Most local dental practices should advertise on Facebook. That’s what I believe, and the evidence backs me up. It’s cost-effective and, if you do it right, it can help your practice to grow.
Easier said than done.
The issue is that while ads on Facebook are effective, a lot of local dental practice owners don’t know which objectives to choose for their ads. Choosing the wrong objective may lead to a low return on your investment and the feeling that you’ve wasted money.
With that in mind, here’s my rundown of Facebook ad objectives to help you understand which objective makes the most sense for your practice.
What Are The Available Ad Objectives On Facebook?
When you create an ad for your practice on Facebook, you can choose from 11 objectives divided into three categories: Awareness, Consideration, and Conversion. Let’s review them.
Brand Awareness
These ads generally do not get a high click-through rate because their objective is to make people aware of your brand. They are best used as the first step in a campaign to attract new patients.
Reach
If you want to get your ad in front of as many people in your target audience as possible, this is the objective to choose. Here again, you may not get a ton of engagement, but you will be sure that your ad appears in your target audience’s feed.
Traffic
Traffic ads are designed to direct more traffic to the URL you choose, usually a link on your website. Facebook tracks only the number of people who click on your links, meaning that you’ll need to track conversions separately.
Engagement
On Facebook, engagement means likes, comments, and shares. If you want to get more people to engage with your content, this is the ad objective you should choose.
App Installs
This one’s self-explanatory. If you’ve got an app to sell or promote, choose App Installs as your objective.
Video Views
Have a video to promote? Choose the Video Views objective to get more people to watch your video. This objective is ideal for product demo and explainer videos.
Lead Generation
If you’ve got a great lead magnet to promote, the Lead Generation objective is ideal because it allows the people who see your ad to opt in and get your lead magnet without leaving Facebook.
Messages
Message ads are designed to get more people in your target audience to message your practice on Facebook. They can be useful if you want to initiate conversations, answer questions, and nurture leads.
Conversions
If your goal is to get more people to take a specific action, such as adding an item to their cart, buying a product, or RSVPing to an event, this is the ad objective to choose on Facebook. It works best when targeted to people who are already familiar with your brand.
Catalog Sales
Another ad objective that may be effective when targeted to people who already know your brand is the Catalog Sales objective. You can use it to connect Facebook with your product catalog and display individual products to your audience.
Store Visits
If you have a brick-and-mortar store, or in this case a dental practice, this ad objective can help you entice more locals into your clinic. To use it, you’ll need to make sure that your practice location is accurate in Business Manager.
You should think first about which Facebook goals and objectives you want to achieve. Then, choose the Facebook ad objective that will help you get there.
Which Facebook Ad Objective Is Right For Your Practice?
Now, let’s talk about which Facebook ad objectives make the most sense for local practices. Some simply are not good choices if you’ve got a small audience to target.
Brand Awareness is a good objective, particularly if you feel like your competitors have more brand recognition than you do or if you haven’t been in practice for long. You should make sure that the ad you create is a compelling representation of your brand, including your brand’s personality, voice, and ethics.
Unless you have a large audience, the Reach objective is probably not ideal. The goal for that objective is to reach as many people as possible. Most small, local practices should steer clear of this objective.
Traffic can be a good objective for small practices that want to get more people to visit their websites. However, you should make sure that you have a well-designed landing page before you spend any money on traffic. You need to give people a reason to stay on your website once they click the link.
I also really like the Store Visits Facebook ad objective for local dental practices. It’s arguably the most highly focused ad objective available. The key, if you decide to use it, is to make sure your location information is up-to-date. You’ll also need to target the ad to people who live within a small radius of your clinic. There’s no point in spending money to reach people who aren’t within easy distance.
If you have an online store for dental products, then the Catalog Sales objective may be useful as well. It can help you show off your most popular products and get them in front of an audience. Again, targeting is going to be important. You should use this ad objective with an audience already familiar with your brand for the best results.
The Messages objective may be right for your practice if you feel that you need one-on-one contact with patients to overcome their objections. However, you should only use this objective if you’re ready to monitor your messages and respond promptly when people write to you. A slow response time can undo any good you do with the ad itself. You may want to consider installing a chatbot in Facebook Messenger to send an immediate response.
Visiting your Facebook Ads Manager page will give you additional information and guidance as you create your ad. Remember, the Facebook objectives you choose should be carefully selected to align with your practice growth objectives for the best results.
For a deeper dive into how advertising on Facebook can help your dental practice grow, book a chat with me here… I love to help local dentists thrive!
