In case you’re thinking about launching an online dental practice, you’ve probably spent countless hours researching the topic. With the ever-changing world of social media, online marketing, and website design, it can be hard to keep up.

If you’re looking to build a successful practice, you’ll want to take the time to develop a plan — and it starts with proper online dental marketing. In order to provide you with the best tips on how to do this, we reached out to Dr. Andrew Tarnawski, founder of Tarnawski Dental Practice in Philadelphia and creator of the wildly popular blog Tarnawski.com.

1. Research the Trends

Do your research. The first step to effective online dental marketing is understanding the trends. While we’re still not quite there yet in terms of full-blown Digital Dentistry, tools like Zoomify, Bits, and Cliqz make it easier to conduct a wide-ranging search for the info you need. If you want to be able to track the metrics that matter most, you’ll need to invest in a tool like Google Analytics.

2. Develop a Plan

With the trends in mind, you can begin to develop a plan for how you’ll approach digital marketing for your dental practice. Some of the things you might want to include in your plan are:

• Creating compelling content
• Gaining digital dental marketing leads
• Generating buzz
• Building a community
• Getting found on social media
• and more…

3. Measure the Results

The only way to know if you’re doing everything correctly is by measuring the results. Once you’ve developed a plan and begun to implement it, you can track the results of your efforts using metrics like:

• Website traffic
• Social media activity
• Product downloads
• Event attendees
• and more…

4. Keep Re-evaluating & Adjusting

As you move forward, you’ll want to continue to adjust and re-evaluate your plan as you go. The only way to ensure that you’re heading in the right direction is by continuing to measure the results of your efforts and making changes where necessary. Some things you might consider changing are:

• The content you’re creating
• The way you’re sharing it
• The calls to action on your website
• The platforms you’re using
• and more…

With these four steps, you’ll be able to develop a strategy for successful online dental marketing that will allow you to grow your practice and provide the best possible care to your patients.