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Hey docs! In this week's Monday Morning Marketing episode, Minal and I go over 5 key tips to social media for your pediatric dental practice:
Following these 5 tips will take the headache out of "what should I post?" or "My ads aren't reaching the right audience!" Above all, being consistent, utilizing technology, and getting involved in your social community will help build your audience and bring those pediatric patients in the door.
Listen in as Minal and I break down these key tips even more in this week's episode!
You can reach out to Minal Sampat here:
Website: https://minalsampat.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minalsampatllc/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RealTalkWithMinalSampat
Other Mentions and Links:
The Pediatric Dental Marketing Course Enrollment
"You Will Read This First" Post
If you want your questions answered on Monday Morning Marketing, ask me on these platforms:
My Newsletter: https://thedentalmarketer.lpages.co/newsletter/
The Dental Marketer Society Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2031814726927041
Michael: Hey Minal. So talk to us about social media marketing specifically for pediatric dentists. How can we utilize this, or what advice or suggestions can you give us that will help us attract new patients with social
Minal: media?
Social media is incredible. But I think what happens with social media is most of the time we don't know what to do with it. Like everybody keeps telling you, be on social media. Be on social media, but what do you actually do on it? Right now? This is like a six hour workshop on social media. but what I wanna do is I wanna give you guys five specific tips on how you are going to leverage social media as a pediatric dental practice.
Mm-hmm. Here's the first. If you are going to be on a social media platform, whether it is Facebook or Instagram or TikTok or whichever one you decide to do, even LinkedIn. LinkedIn is huge. Nobody talks about LinkedIn, but I'll get into it, is you want to post at least four times a week. Mm-hmm. So everybody who's listening four times a week, three of those post should have actual photos or videos.
Of the practice, not stock stuff, not any of that. And the fourth one is free for all. It could be a review post, it could be a educational post, it could be a carousel, post, whatever you want. But out of those three, You know, you want to focus on showing your practice culture. Right. And because we are a pediatric dental practice, I mean, come on, let's face it, we have the cutest patients.
We have a lot of fun in the practice. If you're seeing, and I'm going to be very, um, minimalistic in this, even if you're just seeing 10 patients a day mm-hmm. Which we all know, we are seeing way more. And you're open five days a week. That's, you are seeing 50 patients a week. I'm saying take three photos or videos.
You can totally, totally do this, right? So the first thing is you need consistency. The reason you need to have four times a week minimum, and that's what I recommend anyways, like I don't think you need to go crazy with every day or stuff like that, but four times a week is because the platforms need to know that you spend time on it.
Why would the algorithms show your content and your page to people if you log in once every two weeks to post? So, It doesn't help you. So if you decide to be on it, the first thing I want you to think about is consistency. Consistent thing with content that shows off your practice culture, not stock photos.
So if you're working with a third party company where they're just posting your blog post or your reviews there, it's, you know, you're getting no engagement, it's not helping you. and if it's not helping you, don't do it. Stop paying. Instead, take those photos and videos and start posting it. That's tip number one.
Tip number two, when it comes to social media, you also need to leverage ads, especially on Facebook and Instagram. In fact, on Facebook and Instagram, specifically on Facebook, when you click on the Boost ad and you go to demographics, you can target parents with specific age group of kids. Let me repeat that.
You can go to boost post, you can select your area, you can select age groups, so for your parents that you know, you usually see, which is going to be anywhere between 25 to 45. Right? So, and I would recommend that you choose females like women, because women usually are the decision makers for healthcare.
And also they're the ones who usually shop on social media. So I would do women, put down your town, put down a radius around it, depending where you're located, how far your patients come to see you, and then put down the age group and then go to demographics and go to parents. And you'll be shocked because you could target parents with specific age group of kids, like zero to three, three to six, six to nine, nine to 12.
