talented dentists, we’ve noticed a few recurring friction points—the biggest reasons practices end up feeling stuck, frustrated, or disconnected from their online presence. And it makes sense! Social platforms are constantly changing. What worked a year ago doesn’t always work today. Algorithms shift, user behavior evolves, and honestly, it’s exhausting trying to keep up when you’ve got a practice to run.

That’s where we come in! This is what we do, day in and day out. Our team of Social Media Specialists stays on top of trends, updates, and best practices so you don’t have to!
So let’s break it down, shall we?

Listen. I completely understand wanting to put your most polished, professional foot forward on social media. Why wouldn’t you? That’s exactly what you’re doing on your website and in the rest of your marketing. Here’s the thing, though—social plays by a different set of rules. And if your presence comes across as too polished or too pristine, it can start to feel… salesy. Robotic. NPC vibes, if you will.

What matters most here is authenticity.

Show your digital audience who you, your team, and your practice really are! And that doesn’t mean being unprofessional. In fact, it’s the opposite. Authenticity builds trust. People want to see the human side of your practice because it helps them feel more comfortable choosing you.

Often when we ask practice owners, “What do you hope to gain from social media?” The answer is “new patients.” Which is totally fair, and the end goal of most of your digital marketing efforts! The catch is, social works a little differently.

The truth is that most people aren’t following your practice because they’re ready to book an appointment tomorrow.

Organic (not paid) social media is not built to close the deal in a single post. It is built to create connection, trust, and awareness, layer by layer, until someone feels ready to reach out. And in a market where patients often have endless choices, that connection becomes a serious competitive edge.

Familiarity is what fuels long-term loyalty, and it starts taking shape the moment someone finds your account.

In just a few scrolls, they’re picking up on things like your tone, your team dynamic, and what you choose to highlight. All of those details send signals. They help someone decide (often subconsciously) whether your practice feels approachable, thoughtful, and worth learning more about. If the content feels too pushy or overly promotional, that impression can fade just as fast.

Sometimes it’s not the direct and overt invitation to book that gets someone to take the next step. It’s the quiet consistency. The sense that you’re showing up. Not just to market your services, but to be a steady presence in someone’s digital orbit. That’s what can nudge people from passive viewer to active and loyal patient!

So, instead of thinking about each individual post as an ad for your practice, think of them as your handshake before the IRL handshake.

Okay! Let’s fast forward a month or two. You’re doing all the right things, you rockstar! Showing up authentically, staying consistent, and avoiding the hard sell. But you still can’t help but wonder: Is this actually working? Where’s the return on all this?

That kind of second-guessing is more common than you think, particularly when organic social doesn’t offer the kind of instant validation other digital marketing tools do. It’s easy to expect quick wins, especially if you’re used to seeing direct results from ads. But it’s not that your efforts aren’t working, it’s just that social may not always look like it’s working right away.

Unlike ads, which are designed to deliver immediate clicks or conversions, social is a long-term game. One that’s quietly working overtime behind the scenes to deliver something far more valuable than a single appointment, my friend.

Trust, familiarity, name recognition! Those are the magic ingredients that keep people coming back and get them talking about you.

If you’re scratching your head, stay with me!

You might not see it in your dashboard yet, but every Story view, shared post, friend tag, or casual mention? Those are the early indicators that social is doing its job!

Our team of social experts has weathered the ever-changing tides of this industry—algorithms, trends, platforms, you name it. Through it all, one truth has always held up: the accounts that remain consistent over time are the ones that see results. Showing up with purpose (even when no one’s clapping yet!) is never wasted effort.

You don’t need perfect lighting, a viral dance, or whatever a Labubu is.

You just need to stay present. Honest. Human. It might not always feel rewarding or glamorous, and it definitely takes some grit. But it works. And it's earning you the kind of trust no ad can buy.

If you’ve made it this far, congrats! You just made a major mindset shift.✨

What once felt like a construction project might now feel more like a big ol’ blank canvas! Your space to experiment, express, and connect. Keep in mind there’s no pressure to paint a masterpiece every single time you post. Just pick up the paintbrush and…

If this all feels new, that’s because it is. And that’s more than okay.

They didn’t cover social media strategy in dental school. You were trained to care for people, not to grow a brand online—and rightly so! That’s where we come in. Our job is to help make social (and the rest of your digital marketing efforts) feel less like something mysterious in your toolbox and more like something you can pick up with confidence!

If you need a bit more help, we have tons of other social-related resources for you! Or, if you’d rather hand over the brush and let us help bring your brand to life, we’d love to chat!