Meet New Generations of Loyal Patients With Now Media Group
Millennials and Gen Z now make up a significant portion of the population. As digital natives, reaching these cohorts requires a nuanced marketing approach compared to traditional channels. Dental practices that can effectively attract and convert Millennial and Gen Z patients gain an advantage in growing their patient base for the long term.
Now Media Group’s digital marketers use data-driven tactics to target essential new patients for your practice. As a San Diego, CA-based digital marketing agency, our team keeps up with trends and local demographics so you can meet your target audience, including Millennials and Gen Z.
Call (858) 333-8950 today to speak with a Now Media Group representative and learn how we help grow dental practices.
Optimize Your Website for Mobile
Due to their digital lifestyles, Millennials and Gen Z overwhelmingly prefer browsing and transacting on mobile devices versus desktops. Your dental website absolutely must cater to these mobile-first generations.
Some best practices include:
- A responsive design that adapts to any device size
- Optimizing page speed and loading times
- Adjusting CTAs and forms for smaller screens
- Ensuring ADA compliance for accessibility
- Creating location-based pages and services
Prioritizing mobile is table stakes for attracting Millennials and Gen Z to your site in a crowded digital landscape.
Highlight Online Booking
Online appointment booking and scheduling have become a necessity. Millennials and Gen Z embrace the convenience of booking healthcare services digitally 24/7.
Your website and marketing should prominently feature online booking options as well as real-time availability. Integrated solutions like Zocdoc and PatientPop make it seamless for younger patients to book appointments online or via mobile. Reducing booking friction helps cater to on-the-go generations. Promote online booking across your website, emails, social, ads, and more.
Incorporate More Videos
Both Millennials and Gen Z engage more with visual content compared to pure text. According to research, you’re more likely to show up prominently on searches if you incorporate video into your digital marketing.
Creating a YouTube channel with relevant dental videos allows you to attract and inform this visual audience. Short educational or testimonial videos resonate more on social media, and video marketing content pairs perfectly with targeted social ads. With a clear call-to-action, you can convert viewers into leads and patients.
Prioritize SEO for Local Search
Millennials and Gen Z turn to Google and online reviews to find local businesses. Your ability to rank high through local SEO helps you stand out. Focus your SEO efforts on ranking well for location-based keywords in searches and Maps. Ensure your Google My Business and other profiles are filled out.
Also, regularly ask for online reviews and manage your reputation across sites like Google, Facebook, Yelp, and more. Reviews are now the top criteria that younger consumers use to choose their healthcare providers.
Leverage Retargeting Ads
Once you get Millennial and Gen Z website visitors, retargeting ads help you engage them across devices and the web. Retargeting allows you to follow up with customized ads on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and more.
The familiarity of seeing your brand reinforces trust and credibility. With retargeting, you can remind website visitors to book their appointments or provide other nudges toward conversion. Younger groups tend to take more time and touchpoints before converting. Retargeting allows you to stay top of mind during their journey in a relevant way.
Embrace Digital Payment Options
Millennials and Gen Z patients expect seamless digital experiences, including when making payments. Make paying for services as quick and frictionless as possible.
Offer payment options like Apple Pay and integrated card-on-file that allow contactless checkout, and partner with financing companies like CareCredit to provide payment plans digitally. You can also allow online bill pay so patients can take care of billing and payments on their own time. The more you can digitize and mobilize payments, the better.
Invest in Paid Social Advertising
With so much of their time spent on social media, paid ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer strong avenues to reach Millennial and Gen Z patients. You can create customized audiences and target consumers within specific locations, age ranges, interests, and more. Experiment with different visual ad formats, from video to carousels.
The key is crafting messaging and offers tailored to the values of each generation. Then, optimize campaigns based on performance to achieve the best ROAS.
Incorporate More Visuals and Infographics
When creating marketing content, take visual-heavy approaches for Millennial and Gen Z appeal. These groups tend to better receive information through visual mediums over dense text.
Infographics, stats, photos, videos, and illustrations grab more attention from digital-native generations than pure text. Visual content also has higher engagement across the social platforms they frequent. Find ways to present your marketing messages and education through appealing visual formats. Photos and video testimonials also strongly resonate.
Focus on Reviews and Social Proof
Millennials and Gen Z rely heavily on crowdsourced online reviews to choose providers. Your focus should be generating more positive verified reviews on Google, Facebook, and other sites. Proactively seeking reviews helps showcase your practice through the voices of younger patients themselves. Reviews act as organic testimonials and social proof of the quality of your services.
Similarly, testimonials integrated into your website make your services resonate more with skeptical digital generations. Collect and showcase user-generated content from younger patients across channels.
Partner with Local Influencers
Influencer marketing through local bloggers, activists, and thought leaders provides a way for dentists to organically reach Millennial and Gen Z circles. Identify micro-influencers focused on dental care, wellness, family life, and other related topics. Work with them to create co-branded content and offer exclusive discounts or perks for their followers.
The authenticity and word-of-mouth from influencers offer a trust factor that Millennials respond well to. Influencers expand your brand’s exposure and credibility with coveted local demographics.
Master Multichannel Marketing
With their complex digital journey across many touchpoints, omnichannel marketing is essential to intercept younger consumers. Orchestrate your messaging and offers across your website, email nurturing, paid ads, social media, reviews, and other channels. Tie campaigns together under unified themes.
Consistency in brand experience and retargeting helps you stay top of mind. Optimizing the entire customer journey also ensures no opportunities are missed to engage pivotal generations.
Reach A Younger Generation of Patients With Now Media Group
Dentists who can evolve their marketing to align with the needs of younger generations gain a competitive edge in appealing to an expanding segment of the population. Establishing your brand and services in the minds of Millennial and Gen Z consumers now also builds loyalty into the future.
By proactively attracting and converting these cohorts today using the tactics covered, your practice is well-positioned for sustainable success and growth in the years ahead. Explore targeted advertising and more with Now Media Group. Call (858) 333-8950 today to schedule your consultation with a representative and get started on growing your practice!