17 Genius Orthodontic Marketing Ideas To Get New Patients in 2023

How do you market orthodontic practices?

Whether you’re a start-up or well-established practice, your orthodontic marketing plan should include modern, proven strategies that have a high return on investment (ROI). 

If you’re wondering where to start, keep reading. We work with orthodontists throughout the US and have compiled a list of the top orthodontic marketing strategies for 2023.

What do all these strategies for booking more new patients have in common? They’re precision focused on:

1. Solidifying your brand
2. Being in the right place at the right time with the right messaging
3. Building a loyal patient base

1. Know your audience

Ask yourself these questions:

• Who is your perfect patient?
• What are their demographics, background, and financial situation?
• Why does what you offer matter to this audience?
• How can you help solve their problems?

Top orthodontists across the country are already using these questions to help simplify their brand messaging and connect with their audience, and you can, too.

2. Create a memorable logo and tagline

• Logo & Tagline: Quickly highlights what makes your practice unique
• Branding:What makes your practice different from any other in your city? The way you answer this question and communicate this difference (via words, images, video, & design) is called “your brand”.

Remember, your patients are much more likely to choose a brand they connect with over generic alternatives.

3. Redesign your website

Take a look at your site and ask yourself these questions:

• Can a patient easily view and navigate my website on a phone?
• Does the website feature high-quality photos of my office and staff?
• Does my website look modern?
• Is it easy to find a way to contact and book an appointment?
• Is my website bringing in new patients?

If you answered “no” to any one of these questions, you may need a website redesign. Thankfully, creating a modern, effective website is easier than you think. Get inspired by our list of best orthodontic websites of the year!

4. Optimize your website for SEO

When searching Google for an orthodontist or for teeth straightening solutions, 75% of people will never scroll past the first page of results.

Optimizing your site for SEO means working to get your practice on that first page of results. The higher your rankings, the more visitors to your site, and the more opportunities you have to convert them to new patients.

5. Add online booking for patients

• 43% book appointments after hours (if you’re not providing after-hours online patient booking, you’re losing thousands of dollars a month)
• 31% would seriously consider switching to a new provider if they offered online appointment booking

Offering online scheduling is a win-win:

• You get more patients (and your front desk staff has fewer calls and voicemails to manage)
• Your patients get an added level of convenience

NexHealth is an excellent patient scheduling system. This platform is customizable and integrates with most major practice management and electronic health record systems, including Dentrix, EagleSoft, OpenDental, and Curve Dental.

Take a look at these 2 orthodontist websites that do a great job of outlining exactly “how it works” and what a new patient can expect:

• Ballard Orthodontists
• My Two Front

7. Focus on the problem (not just the solution)

Yes, Pam the Patient wants straighter teeth…but why?

• She’s embarrassed of her smile
• Misaligned teeth are affecting her lifestlye
• She’s in pain
• Her oral health is suffering
• She tried in-home DIY aligners with disastrous results

Center your marketing messaging around these issues and you’ll be much more likely to convince a patient to book an appointment.

8. Outline safety procedures

9. Offer free consultations

• Am I a candidate for orthodontic treatment?
• Should I get braces or clear aligners?
• How long will treatment take?
• How much will it cost?
• What will it feel like?
• Will it change my day-to-day life?
• Why shouldn’t I just do direct-mail aligners instead?

It’s difficult to overcome all these questions and fears on your website alone. That’s why so many orthodontists today are offering free consultations as a compelling call-to-action. This type of offer is meant to get new patients through the door — and it works! This is one of the best orthodontic marketing strategies to try for your practice.

10. Consider virtual options

In 2020, we saw a surge of practitioners adopt telehealth options to continue serving their patients in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. But now, many orthodontists are adopting virtual consult options as a long-term strategy. Are you one of them? If you have the ability, we recommend it!

Done well, virtual consults are more efficient and cost-effective than their in-person counterparts. Best of all, offering virtual consult options gives you a competitive advantage over orthodontic practices that don’t offer this service.

11. Include pricing on your website

By showing pricing (even if it’s a “starting at” number) you’re setting yourself apart from the competition. Additionally, pricing and finances are major patient concerns. Being upfront about the investment someone can expect will help build trust.

12. Add a live chat option on your website

Live web chat capabilities offer real-time assistance to potential patients in a format that fits their usage preferences. Like online scheduling, this feature also reduces your calls and emails in your office, giving your team more time to focus their attention on the patients in the office.

If you decide to test out this orthodontic marketing strategy, make sure you choose a chat software that’s HIPAA compliant.

13. Gather more patient reviews

• 90% of patients consult online reviews before booking an appointment
• 42% of people won’t go to an orthodontist with less than a three-star rating
• A single negative review can drive away approximately 22% of people

It’s not enough to hope a satisfied patient will leave you a review. You need to be actively soliciting reviews to maintain a steady flow of feedback.
We recommend using a reputation management system to automate this process and help keep an eye on what patients are saying about you online.

14. Discover the power of video testimonials

• 4x as many people would rather watch a video than read about it.
• 95% retention rate (people only remember 12% of textual information).
• 40x more likely to get shared on social. Plus, videos lead to a visitor staying on your site an average of 2 minutes longer.

Video reviews can be created on any budget. Produce a professional video, shoot the testimonial yourself, or ask your patients to record a video on their phone.

Take a look at some excellent examples of video testimonials from orthodontists around the US:

• Holy City Orthodontics
• Dunn Orthodontics
• Rucker Orthodontics

15. Optimize your Google Business Profile

When someone searches on Google for, say, “orthodontist Seattle”, some of the first results they’ll see are Google Maps search results. Make sure you optimize your Google Business Profile (GBP) to give yourself a better chance of ranking in a top position.

Here are 5 tips:

• Add as much info about your practice as possible. The more information your listing provides, the higher it will rank in results. Most importantly, keep it updated! If hours change, update them immediately.
• Maximize your GBP categories. Choose the primary category that best represents the core focus of your practice (for example, orthodontist). If any other categories apply, choose them as secondary categories.
• Focus on getting more positive reviews than other local orthodontists. Google gives ranking favor to business listings with positive reviews.
• Add photos to your profile & update them regularly. Google loves it when you upload photos to your profile. And so do your patients!
• Always take advantage of new GBP features. For example, the ability to include a list of accepted insurances, respond to patient reviews, and post regular updates.

16. Invest in paid advertising

Your marketing strategy should include a paid advertising campaign. You have so many options, but we recommend focusing on a digital strategy that includes both Google Ads and Facebook Ads.

Google Ads will get your practice in front of patients who are ready to schedule an appointment now. And for Facebook, we recommend creating a Facebook Ads Funnel. This strategy offers three campaign objective options: awareness, consideration, and conversion. You’ll create unique ads for each stage with the goal of moving someone through the funnel.

17. Find a partner to manage it all

If you want the freedom to continue doing what you do best (providing excellent care), an orthodontic marketing strategy is a must — but it does take a lot of time and expertise to do it right. We recommend partnering with an orthodontic marketing company. Doing so offers many benefits:

• Frees up your time
• Gives you a team of marketing experts on your side
• Ensures you’re spending your marketing and advertising dollars wisely

If you’re wondering how to promote your orthodontic practice and get more patients, working with a marketing company is a great place to start.

Let us help you create an orthodontic marketing strategy that works

We’ve only cracked the surface of orthodontic marketing tactics. But no matter what ideas pique your interest, it’s all about taking lots of small steps to create one larger, cohesive marketing strategy. If you need some help putting it all together, let us know.

We’d love to hear from you, answer your questions, and help you succeed. That’s what :Delmain does for dozens of practices around the nation every day.