PDF Version - Glidewell Dental Labs

went there I’d be given a key to the country because a lot of dentists there have watched these videos. So it’s gotten easier. We
use HD cameras in the operatory for filming; we’ve also got some cheaper handheld cameras. And then you get down to the flip
cameras, or even the iPhone having a video camera, but I wonder: Do you have many of your dental clients doing videos and
posting these? Whether it’s before-and-after shots or something else, is that considered social media, too?
GL: Yes, and what that does is increase your case acceptance and expand your reach to patients searching for specific
patient education videos. You can post your video to your YouTube account, and then link it to your Facebook and Twitter
accounts. This is a great way to tie all of your networks together while providing a visual interpretation of a service,
product or even a patient testimonial.
MD: Even something as simple as bleaching before-and-after pictures, which I think many dentists take for granted now. It
works so well and it works so often that patients aren’t even offered it anymore. I don’t agree with that thinking because it
seems like almost every Google search that I do, when the results pop up, there is always an ad that says, “Slaughter your yellow
teeth! Murder your yellow teeth!” It’s an obviously Photoshopped before-and-after: someone with teeth the color of cheddar
cheese now has bone white teeth in the after. And any dentist looking at the before-and-after would say it looks fake or glow
in the dark. These companies don’t have unlimited funds and they wouldn’t advertise if it wasn’t selling. Every time I see one
of these ads, it reiterates to me that bleaching is still something that’s very important to the patient. It’s possibly the most basic,
most conservative, certainly the most affordable esthetic procedure that we have, and I think dentists sometimes go out and get
fixated on the “almighty” veneers or the crown and they forget about lowly bleaching – which, for the average American, is the
esthetic change that they’re looking for. So I know that a before-and-after shot of bleaching and a little slide show on YouTube
would be very effective, as it would be on a Facebook fan page, with a little testimonial. This seems like a very effective way to
communicate with your patients and show them something that really 80 percent of them could benefit from.
GL: Yes, exactly. So whether you produce that video yourself in the office using a patient – which always has a positive
effect – or you get a video from a dental manufacturer like Glidewell that provides free patient education, putting a video
on your Web site and social media pages is only going to enhance awareness about the services you offer. So, you’re
right – a high percentage of your patients would probably benefit from a certain treatment and continually educating
and informing patients about these procedures via your social media channels could eventually convince them to come
in for the bleaching treatment. You could even tweet to your followers that you’re offering a special on tooth whitening,
but it has to be Thursday afternoon. That might be a way to enhance and grow your revenue while filling chairtime.
MD: That’s obviously what United Airlines is doing when they decide to tweet that they’re having a fare sale between L.A. and
Hawaii for the next three hours. They’ve noticed inventories are low. And after three hours, they’ll tweet back and say, OK, it’s
over. So they must have filled that inventory. Do you have some dentists doing that, filling some excess inventory that way?
GL: We do, because dentists always know when their slow period is going to be. Whether it’s around the holidays or at
the beginning of summer, dentists can plan their social media strategy in advance for the months business will be slow
in order to increase the chances of filling chairtime. This might involve preparing blog posts, tweets or Facebook posts
to inform patients that they’re having a special offer on cleanings or that a new procedure is available.
MD: When we talk about blogging for the practice, part of it certainly could be video blogging, correct?
GL: Yes, and I definitely recommend supporting text in your blog with a video.
MD: From a patient perspective, it seems like a video blog would be very compelling. It’s almost like a behind-the-scenes look
at what happens or what’s available or what could happen in a dental office. I don’t think “Extreme Makeover” or “The Swan”
would have been as successful as they were if they didn’t include some kind of glimpse behind the scenes of what happens. So
I think it’s one thing to blog and write about it but another thing if there’s a 60-second video showing some before-and-after
pictures of the past week or the past month or something like that. I can see patients really taking an interest and wanting to
watch that and learn about it.
GL: Sure, a monthly blog with some video is always going to be a hit. I mean, when you go to ESPN.com, the Greatest
Sports Item is a video now. As consumers, we are drawn to visuals. So the same should be true of dentists. Whether you
build the video yourself or obtain a video from a vendor, posting it on your blog can generate a lot of interest. It grabs
a patient’s attention and says, “Look, we have a new video of a patient receiving whitening or a new animation about
Social Media and Marketing the Modern Dental Practice51