How you can create a buzz for your dental practice's event

I recently helped a client develop a plan to market their free oral cancer screening day. As a public service to his community, this doctor wanted to open his office to anyone who wanted to come and receive a free screening. To get the word out, we developed a plan to promote this event … and that ultimately promotes the practice.

You educate your patients that frequent dental visits can catch oral cancer in its earliest stages when it is easiest to treat … but is saying it just once enough to make it stick? No! To communicate your message and make sure it sticks, you need to have multiple ways to get this message across. Otherwise, people are likely to forget or consider it to not be important. The same applies to marketing your practice event.

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This oral cancer screening promotion plan included multiple things (because you can’t say something just once):

An email to patients announcing the event

Social Media Marketing

Creating an event in Facebook

Inviting Facebook fans to event

Posting about the event

Boosting posts/Facebook ads

Chamber of Commerce Business Expo

Public relations

Press release to local media outlets

The results of this were AMAZING! As a result of Facebook promotion of the screening event, the practice gained likes to the page and had increased exposure of its brand.

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The Chamber of Commerce Business Expo was a good platform to promote the event with fun giveaways like xylitol gum with business cards attached and information about the Oral Cancer Screening event.

Public Relations efforts resulted in articles, free advertisements, and an on-air radio interview with the doctor. You can’t beat free advertising! Any time you can use public relations methods for your practice, do it.

Each attendee of the event mentioned a different place he or she had heard about the practice and event. This means that had the practice not promoted themselves in all of those avenues, the results wouldn’t be as good. In addition, the doctor reported that there was a buzz about the practice and the event around town. The promotional campaign got people talking, which is want you want!

My advice is to find a cause that is important to you. It can be oral cancer, a local charity, or national charity … whatever it is, just get involved. Network with other business owners and professionals in your community. In small communities, this is very effective. If you live in a large city, find your niche and apply the same strategy. Whatever it is you are promoting, remember that you need to get your message out in multiple avenues, multiple times to create a buzz for your practice.