In this episode of Beyond Bitewings, we're focusing on helping dental practice owners stand out in what may feel like a very overcrowded space. Ash shares some of his favorite insights from several different interviews he has done with marketing experts Erin Gregor, Darren Tesatori, and Brandon Hubbard. The conversation starts with Erin explaining the importance of creating engaging content and effectively using social media to connect with potential patients. She suggests starting by answering common patient questions and advises against generic posts, emphasizing the value of authenticity in differentiating a dental practice in a crowded market.

Darren sheds light on the critical role that Google Business Profiles play in attracting new patients. He highlights the importance of optimizing these profiles and accumulating positive reviews to secure a spot in the coveted Google three-pack. Brandon expands on the concept of marketing investment, advising that a proper budget and consistent branding efforts can significantly impact a practice's growth. Together, they discuss the idea that marketing shouldn't be passive and should reflect the unique style and story of the dentist to build a strong connection with potential patients.

You can find the full episodes of each of these interviews here:

Darren: https://eandassociates.com/secrets-to-growing-your-dental-practice-with-google-reviews-and-local-seo/

Brandon: https://eandassociates.com/dental-marketing-demystified-how-to-drive-growth-and-stand-out-in-the-industry/

Erin: https://eandassociates.com/how-to-use-social-media-to-grow-your-dental-practice/

Key Topics Discussed:

• Creating engaging content for social media
• Choosing the right social media platforms
• Time and resource allocation for social media efforts
• Setting and managing marketing budgets
• Understanding costs related to acquiring new patients
• Building and maintaining trust with marketing teams
• Importance of content in current marketing strategies
• Transition from traditional to content-driven marketing
• Optimizing Google Business Profiles
• Leveraging online reviews for better visibility

Welcome to Beyond by Wings, the business side of dentistry, brought to you by Edwards and Associates, P. C. Join us as we discuss how to build your dental practice, optimize your income, and plan for your future. This podcast is distributed with the understanding that Edwards and Associates, PC is not rendering legal, accounting, or professional advice. Listeners should consult with their business advisors before acting on any of the information that is shared. At Edwards and Associates, PC, our business is the business of dentistry. For help or more information, visit our website at eandassociates.com. Hello and welcome to another episode of Beyond Bitewings.

My name is Ash and in today's episode, we will be talking about the subject matter of marketing. Many dental practice owners believe that launching their practice is the hardest part, but then comes the challenge of actually growing it and attracting the right patients. With new dental offices opening on every corner, standing out in a crowded market, can feel overwhelming. On top of that, the rapid evolution of social media and AI driven marketing can leave even the most tech savvy business owners struggling to keep up. So, how do you rise above that noise? How much should you be investing in marketing? And what strategies can truly set you apart from the competition? In this special episode, we have compiled insights from industry experts like Darren Tesatori, who's the CEO of Thrive Reviews, Aaron Greger, the founder of Pod Growth, and Brandon Hubbard, the founder of Pain Free Dental Marketing. You'll discover how to leverage the Google three pack for maximum visibility, build an authentic brand that attracts the right patients, and make smart investments in SEO and digital marketing. If you're ready to take your dental practice to the next level, this episode is packed with actionable strategies you won't want to miss. I tell myself, okay, you know what? I need to be present on social media.

So how how should I go about

this? K.

So there's a couple ways to look at it. And how I explain it to clients, you've got content

Mhmm.

Which is your first piece. And look at it as a video you see, written, or podcast. And that's what how we connected. It was through podcast. So that is content that you create. So, a lot of especially, like, people like Dennis or, you know, a more commodity type business, they'll be like, well, what do I talk about? Well, I bet you a million bucks if you sat down and asked your staff or if asked somebody, you're gonna have questions that people are always asking you about, things that people are confused about, why why do I need to come in every six months, why is this recommended, all of these things. And if you made that list, that's kinda your start of what should I be talking about. And that's your content.

The social media, I always describe it as if you had a car. So the content's like the body of the car, like you're

Right.