Parents of adult kids. Oh yeah. So now when you're boosting that post to some, to a audience, that post is directly going in front of your potential new patients, not just random people. These are parents. Mm-hmm. How does Facebook know how old their kids are? Well, you could ask Facebook, but they know how old their kids are because guess what?
We share everything online. So because of that, They track everything we share and they know exactly what's happening in our lives. I mean, Facebook also knows recently moved if once you go in there, it's mind-blowing how much information they know. So that's the first thing. So first thing you're going to go ahead and make sure that you post the second thing.
You're going to utilize ads and you're going to do targeted ads to parents, cuz that's our audience. The third. engagement truly matters when it comes to social media. So how many likes and comments you have matters. If you have a post on Facebook, let's say comments are the currency on Facebook and Instagram.
Even on LinkedIn, anywhere you have comments is better. So if people are commenting on your post, you should hundred percent comment back because what this does is that it keeps that algorithm alive and keeps your post trending. But here's a strategy. Don't comment on all of them at once or don't like on them, all of them at once.
So don't go like, like, comment, like, comment, like, comment, like comment at one time because once you're done liking and commenting back on all the comments, you're done. So what I do is I follow a strategy. So my strategy would be if I get comments on a post, which is always my goal to get comments or likes or saves or whatever, I would go ahead and comment back, but not like the.
Or I would only go ahead and comment back on half the post at one time and then wait a couple of days and then comment to the rest of them later. Why am I doing that? Cuz I want the algorithm to be trending. I wanted to keep showing that post, right? So if I know that if the post is getting comments, the algorithm's gonna be like, oh, this is great.
It's getting comments. Let's, let's push this up again. Even though this was posted last week, let's push it up. And another cool thing is what happens, Michael, every time somebody likes or comments back, don't you get an alert? Yeah. So what I want to do is I want to send you an alert again, right? So let's say that I am on Instagram and I have a previous post where I got comments, so I commented back on it, but I didn't love all the comments.
So right. As soon as I have my next post that popped up, I'll go back to my previous post and I will hit the like on all the comments that God had because now. It's alerting everybody who commented on my previous post saying, Hey, men just liked your comment. Men just liked your comment, just liked your comment.
And then you're gonna go to my page and you're going to see my new post, ah, strategy. I mean, I'm a marketing strategist. I live it. I walk it, I breathe it. but, um, yeah. So you want to. Some engagement on there and be careful about how do you do the engagement.
That's a third step. Now, the fourth step is going to be a little bit more harder, but follow me along with the fourth step. So this was something, uh, that I myself learned at a conference, and I think it's a brilliant idea and I've tried it multiple times, is, you know how every time you have something that you celebrate, right?
So, like a doctor's birthday and when you have a doctor's birthday, you get all these comments and likes, like that's the post that usually gets a lot of comments and likes and engagement. So this is, again, this is a specific strategy. So follow along with me guys. What I want you to do is go ahead and post it on social media like you would always.
But then I want you to open that post and then grab the u r URL of that actual post. So not the u R URL of your page, but you, when you open that post, whether it's Facebook or Instagram, you get the actual U R L of that specific post. Okay? So go ahead and copy that url. Then you are going to go into your email newsletter system or text system that you have going out to your patients.
You're going to take that. You're going to add that same photo that you added on social media, and you're going to send out an email and you're going to send to all your patients, Hey, it's Dr. Ab and C's Happy birthday today. Uh, help us, wish him a very happy birthday by clicking the photo below or the link below.
So all you have to do is on that photo in your email copy or the text, you add the link to the same exact post. So now when they click on that post and they go on to that specific post on your social media platforms, You are taking your current patients from email to your social media and they're going to comment on the social media post.
Hmm. You see what I mean? Yeah. Because you linked that same post to the URL of that actual post. So I know there's a lot of posts and talking going on here, but this strategy works because the number one question I get is how do I get my current patients to be on social media with us? Mm-hmm. Give them a.
