Why is Facebook advertising so important for dentists?
Facebook advertising is one of the most effective ways to connect with new dental patients online. The leading social media network boasts over 2 billion active users, with users spending over 50 minutes a day and several hours per week on their platform.
Below we’ve outlined some of the reasons we think Facebook ads are one of the best tools to promote your dental practice. If you can successfully implement Facebook ads in your marketing strategy, you’ll be able to significantly grow your dental practice in a predictable, measurable fashion.
Ad forecasting and performance estimates help your dental practice decide who to target and what to spend.
Facebook’s ad forecasting allows your dental practice to estimate your ads performance before you send it live. The estimates are generated based on the location you’re targeting and your budget. This forecasting will estimate how many people your dental practice can reach, as well as how many leads (or dental patients) you are likely to connect with per day. 
Your daily estimated reach and daily estimated results can give you context on how much to change your ad, by altering your budget or target geographical region, to get the number of conversions you want. These predictions allow your practice to understand your ad’s likely ROI before you even spend any of your marketing budget.
Facebook ads will generate new patients quickly.
Facebook business ads are ideal for dental practices that are looking to run both short and long-term digital marketing strategies. They start providing real-time leads as soon as they go live, so they’re great for fast results.
Once the ad campaigns are set up in the Ads Manager, there is a review period. Ads are normally approved within 24 hours. If your budget, targeting and creative are set up correctly, Facebook ads can get new patients in your dental practice’s doors within a couple of days.
Your new patients are on Facebook (along with everyone else).
To efficiently promote your dental practice, you should be investing in digital advertising. It may be surprising to some, but Facebook still dominates the social media space.
- According to a survey by Pew Research Center in 2019, 7 out of 10 adult Americans claimed that they use Facebook. Along with YouTube, Facebook remains one of the most widely used social media platforms by U.S. adults.
- Contrary to popular belief, the majority of young adults still prefer Facebook as their main social media hub. 65% of Facebook users are under the age of 35 including the age demographic of Gen Z and Millennials.
- As for the time spent on Facebook, users spend an average of 58.5 minutes on Facebook. In comparison, people spend an average of 53 minutes on Instagram and 49.5 minutes on Snapchat. Time spent is an important metric for marketers because the longer consumers spend on the app, the more likely they are to see your ad.
- As the world’s largest social media platform, marketers love Facebook as well. 86% of marketers in the U.S. are using Facebook to advertise. Facebook is already a great platform to build your brand and interact with your customers.
Over 3 million businesses advertise on Facebook. No matter your finances - Facebook is somewhere you’re going to want to be marketing your dental practice.
Facebook ads can be targeted to your dental practice’s exact audience.
One of the main benefits of advertising on Facebook is that the platform is data-rich and allows for precisely targeted options. If you are new to Facebook advertising, you'll want to consider your target audience and then start customizing it from there. Here are some things your dental practice can target:
- Demographics
- Gender
- Age
- Income
- Location
- Job Title
- Spoken Languages
- Interest
- Behavior
- People who interacted with your content
- Based on your customer (or patient) list
Interested in Facebook ads, but don't know where to start?
Facebook ads for dentists should be at the forefront of your digital marketing plan. Although starting can seem difficult, it can be well worth the investment. If you're not sure where to start, we can help. Click here to learn more about our Facebook ads pay-per-lead product - no ads experience required.