But it's the wheels that's the social media. So that's how it's gonna get places. Right? So that's how you're using social media to connect and people to find you and all those. And that's just, you know, social media from a kinda high overview. But then it's like, okay. So what what should I be talking about and all that? And the content of the questions are what makes you different? So are you, you know, are you more focused on natural? Alright. So what are those things that people are always talking about? Well, why why shouldn't I use fluoride? Well, that's a whole post right there or a, you know, a a piece of content right there of what why you don't recommend using fluoride if you don't. Right.

Why do you do less X rays? What are the things that you and so you're just educating your clients. And when they find you on social media through that content, they're like, oh, this person gets me. I like what they have to say, and it's that whole cycle of creating what makes you stand out and then getting people to notice what makes you stand out. I think that's a big thing with dentists. I see especially dental practice owners is, like I was telling you, they hire these people that, oh, we're gonna do three posts for you a week. Uh-huh. But there's no rhyme or reason behind the post. They literally take the same picture, and I know that for a fact they do this.

They take the same picture and post it throughout every single person that they work for. So you're you're not standing out at all. You're a checkbox.

I see.

So I

think it's really important to understand how can I be obviously, we're unique? I feel I'm unique. So what can I do through social media to let people know that we are different and why if there's four dentists that are across the corner from each other, what makes us different and why you'd wanna come see us?

Okay. So I do understand that, you know, that should be the main goal you're aiming for, which is Mhmm. Stand yourself out, you know, let the world know that Yeah. You're educated and knowledgeable about a certain topic. Make sure it's not redundancy. Right. It's a topic that your audience is willing to read about or listen to. But at the same time, I'm also thinking of it from the benefit standpoint of the business.

Like again, if I'm strictly looking at it as a tool that will help me, let's say, increase my revenue or, you know, get new patients, what should be the first stepping stone? Like, you know, like, should I look at, like, do I should I open up a business account on all the platforms?

Or No. So you wanna, a, understand your budget, b, understand your resources from your time perspective and what you're willing to do. Mhmm. And then really focus on, alright, where where are my clients going to be? And what are we willing to create? Are you willing to do video? Because if you are, those gonna push you more towards a TikTok or, you know, a more video heavy place versus if you're just, you know, wanting to do standard photos and written, I wouldn't even recommend Facebook at this point, but maybe that's the playground you wanna play in a

little bit more.

So you wanna understand, alright, what am I willing to do? What am I comfortable doing? And then the last thing you wanna be is be everywhere, and then you're not you don't show up anywhere. Does that make sense? So you're spreading yourself thin. Now I would go lock out an account Uh-huh. Of every place, like, just lock out my name maybe on TikTok even though I know I have no plan to use it yet.

So nobody else could use

it. Exactly. Right. So you can at least block that out, but then I would really focus on one, maybe two social channels that you're really gonna go that you know you can post at least a couple times a week. You know how you're gonna use that. You know your clients are there too. Right? So where where do I think my clients are gonna be versus just try because this is the popular one, but focus on those two aspects and then work that, build a system around it, hire somebody to do it, whatever you wanna do, and then expand as you get those systems set.

What do you think is a fair amount of time to spend or to put in to social media management per week or per month?

Yeah. So I would I always like to do the rule of, like, an hour a day. Okay. So, you know, an hour planning your content and and you can just do an hour creating content, like, especially if you're just gonna do videos or something. Like, you can do or what I would probably do is, like, I would have something that's going up on my website personally, like, once a week, even just so I can drive that and then utilizing that to be part of my social. So maybe I'm writing an article about x, and then my social's gonna align with that. Right? So maybe we're doing some videos on that or something along those lines. So, like, an hour for creation, an hour for planning, an hour for the actual, like, posting of it.

It takes more time than you think it's going to, just writing up the post and publishing them. And then, you know, you do wanna spend time and make time aside for, people engaging with you? That's gonna help your algorithm if you're replying back to them and, you know, you're you're actually conversing with them and thanking them and being a part of that. So you wanna have somebody dedicated for that. And the other side too, and I didn't mention this, I would utilize and this may be where Facebook plays too, are reviews. Like, are they leaving reviews through social media? Are they talking about that encouraging people to review you? And, again, that's gonna help the algorithm for you. But I would I would be making sure that's part of your time spent too.