This is a great way for you to bring them. So anything that you know is going to get a lot of comment and engagement and your patients wanna be involved in, which is clearly wishing doctors happy birthday, use this strategy. Post it on social media. Copy the UR of the exact post. Go ahead and have the same photo send out via email and text, and then add the link of the exact post on there so now people can click on it and go there to.
So I know it. It was kind of a boozy, right?
Michael: how do we find the
Minal: url? Click on. Just click on the photo. Oh, I never open it up. Yeah. When you click on any photo, you get the actual url. Even on Instagram, when you click on a post it'll and you go on share, it'll give you the actual URL of that, that exact post.
Michael: Okay. I never knew that. I'm gonna go on to your post Real. And then the U r O would be found. Where? On where, where are you on
Minal: Facebook or I.
Michael: Instagram. Instagram.
Minal: So Instagram, you wanna go on your phone? You wanna go onto your phone? Oh. Oh. And then you could do it. Cause Instagram is a phone app. Oh, no, no, no.
You
Michael: can also do it on, on desktop.
Minal: Well, there you go. Then you've got it on desktop too. So they must have a data. Look at, my
Michael: gosh, look at this. That's pretty cool. Yeah. I'm looking at your New Year's start list of tools to make life easy. Right.
Minal: So when you click on it, do you see how it, yeah. You see how it gives you the exact.
Yeah, so now I would take the same photo, right? Put it into my email copy and with the exact URL and send it out to my audience and say, Hey guys, do you want to go ahead and, uh, get all these tools or tips? Go ahead and click on this link and it'll take you to my Instagram where you can see it. Yeah.
So you do the same thing. I know it kind of works very well.
Michael: That's, that's really good. By the way, depending on when this goes, is gonna go out, if you guys can go follow Manal Sampa, LLC on Instagram, there was a post you did. You said you'll read this first, you'll read this second. You, you, I did it exactly how you told me.
I would read it and I was like, yay, man. Like, how you predict it, you know what I mean? it's a pretty cool post. So I'll put a link to, I'll put a link to that post in the show notes below, but Awesome. So these are the four steps we can do.
Minal: And then the fifth one. And the fifth one is going to be even better.
You guys are ready? Yeah. Okay. So, you know how you always want to make a post, but you never know what to say. Mm-hmm. Every day, like, yeah, like every time it's like, man, I have this really cute photo, but I don't know what to say about the photos. I, I, I, I didn't post it. Chad, g p t. Chat, G p t. So if you need captions, right, this is what you do for captions, guys.
You go into chat, G P T and you said, Hey, gimme a caption for a pediatric dental practice. Or you can put on your practice's name, right? Gimme a caption for a, B, c, pediatric dentistry, uh, about a photo where a kid is high-fiving the doctor. And it'll give you a caption and you can be specific. Gimme an Instagram caption, gimme me a Facebook caption.
Don't use hashtags or add hashtags, or I'll add emojis and it'll give you the caption so you don't have to worry about it. In fact, I'm training all my team members right now and like all the practices I'm working with, so they all get a social media calendar on what to post, right? Like what ideas, what strategy, what to post, and then they can now just go into chat G P T and come up with their captions.
Michael: That's really good, man. That's really, and by the way, for those of you who are in the pediatric dental marketing course mm-hmm. we are putting in more modules on chat, G P T. Mm-hmm. This one case, you guys wanna know more about that and how to utilize it to better your marketing.
You can find that in the pediatric dental marketing course. But then this is the five things we can. Right when it comes to this, where do you manal see the roadblock where people drop the ball,
Minal: it becomes too overwhelming. what to post, when to post, how to post, who's going to do it?
do we have fun content? And then the, the last part, When you don't see immediate success with it, you, you want to give up cuz it takes work, right? So you, you put all this work in and then you're like, oh my God, I'm putting all this work in, but I'm not getting immediate satisfaction. Well, you are not. It takes time like everything else. Social media takes time.
