When used properly, Snapchat can be an effective social media marketing tool. These Snapchats do’s and don’ts will help your dental practice find success.
Each day, over 100 million people are active on Snapchat. And with over 10 billion Snapchat video views being shared every day, Snapchat has the potential to be one of your dental practice’s most effective marketing tools. Like most social media platforms, however, there are several things you can do to ensure that your Snapchat use is as beneficial as possible.
This list of six do’s and don’ts will help you make the most of your dental practice’s Snapchat.
1. DO: Incorporate Other Marketing Tools
Is your practice starting a direct mail postcard campaign or do you distribute monthly newsletters? Snap a link to your website where people can add their mailing address. Does your practice have an upcoming promotion or sale? Tell patients to take a screenshot of your snap to redeem the special discount or offer. Whenever appropriate, include your Facebook name, Twitter handle, or website address in your snap chats to give followers the ability to access more important information.
2. DON’T: Post Long Stories
There are over 1 billion Snapchat stories viewed every single day. In order to ensure that yours is memorable and effective, you should keep your stories as short as possible while still being interesting and informative. With millennials making up 73% of the Snapchat user population, using your account as a vehicle for entertainment while also providing simple, fun information is important.
3. DO: Give A Behind-The Scenes Look
Running a dental practice isn’t necessarily an ordinary job. Go behind the scenes and give patients a first-hand look into what makes your business tick. From a quick story including several of the staff, to interesting X-rays, to new or experimental dental products, giving your patients a glimpse of things they may not typically get to see will keep them interested in your Snapchat content and coming back for more.
4. DON’T: Miss an Opportunity To Engage
One of Snapchat’s greatest features is its ability to engage with followers. Don’t miss an opportunity to engage with patients by asking them to send snaps back to you. You can add your favorites to your story by taking a screenshot of any favorite photo messages you receive, saving them to your iPad or iPhone, taking a photo of the photo and then adding it to your story.
5. DO: Add Music to Your Stories
Adding music to your stories helps to make your video more interesting and fun to watch. This can be done in six quick steps:
- Download the Spotify app if you don’t have it already. (Note: The free version of the app works fine.)
- Find a song that’s fitting for your video.
- Select the section of the song you wish to use and rewind about 10 seconds give you time to access Snapchat.
- Hit “play” in Spotify and quickly go back to Snapchat.
- Hit “record” in Snapchat just before the desired section of song begins to play.
- Record in 10 second-sections of the song at a time and repeat the process in order to continue the song and incorporate it into a longer video.
6. DON’T: Cut Your Message Short
Many people assume that Snapchat allows only a finite amount of text, which causes many snaps to be cut short. There are loopholes to getting around this. Enter text into an app, like Notes on an iPad or iPhone. You can then copy-and-paste the text into the Snapchat text box and relay full, important messages to your viewers.
Back in 2014, Snapchat grew by 57% with the number of monthly users climbing into the hundreds of millions. As the nation’s fastest growing social network, it is important for the wellbeing of your dental practice that you capitalize on the benefits of Snapchat by using it in the right way. By following these six simple do’s and don’ts you can find true Snapchat success.
