9 Ways To Attract New Dental Patients On LinkedIn

Though it may not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of “social media networks,” LinkedIn is an incredible tool for social media marketing for dentists to gain new patients. By building their presence on LinkedIn, a dentist can grow their practice and bring in high-value new patients. Read on to learn why LinkedIn is an ideal platform for dental patient acquisition, and find out the specific techniques you can use to get more new dental patients on LinkedIn.

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Why LinkedIn for Dentists?

Here are two important stats about LinkedIn from DentistryIQ that demonstrate LinkedIn’s value for bringing in new dental patients, and high-income ones at that:

1. LinkedIn appears at the top of Google search results more often than other social networks.

2. LinkedIn users have a higher average age and income (44, $110K+) than other social networks (18-29, $69K).

Because LinkedIn has more credibility in search engine results than other social networks, it’s valuable for bringing in new patients with SEO. Secondly, its users are older and wealthier than users of other social networks, so LinkedIn can bring you higher-yielding dental patients compared to Facebook, Instagram, etc.

LinkedIn attracts better quality dental patients than Facebook (Image source: DentistryIQ)

9 New Patient Strategies for LinkedIn

Now that you understand why LinkedIn is so significant for garnering new dental patient traffic let’s get into the details of how you can use LinkedIn to get those new patients into your dentist’s chair.

1. Optimize your LinkedIn profile

Fill out all sections of your LinkedIn profile, including your degrees, schools attended, and practice website. You can also incorporate relevant SEO keywords, including a portfolio with before and after pics. Prospective patients will also see who “recommends” you on your LinkedIn profile.

Optimize your personal LinkedIn profile to showcase your dental credentials.

2. Create a company page for your practice

Your practice's company page is where you can include further information about your dentistry services and other elements that attract new patients, such as keywords and photos. When you have great, search engine-friendly content on your company page, you build brand awareness online.

3. Add contacts and patients on LinkedIn

The more personal and professional LinkedIn Connections you have, the better. Some of these people are prospective patients, and other LinkedIn users will be more inclined to add you (and become prospects) if they are friends with one of your Connections. You can also add first-time patients to your LinkedIn profile to increase the likelihood that they will become repeat patients.

4. Join a professional dental group

In LinkedIn Groups, you can meet even more prospective patients and professional industry connections that can help bring you more patients. Some good industry organizations to connect with on LinkedIn include Dental Technology and American Dental Hygienists’ Association. You can join up to 50 groups per account.

Join and create LinkedIn Groups in your area of specialty to gain quality connections.

5. Create your own group

You can additionally create your own LinkedIn Group, which is like your own mini social network through which you can distribute content, share messages that drive content back to your website, and more. As with your personal profile and company page, you can optimize your group title and descriptions for SEO.

6. Share content with your network

Share links, photos, videos, blog posts, and other content with your LinkedIn Groups. This content should represent your practice and also provide value to the person who sees it. It should include a mix of your own content and content from other sources online. You can share this content with your own group and other groups of which you’re a member.

7. Participate in dentistry discussions

Within LinkedIn Groups, you can join in on dentistry discussions. This demonstrates your value to the group and establishes your online reputation as a highly qualified dental professional. You can also participate by starting your own discussions — for example, by posting a link that you’d like the group to discuss.

Join LinkedIn discussions to demonstrate your dental expertise (Image source: GetReferralMD)

8. Recommend other dental professionals

On LinkedIn, you can leave one-click “Endorsements” as well as lengthier “Recommendations” to show that you recommend a peer, colleague, past employee, etc. These reviews will appear on that person’s profile. When you give someone a Recommendation or Endorsement, there is a good chance they will return the favor, thus making your profile more attractive to potential patients.

9. Run ads on LinkedIn

As with other social networks, you can also place PPC ads on LinkedIn to reach even more potential patients. These ads are highly targeted and affordable and can include text, images, video, and/or links to your website. You also have the option to pay to “boost” a LinkedIn post so that a wider audience will see it.

Conclusion

Though it is mainly a B2B network, LinkedIn is still an amazing way to attract new dental patients. LinkedIn is the largest professional network in the world and an invaluable resource for expanding your professional patient base. It helps you fulfill your new patient goals by connecting you with professional audiences online and through SEO.

For maximum SEO potential, be sure to create a vanity URL for your LinkedIn page (i.e., pay for a customized URL that includes your practice name) and create a profile badge that you can post on your website to promote your LinkedIn profile. If you need help designing any of your LinkedIn presence's SEO, content marketing, or PPC aspects, please do not hesitate to contact us and schedule a free consultation.