“We live in the digital age, so our life is increasingly made in cyberspace. As such, social networks occupy a central place in the daily lives of most people, companies and organizations, as they function as a means of communication with the world and as a vehicle for transmitting information and knowledge”.
Dentist António Faria, from Clínica Médica Jardim, referred to Facebook in this way, when he was asked to give testimony about the strategy used by his clinic regarding presence in the virtual world. There are many other opinions worth reading in this issue. From dentists to clinic owners to marketing directors, almost everyone believes in a premise: new behaviors and consumption habits associated with generations born in the digital age are imposed.
Generation Millennials (born in the 1980s and 1990s) and Generation Z (digital natives) value online commenting, compare prices, appreciate experience over ownership, grew up in an environment of instability, and saw the downfall of major financial institutions. Hence the importance of credible and valuable content. We know that, often, before visiting the clinic or physical store, people search the site and evaluate the content and comments on social networks.
As João Lemos Diogo, marketing director of the OralMED Saúde group confided in us, “in strategic terms, we believe that potential patients develop digital research pathways about oral health or about dentists and dental brands in particular, before making a decision . In our perspective, there is an eminently digital patient-journey, and increasingly omnichannel, which can have different causes and which extends beyond the post-treatment phase. Knowing this mapping of research and behavior on the part of patients, we actively develop specific content for each of these stages”.
That said, a good strategy for managing social media is extremely important for anyone who wants to succeed in the future (and in the present!). And, as Facebook (FB) is one of the most used social networks in the world, DentalPro decided to carry out an exhaustive study on the presence of dental clinics on this platform. We restricted our analysis to the year 2020, mainly because we realized that the Covid-19 pandemic gave a new importance to the digital, both for clinics and companies to maintain direct contact with patients and clients, and as a privileged place for professional and commercial interactions.