Okay.

Maybe you maybe won't use the full hour if you're not doing, like, extensive podcast or stuff like that, but I think if you can just kind of brace that aside or have somebody from your staff that's part of what they do, that would help too.

Yep. I think that in in short, my answer comes down to a stylistic approach, if you will, of how to determine if you're paying too much for marketing. And I think the first one is, you know, the monetary answer is your total marketing budget generally falls somewhere between 35%. And but I I will say the first one is, you know, let's assume the marketing budget is somewhere around three to 5% of of collections, and then I think we also have to agree what marketing is.

Right.

And to me, when I say marketing, I mean the summation of the branding, the cost of website, the cost of review management, any social ads that we're doing, any content generation cost around, you know, photo shoot or video shoot, and then, of course, add that the cost of advertising, so what you would pay Google or what you would pay Facebook or someone else. So when I think of that budget, I think of the you know, if you sponsor your kid's softball team, I think that's marketing. Now I I would have to call that a donation because I've never heard of a patient coming from it, but, again, I I would have to put that under the marketing bucket. Right? Now it it would you say that we're agreeing on the definition or or it

No. I do agree. No. I completely agree. Yes. So any expense that will help with enhancing the revenue per se, can be considered as marketing or a business promotional expense.

Yeah. So under that premise, if you will, of the three to 5%, I think there's a performance answer and there's an emotional answer. I think that there are certain KPIs that I would look at to determine if a general dentist was overspending on marketing. Mhmm. The first one being, how much does a phone call cost?

That's right.

And and, you know, I I would want to be, you know, somewhere in the depending on how competitive the industry is there, you know, the area they're in is Mhmm. You know, somewhere between 50 to a hundred dollars per call of qualified new patient call. I'm not just talking, you know, any any random call. And assuming they close about 30 to 50% of them Mhmm. Which is below where I personally want it to be, but tends to be about the average.

Mhmm. You

can then extrapolate out that a new patient should cost, you know, from 200 to $300. And I I think that's probably the key KPI that I think you could look at and say, if my cost per call or my cost per new patient is north of that Mhmm. Somewhere in the summation of that marketing definition, there's some kind of problem to diagnose. Right.

That one singular component of marketing.

Yeah. Now I will say that I love you know, Mark Twain has one of my favorite quotes, and there are three lies. There are, you know, lies, damned lies, and statistics. As a marketer, I I do see a lot of companies present information that says how how much your website's improving and how much social presence you've gained and but yet your new patients are falling. And I do think that there's truthfully, when I'm engaged in dialogue on how much is my marketing and what's my marketing team doing for me, and this is what they said, and this is what I see. And, you know, an SEO company reached out to me and said this, you know, or that. It's there's typically an emotional response there of the dentist doesn't feel like the marketing team is working hard for them, or they don't feel like they're they don't have confidence they're working in the right path. I think if you get there and and you don't feel confident in your team, you don't trust what the team is saying to you, they're they're you know, you're not getting, at a minimum, a monthly update of what's going on a face to face, you know, or or Zoom, if you will, conversation, I honestly think you're spending too much on marketing.

Mhmm.

Now there's no number behind that, but I if you can't look at your marketing team and say they're you believe them and they're consistently meeting with you, I think I think any amount is too much. I I think they need to stay in touch. And we've seen in 2023 and, you know, it's been trending this way for several for several years, but the rise of content being king can't be understated. I think that, you know, we're you we as marketers are trying to generate more content. Even look at our podcast. Right? Like

Right.

We're we're trying

to generate more podcasts and to get more exposures and things like that. The dentist office is the same. They need to be celebrating big cases and and taking pictures before and afters in full face and capturing, you know, two or three minutes of the patient talking about their experience. That needs to be put on the website. That needs to be put on Facebook. That needs to be put on Instagram. So marketing is not this passive thing that a dentist hires and, oh, I'm I'm paying the days of paying $300 and doing SEO are are gone. I Right.