You have to build an audience, you have to engage with them. You have to show them who you are to show them the practice, culture, your services. Remember, uh, there was a theory many years ago that said that somebody has to come across your. Marketing message seven times. Mm-hmm. Um, before they make a choice.
Now that has gone out the window. Now we have like 27 times, 37 times. Cuz ev we are constantly being distracted by other messages. And because we are constantly being distracted, that just means you to keep going. What your focus should be is, am I getting engagement and are people saving my content, engaging with my content.
And many times when I go into my own content, I'm like, oh my God. Only, you know, 40 people liked it, but I go into my saves and 175 people save. And that's what I want, right? So look at the goal. What is your goal? And then work towards it. Everything else can be taught. I mean, we. Pediatric Dental marketing course together, Michael, that you and I kind of go through and we do hands-on, you know, stuff and I have like hands-on training and I show how to do things and how to create calendars and systems and strategies and all that fun stuff inside it.
So information is out there and you know, we are here to help you along with it. You just have to make sure that, one, you stay consistent with it. And two, you also have some fun with it. You know, don't let it get to you. Like then get, don't get into. Of, oh my God. Look at the likes and the comments. I don't have enough.
No, there is. You're competing with yourself. Mm-hmm. You are good. You're okay. So once you have those two things, consistency and being able to have fun with social media, you're going to find results.
Michael: Gotcha. Awesome. So if anyone has any further questions or concerns you can definitely find on Dental Marketer Society, Facebook Group, or where can they reach out to you?
Minal: Absolutely. So my website is minal san.com, which is M I N A l S A M P A t.com. And since we clearly talked about social media, come hang on Instagram with me. You know, I'm Minal san on Instagram, Minal Sam on Facebook. Send me a friend request, I have a digital creator page there and I share a lot of tips.
And then Michael and I, uh, we have just started this awesome, awesome thing where we are doing, uh, is it weekly, Michael? Yeah, yeah. We are doing, uh, weekly. Pediatric dental specific tips. So you know how we just talked about all of this. If you want nine pediatric dental Real Ideas, it's coming to you next week.
By the way. Just f y I letting you know, it's coming to you starting April. We are going to have this, we have opened up this awesome newsletter Michael and I both, we have had a lot of pediatric dentists reach out to us saying, can you guys share ideas with us? Why? So we opened this newsletter, Michael, you're gonna put that in the show notes here.
Mm-hmm.
Michael: Yeah, I'm gonna, and to be open and honest with you guys, a lot of people have asked us that. And me and my, I were like, okay, let's, should we start a Facebook group? Should we start another podcast? So we said easiest way for us and easiest way for you is just to be living in your inbox, right? that's what we're gonna do.
We're gonna send you. Every single week. And that's the best way you can talk to us too, is just hit reply back on those newsletters. And then you can talk to us that way as well if you have any further questions or concerns. But like we mentioned before, the pediatric dental marketing course, that's where you can mastermind with us monthly.
That's where you can get them latest, advice and also strategies on all, everything you're listening to here, especially with also, ground marketing. And it continues to grow, so it's like a, it's a course, but it's like an ever-growing course.
Minal: It's a course's, an ever-growing course, because unfortunately or fortunately, social media marketing keeps changing and we have to keep changing.
Like, for example, Michael just added an entire thing on Chad g p t inside the course because of how powerful it is. And as things change, as life becomes different and as the world we live in keeps to elevate itself, we are here with you and Michael. And I always love to say that the course is not done for you, but it's done with.
And we love that cuz every month we also kind of come on in and do exactly this. Like you ask specific questions and we mastermind and we share and strategies and um, you know, so we kind of keep it, keep it real, you know, we are pretty transparent people so we kind of keep it real and we share ideas.
But yeah, so how we can reach and get some more ideas. We can join the newsletters, check us out, Michael and I on Instagram too, or Facebook and we.
Michael: Yeah, we got you. So awesome guys. Thank you so much Al. Thank you for being with me on this Monday morning marketing episode.
Minal: Thank you for having me.