Posted by Amy Carbone on Jan 1, 2019 9:30:00 AM
Influencer marketing may not have to be YouTube celebrities helping big brands to sell consumer goods. Even dentists may be able to grow their local practices by using influencer marketing on a smaller scale, leveraging community leaders or other people with a similarly large following within their own communities.
Learn how this growing marketing practice may be able to help you to attract new patients in this breakdown of influencer marketing for dentists. However, you should consult a legal professional before engaging in any marketing practices, to ensure compliance with relevant laws and regulations where you practice.
What Influencer Marketing is and Why May Help
Think of influencer marketing as digital word of mouth, but on a bigger scale and done by people with their own audience or network. Influencer marketing may help you to create trust and brand loyalty with prospective consumers or patients faster, by building upon the credibility the influencer already has with their network.
Influencers may help to enhance your current marketing campaigns but shouldn’t necessarily be thought of as a replacement for them. Consider using influencers just as you would use any other platform to spread your marketing message.
Finding Influencers
When looking for influencers that may be able to market your dental practice, consider leaders in your community such as:
- Directors of local charities
- Local business leaders
- Local media
- Local celebrities
- Local athletes
- Local bloggers
- Civil servants
- Teachers
- Entertainers
Consider who may be most open to working with you and who makes the right choice for your practice based on their audience. Remember, an influencer may only be as valuable as their audience. They need to be influencing the kind of people that you want to attract as patients.
Be sure your influencer has relevance, reach and resonance with the prospective patients you’re trying to target.
Start by searching for the most popular local social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram, keeping an eye out for active pages with frequent updates and a large, loyal following.
Reaching Out with an Offer
When you narrow down your search to an influencer you want to approach, draft up an offer as a starting point for negotiations. As local influencers and not celebrities, they may have never considered this type of arrangement.
Think about what you want them to say, how frequently, to whom, when and what you’re willing to give them. Some influencers may agree to spread your message as a favor, while others may be more open to compensation.
No matter how or how much you pay influencers to promote your dental practice, think of this arrangement as a business deal, even if no money is exchanged. This type of marketing may require you to disclose the endorsement, or may not be legal at all in your state. Be sure to not only check your local and state laws regarding professional endorsements for medical practitioners but any professional codes of ethics you follow as well.
Influencer Marketing for Your Practice
Learn if influencer marketing is right for growing your practice by starting simply. Once you have a marketing campaign for your practice up and running, enlist a local influencer to help spread your message by contacting them and proposing a formal compensation. Then, supply them with specific content or a message to share with their network in a predetermined way, frequency and time frame. Focus on what makes your practice special and be sure to consider the right tone and message for sharing with their network.
About Treloar & Heisel
Treloar & Heisel is a premier financial services provider to dental and medical professionals across the country. We assist thousands of clients from residency to practice and through retirement with a comprehensive suite of financial services, custom-tailored advice, and a strong national network focused on delivering the highest level of service.
Treloar & Heisel and Treloar & Heisel Risk Management are divisions of Treloar & Heisel, LLC.
Insurance products offered through Treloar & Heisel, LLC.
Treloar & Heisel, LLC. and its divisions do not offer legal or marketing advice. Please consult a legal or marketing professional for any issues concerning these topics.
