Bridging the Gap

Recent studies show that nearly 80% of people trust word of mouth, while a mere 14% trust advertising.  When people visit your site, they know they are being advertised to- and that’s OK. It’s why they were looking for you in the first place.   But given the above odds, they don’t trust it, even if they were looking for your dental website.

So how do you bridge the gap, and take them from the doubting 86% to the trusting 80%?  You and I know that you’re honest, trustworthy and provide the best care around – but how will they know?

The two best methods are ones I’ve written about several times before- Facebook and blogs- but here I’ll examine each in the context of ‘bridging the gap’; that is, the gap between the click and the conversion.

When someone searches for one of your keywords, they will end up on a ‘landing page’- usually your homepage, but sometimes a services page, depending on the search.  What happens then is the ‘Billboard Effect’- they look at it, read it over and ask “OK, what’s the real story?”  At that point, they are solidly in the 86% camp- with full knowledge they are being advertised to, but they want to know about the service, so they look for more information.  Enter your blog and Facebook.

I will pause here to blatantly plug Roadside, so pick which camp you’re in (word-of-mouth or advertising): If you have a dental website designed by Roadside, you have links to your blog and Facebook (as well as any other social media) already on your website.  Most dental website design companies do not do this (If you picked the word-of-mouth camp, please feel free to ask and  look around).  End of Roadside advertisement!

Using your blog to bridge the gap: Be regular- no one likes to visit a blog to only see the welcome post and little else.  A blog with lots of content tells prospective patients you care enough to write regularly.  And as they delve deeper, what will they find?  Make sure you have written about your services- especially if they are services that are often searched for- porcelain veneers and sedation are two of the most searched dental terms- if you offer them, blog about them.  Services which have several different brands for both the dentist and patient to choose from make for compelling blogs.  Teeth whitening and invisible braces are hot topics, with several brands competing in those fields- your patients, new and old, will want to know why you chose the brands you use.  All this goes to show you are passionate about providing the best care possible- getting them on the bridge from being advertised to, to trusting what you have to say.

Facebook: Be involved! By connecting with your current patients on Facebook, potential patients will see your interest in them.  They will also see the trust that is built with those who are already your patients, and that they care about you in return.  This gives them exactly what they want- the whole story, the impressions and feeling their peers have.  So on your Facebook page, include photos of your current patients.  Get them involved, ask them to pose for a picture and tell them you want to feature them on your Facebook page.  It gets them excited about it, and they will likely pass it along to people they know- getting you even more referrals!  And, again, it will help anyone who is just hearing about you to see you care for your patients.

So use your blog and social media to bridge the gap from click to conversion!  If you have any questions about other ways to reach more patients, or how you can use social media in other fields, feel free to ask!

Tags: blogging, Facebook, SEO, Social Media

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.