Let's face it, social media can feel like a massive time suck. So it's critical that the time you and your team invest in social media is effective!
Below are posts that will help to build:
- Authority: by positioning you as an authority in your field
- Affinity: by creating a relationship with potential patients
- Awareness: by raising awareness of your products and services
The are two groups of post ideas: one for dental practices and one for cosmetic clinics, but it's worth looking at both as they're adaptable!
Dental Practice Post Ideas
- Google “facts about teeth” or “weird facts about teeth” and ‘steal’ one of the ideas. Turn it into a post of your own. Here are a couple of places to look to start you off:
10 Weird Facts About Teeth
25 Kickass and Interesting Facts About Teeth
People in medieval Japan would dye their teeth BLACK because having white teeth was considered unhealthy! - Snap a pic of yourself with your toothbrush – why do you use this one? Bonus points if you’re in your jammies! It’s a great way of building a bond with your audience.
- Create a series by getting each of your team to snap a picture of themselves in their pyjamas with their toothbrush and explaining why they use that brush
- Create a short video of you or a team member flossing and showing how to do it right!
- Create a short video of how to use a water flosser or some other home dental hygiene tool. This is a personal favourite of mine because when I bought my water flosser there weren’t any instructions. I had to Google them.
- What toothpaste do you use and why? Take a photo or a video (no more than 30 seconds) sharing what toothpaste you use
- What’s wrong with “whitening” products from the supermarket? This is fodder for dozens of posts, right?
- Why people shouldn’t use whitening toothpaste with abrasives
- What to look for in a whitening toothpaste and what to avoid
- How much whiter will whitening toothpaste make their teeth
- What’s the difference between supermarket whitening kits and dental (both in chair and take home kits)? - If you’re looking for a dentist you can trust, then you need to call [insert your practice details and phone number]. [Include an image of your ideal patient looking happy in a dental chair. Try https://pixabay.com for a wide range of images, free for commercial use]
- Use the Boomerang app (it’s on iThing and Android) to create short videos that loop. Things like putting sterilised equipment in a sealed bag becomes fun and entertaining, while also demonstrating your hygiene practices
- Share “behind the scenes” stores - people LOVE these. Things like:
- A photo or short video of how you clean between patients. If you take a video and speed it up, it becomes fun too
- A photo of your morning huddle with your team
- A snap of your practice manager on the computer or juggling appointments to make room for an emergency. - Toothaches can really ruin your day. Make sure they don’t by scheduling an appointment with [insert your practice details and phone number]. [Include an image of your ideal patient or one of your team looking unhappy and uncomfortable]
- Did you know that dentist can help treat snoring? Learn more at [link to your website]. [Include an image of your ideal patient sleeping]
- Keep your toothbrush away from the toilet – particles from the toilet flush can travel up to 2 metres, and you don’t want that on your brush! [Include an image of toothbrushes in the bathroom]
- Soft drinks aren’t good for your teeth. People who drink 3 or more soft drinks a day have 62% more tooth decay. Stay away from those high-sugar drinks! [Include an image of soft drinks]
- A video or photo of how you celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and other wins in your practice
- A post on how you look after special patients like children or people with disabilities
- We’re all super busy and into multi-tasking so sharing things you can do (safely) while brushing your teeth. This may be squats or leg lifts (get fit while brushing your teeth) or listen to a podcast (have fun – the 2 minutes will pass in a flash). Bonus points for finding ways to make tooth brushing fun for kids (without running around the house with a toothbrush in their mouth
) - FAQs like: should I use a mouthwash if I brush and floss? You probably have a BUNCH of these that patients ask all the time. Make a note of them and post about them! Bonus points if you can include photos or videos of you or your team doing these things.
- Myth-busters! You could do a series of these or create Myth-busting Mondays where you take common healthcare myths and debunk them.
Cosmetic Clinics
- Piggy back on celebrities!! Research what procedures or products that celebrities use, that you also stock or sell. Say something like, “According to [source] Kim Kardashian uses…to look … You know we stock this, right?”
