As business continues to evolve in the digital age, the importance of a social media presence becomes increasingly necessary. With so many different social media platforms and the variety of people who use them, you may be wondering which is best for you and your business. Here is a breakdown of some of the most popular ones and when and how to use them most effectively:
Facebook
Facebook is all about creating personal relationships and social experiences. Facebook is the perfect platform to show the person(s) behind the business. For dental practices, this is a great place to share interesting cases, pictures, stories, and more about your staff and patients. For dental labs, this is a great place to show your lab’s creativity, technical prowess, dentist or patient testimonials, fun events, etc.
Instagram is all about creating a story through photography. It is the perfect platform to showcase your work. Similar to Facebook, it is OK to mix personal and business. For dental practices, this is a great place to show patient transformations or testimonials. For dental labs, this is a great place to show your work from the beginning with basic design to a beautiful finished product.
Twitter
Twitter is all about being in real time. Twitter is the perfect platform to continually and actively communicate with your audience and update them on news about your business. Twitter provides a great opportunity to create a voice for your business as you can be as modest or as blunt as you choose. For dental practices, this is a great place to communicate directly with and to your patients. For dental labs, this is a great place to communicate with your dental practices and other dental labs.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is all about professionalism. LinkedIn is the perfect platform to connect and learn from other professionals within the dental community. LinkedIn posts that are educational are the most successful. For dental practices and dental labs this is a great place to connect with and learn from other dental professionals and to provide continual education.
YouTube
YouTube is video content. YouTube is the perfect platform to set the tone of your business and create a connection with your desired audience. You can create educational how-to videos, funny singing/dancing compilations, or anything your creative mind can come up with.
No matter which platform your business chooses to be on, there are a few key things to keep in mind.
First, consistency is a must. To build a following, you will need to post at least once or twice a day.
Second, keep your audience in mind. Who are you communicating with and who do you want to communicate with? Will it be the consumer, other dental professionals, or business associates?
Third, before you post anything, be sure you have consent. If you are posting patient or staff pictures and stories, be sure they are OK with it going public.
Happy posting!