I don't know what $300 in SEO would buy you today. You know, probably nothing. And it's really turned into a content game. So to me, the marketing expense today is less around the advertising cost and more around the branding and the connection and the celebration of big treatments, the demonstration of excellence that Adan's does.

Mhmm.

I I I think that that's where we've seen 2023. And and as a function, that's where the money goes. Right? The the money has shifted from big Google ad spends and and big boosted posts to the generation of content and the demonstration of excellence.

And, you know, you you actually pointed out something interesting there that no marketing expense is worthwhile if you cannot get some FaceTime, some form of FaceTime, about, let's say, once a month with your marketing company. It shouldn't be a passive company. It should be, you know, someone that's valued. Right? Or in other words, that marketing company should be valuing you. And that's where you will feel like, you know what? The amount that I'm putting in per month is worthwhile because, you know, I'm actually getting to see a person or talk to a person, you know, and go over numbers or go over what needs to change or what needs more attention.

Why would I assume you're the greatest dentist on the planet if I've never met you? Mhmm. What does happen when I walk through the front desk and see furniture that it has tears in the cushions or something like that needs to be replaced? Or the front desk that has you know, my the worst sign in the world is the the cancellation policy signs. You know, the people who cancel, they're not even gonna they're not even in the practice to see the sign. Like, why are you showing me the good patient the sign?

Right.

All

of those things are marketing to me.

Now, I I guess what we're both understanding here and we're trying to convey to our listeners is that marketing is not like a magic sauce that you pay for it and then magically numbers will change. It's a joint effort, right? The tools will be provided by the marketing company. And yes, there's a lot of work that goes on the back end, as Eric mentioned when we started the podcast, that a lot of times we don't see. And even if there's a monthly phone call conversation, you know, how often are we going to talk about the nitty gritty about, you know, how those SEOs were done and what was used to edit the content? You know, the big picture is painted, right? But understand that a lot of work goes in, a lot of people put in their time to make all of these things happen.

If your marketing team is pushing free specials and and 39 new patient specials, which are are terrible by the way, and you're like, I hate that. I think $1 spent on marketing is too much. The content that's generated for the site, the the style of pictures that is generated, the the social posts need to reflect your style. And if it doesn't, that's $2 is too much to spend on marketing.

Mhmm.

And dentists like to say, well, I I just want what works. Well, if there's a dirty little secret in dental marketing, it's this. I can't sell a cosmetic case to a patient. I can sell the connection of you and your approach to dentistry and your story of why you became a dentist and other cases you've done at the demonstration excellence to a patient, and then you can sell them the treatment.

Mhmm. But a

patient is investing in the relationship with the dentist, and they're assuming the level of quality will be there. And now when you get into the all on fours and all on x's, I I admit that this is a little bit different. But but for your for your for your general dentist, it is a connection that you're selling because there's any number of ways to replace a tooth. I'm not selling an implant. I'm selling a tooth replacement. I'm selling an I'm unhappy with my smile, and we want a dentist that we connect with.

Mhmm.

And that's what marketing needs to represent. That's why I say the emotional side of you need to have a connection with your marketing team because they are not just technical building your site. They represent your brand, and part of your identity is certainly wrapped up in your brand if you're a dentist.

And it's interesting because, you know, the first thing that pops up isn't the customer's website.

No. Really.

It's the it's their Google business profile. It's that profile that Google create for you for free on their map app. So I'll give you an example. Open up your browser on your computer. Type in dental practice near me. You're gonna see a few ads, and then you're gonna see three listings from the Google Maps. And that's called the three pack. That's the Google Map three pack.

It lists those three top businesses that relate to what you're searching for that are pulled from Google Maps, and those are Google Business Profiles. So we then started realizing we needed to shift our attention to optimizing those Google profiles because the customer is not looking at the website first. They're looking at the Google profile first, and then they're going to the website. Now it doesn't mean you shouldn't have a website because Google is going to literally crawl everything that's connected to your Google profile. So, like, for example, you can connect all your social profiles to your Google business profile Mhmm. And you can connect your website. So if your social profiles and your website are out of date or old or not active Mhmm. Google's gonna think that your business isn't active.