- Keep up to date with trends and piggy back on those. For a while there was a Tik Tok trend about a skin peel that looked like blood. It was everywhere and pulled in a lot of people. Share what you see and what concerns you have with these trendy products
- Create a video to share your WHY? Why did you start your business?
- Share your skincare routine – you can break this down into bite-sized videos such as cleansing and sharing your favourite cleanser for your skin type, and then serums etc.
- Get each of your team members to create videos of their skincare routine. Chances are they’ll all have different skin types so you’ll be able to cover most of the types that your audience has
- Share how you pamper yourself – with face masks or bubble baths.
- Use yourself (or your team) for before and after photos.
- Share your experiences of using home care tools such as an Omnilux Contour, Foreo Bear or similar. Your audience is bound to be informed and curious about these. Share how they can supplement their salon treatments between visits. (The Bear requires an oil-free serum for conductivity to be sure to recommend a great one that you stock!)
- Share what homecare tools you don’t believe are worth investing in. For example, home laser/IPL for hair reduction. Share how they’re different wave lengths and why people won’t get the same outcome as in the clinic
- Share how you keep fit (and reduce stress) with exercise: yoga, running, walking, swimming …. Again, this could become a series with you and your team
- Food: share you favourite health lunch, and your guilty pleasure
- Share you favourite dessert and ask, “If you could have only one dessert for the rest of your life, what would it be?”
- Seasonal skincare needs. Post about how skincare may need to be tweaked for seasons or humidity changes. Here in Canberra it would be great to say something like, “If you’re going to the coast this summer …” because Canberra is very dry and the coast is much more humid
- Share make up application videos – again you can use yourself and your team for this
- Post about weekend make up application versus work or an evening out!
- Ask simple conversation starters like, “Are you an introvert or an extrovert?” and share what you and your team are. These are simple and quick to answer, without people having to think too much, or share too deeply, but they create a bond with your audience!
Other ideas in this space are, “If you could have on superpower, what would it be?” and “What’s your favourite book/movie of all time” or “Movies at home or at the cinema – which is better?” - New product unboxing. This may be products you haven’t had before, an existing line. The Boomerang app is great for this!
- “What I love about [product]“. This is different to what you might use on your own skin, but it showcases a product you stock. Think particularly about what might be considered a “power product”. Something that has a real impact on users – where they see a difference
- Testimonials and reviews (if you’re a nurse injector or another AHPRA member, this is not one for you!)
- Piggy back on local businesses, and help them out too. Where do you get your coffee? Take a photo and give the business a shout out. They’re likely to share on their social media, getting you in front of their business. You can do this with any other local business you use, particularly things that you audience would also use – yoga or Pilates, flower shop, boutique chocolate or hair salon.
7 Places to Draw Inspiration When You Have No Idea What To Post
Does your mind draw a blank? When it comes to creating content, I mean.
Do you stare at the blank page and think, "I have no idea ...?"
If so, you're going to love this!
Here are 7 great places to look for inspiration when you're creating content for social media:
1. Biteable check out their templates - loads of inspiration here: https://biteable.com
2. Your competitors - what topics or issues get traction? Don't steal their stuff - create content on similar topics or issues!
3. Easil check out their templates and quotes and create your own: https://about.easil.com/
4. Quotes. Search for quotes about your topic and turn them into quote images using Easil, Canva, Vista Create or a similar tool
5. Check out Answer the Public pop your topic into the machine and have it churn out all the questions people ask Google: https://answerthepublic.com
6. Animoto are another great video creation tool with loads of templates for inspiration: https://animoto.com/
7. Post Planner is a free tool that has loads of great content ideas. I love their Status Ideas section for asking questions, asking for likes or comments and heaps of other post ideas: https://www.postplanner.com/
Now you have no excuses for not posting, so get out there and start posting regularly! 