MDA Care and Share: Social Media Resources for MDA Member Dentists!
NEW! Downloadable guide to taking great social media photos!
Get going and stay growing with social media content from the MDA Public Education Campaign. It’s all formatted and ready for you to post! New to connecting with patients online and promoting your practice on social media? No worries! The MDA has you covered — it’s as easy as copy, paste, and post. Check out our guide below and find other resources from us for you. So you can stay connected with them.
Social Media Posts for Your Practice
Here, we have created some downloadable images and corresponding post copy you can use on your own Facebook and Instagram business pages. Each topic area corresponds with an MDA Public Campaign and includes a webpage and sample email you may send as a monthly bulletin to your practice’s email list.
Start by sharing content from these MDA Public Campaigns:
Personalized for Your Practice
Spread the word about your practice and give new patients a sneak peek at what to expect at their visit. Use these customizable posts to introduce new patients and followers to your practice and your amazing staff.
How to Post on Facebook (Downloadable guide):
Click below to download our easy-to-use guide for posting on Facebook (using either their website or mobile app) and on Instagram (using their mobile app). If you don’t already have a professional business page, set one up by creating an account on Facebook or Instagram and following the steps laid out on those platforms.
Tip #1 Create a Posting Schedule
Create a schedule for yourself or set reminders on your digital calendar to post at least once a week, if not more frequently. Once you get familiar with the platforms, you can pre-schedule and load your posts in advance.
Tip #2 Notifications and Responses
Set up your notifications to alert you whenever someone comments or asks a question on your page. This will help you respond in a timely fashion. Avoid troll traps; remain courteous, and do not continue the conversation with excessive negative commenters.
Social Media Best Practices
Facebook vs. Instagram: What’s the Difference?
Facebook is ideal for sharing text-heavy posts. Facebook also lets you share photographs in your posts, link to YouTube videos, and include clickable web addresses. You don’t need to include a photo or video when you post on Facebook, but it is more engaging if you do.
Instagram is a visual-based platform. You may add captions to the images and videos you post, but if the image says it all, a caption isn’t always necessary. You cannot directly link to YouTube or include website links on Instagram.
Professional Business Page vs. Personal Page
Your social media posts should come from a professional business page set for anyone to view, not your personal page. That should be reserved for friends and family and may have stricter privacy settings.
Set Your Tone
Think of your practice’s social media pages as a virtual extension of your waiting room and reception areas. Like those physical spaces, the digital space should be: inviting, approachable, courteous, helpful, and informative.
Topics and Voice
You speak on behalf of your practice with every post, response, and comment. Interact online as you would with a new patient who’s in the chair for the very first time. Stay away from non-dentistry-related political issues and personal opinions. It’s helpful to think about content this way: if you wouldn’t talk about it in the dental chair with a new patient, don’t talk about it on your practice’s social media accounts.