They're gonna think that you're not legit, that you're not what this customer is looking for. This customer wants a Mexican restaurant. Well, if your Mexican restaurant hasn't had a review in six months and you haven't posted anything on social media in six months and you haven't changed your website in two years or added anything to your website in two years, Google's not gonna list you in that top three. Especially with the pandemic with so many businesses shutting down, they don't know what's open and what's not. And the only way they know what's open and what's not is by your activity on those different apps. Right? So it's really interesting. There's this whole new science that's developed around optimization of a Google business profile and getting that profile to pop up in the top three organically without spending any money on ads.

So how often do you think reviews need to come in for a business for Google to to think that it is currently active?

That's a really good answer question. So the the first answer to that question is Mhmm. More than your closest competitor.

I see.

Right. So like, I'll give you an example. I have an urgent care customer that's in Northwest Florida.

Mhmm.

Right? Mhmm. And they have, right now, about 6,000 reviews. Mhmm. Right? And they're getting reviews at such a fast rate that their competitors their low low closest competitor is at about a 50 reviews. Right? Wow. So every day, they get anywhere from 10 to 20 reviews. Why? Because they have a very specific strategy in place, and they know exactly when to ask for review, and they have a very simple method that we put in place for them to ask for that review. Mhmm.

And then we also automate the ask for reviews. So we send a text and an email to all the clients that leave. So once they check out Mhmm. And they walk out the door, a text and email will get sent to them asking them to leave a review. But the receptionist will do the same thing. And what they've done is they've implemented a bonus program. So when you get a review and you work through this organization, you get a $10 bonus. So I'm at reception, and I'm seeing a hundred patients a day.

Mhmm.

I

can make some money. That's right. I can probably make more than my hourly pay if I if I ask and get reviews from everybody. So it's a it's a it's a strategy. It is a marketing strategy that they've worked into their marketing budget to pay their staff to get the reviews. Why? Because if you go anywhere within a 25 mile radius of that business and type in urgent care, boom, they're number one. Optimizing your Google profile, it's kinda take a a a big picture of where you start here. Overall, what you need to do is first thing you need to do is you need to make sure the name in your Google business profile is a match for what you need or what your business is.

Okay.

And then you need you need to make sure that your category is proper. Mhmm. A lot of people just randomly pick a category. You don't wanna do that. You want it to be a very specific category that targets what you're offering.

Mhmm.

And then you can pick up to five different subcategories. I recommend keeping it simple and only picking three. Mhmm. We've seen people get lost when they start getting into the four and five. Mhmm. Pick three subcategories that match. And if there are not three subcategories that match, then only pick the ones that do. If it's two, if it's one, that's fine.

You wanna hone in on what your category is. Right? Because that's what Google is going to do. Mhmm. And then you wanna make sure your description is properly written using highly targeted keywords, and use every single word you can in that description. Google gives you a very specific number of words that you can put in your description. Mhmm. You wanna use every single one of those. Right? I think the number here let me see what the actual number yeah.

750 characters. Use 750 characters. If you need to go to ChatGTP and ask it to write it for you, then do that. So, hey, ChatGTP. I am a driver ed school in Seattle, Washington, and I want to write my 750 character, Google business profile description. Can you please write this and put all the keywords that we need into it? Boom. And then you'll get a nice 750 character word, written description. Go in there and reword it all you need, and then post that into your Google profile.

Yeah. So those are the key things that I recommend doing and then also using your Google link. There Google review link. There's an ask for review link in your Google profile. Turn that into QR codes. Give that to every one of your staff that are going to ask for reviews and have them go to that QR code.

Thanks for listening today. Be sure to subscribe to Beyond by Wings on your favorite podcast platform. For more information, you can follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, or reach out to us on our website. You can also shoot us an email at info@eandassociates.com.