How Authenticity Can Help Your Marketing Efforts

The following podcast has been lightly edited for flow. To enjoy the audio conversation, you can watch on YouTube or listen to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or Spotify.

Carrie Webber:

Welcome back to the Jameson Files. I’m your host, Carrie Weber, and so excited to be coming back. While we’re recording this, we are entering into the fourth quarter of 2023. And why I wanted to bring that up is because today’s topic is going to be all about the trends in marketing, what we see happening, because what I hope that all of you are doing is preparing yourself now for the year you want to have in 2024. I’m thrilled to be joined with my guest friend and teammate, Nate Porter, who is the chief marketing officer of the Jameson Group. Nate, thank you so much for joining me today.

Nate Porter:

Yeah, thank you for having me. Excited to talk about this topic.

Carrie Webber:

Yeah, and my hope is that in this episode we can share with you what the Jameson marketing team has been seeing, as of late, in terms of what’s getting results in marketing or what’s happening that dental practices or dental business owners need to be aware of. And also, like I said, how to plan for this upcoming year–what you need to review and what you need to strategize for so that we can help you grow your practices or your businesses, whatever the case may be. So, Nate, I want to pass it over to you for a little bit. Tell me what you’re seeing and what your recommendations would be at this point in the year.

Authenticity Breaks through the Noise in Marketing

Nate Porter:

It’s interesting to watch trends and see what’s happening with marketing in general. One of the things that we see a lot of is a really widening gap in terms of what people are doing for marketing. Things have evolved and some people are still looking back at their 2015, 2016 strategy, and they think that it’s going to continue to work, and it may in some markets. But what we are seeing is that there’s a lot more people who are really advancing in their marketing, and they’re really putting a lot of effort, a lot of resources behind their marketing. And so what that looks like is, as we’ve been talking about over the last number of years, is a trend towards more authenticity.

And so they’re moving away from this templated, very static, very generic feel to online marketing, to social media, all of that sort of thing, to a much more genuine approach. And, I think, as you look at the marketing industry as a whole, and you listen to leaders in the industry, what you hear is the importance of understanding the signal-to-noise ratio. So as you have more demands on attention, more demands on people’s time, more competition, frankly, in the marketing space, including dentistry, you have a harder time breaking through that noise. And so what can break through is not shouting louder about your list of services that you offer, or being more pushy about your message, but being more authentic.

And so what we see as tools for that are creating a conversation with your potential patients or even with your patients online. That conversation needs to start online.You can’t wait for it to start in your practice. And so that can be things like video, like what we’re doing here today, where we’re having a conversation about topics that are relevant. It can be authentic photography of your team, and your practice, of you interacting with patients. Dentistry can be something that creates anxiety. This feels warm, it feels welcoming, it feels like something that you want to engage with. The contrast has gotten so much clearer between what was common in the early 20-teens to today. It’s night and day from people who have kept up and kept moving their marketing forward.

Carrie Webber:

I love this point. I think the hangup, especially in dentistry, is historically it felt like you could have this set-it-and-forget-it mentality.  I am there, I’m online, I have a website, I have a logo. (Whether it’s a good one or not is for another conversation.) We just don’t put enough emphasis on the “why” behind marketing in the first place. 

I love your point about the authenticity and the use of video. People feel like they don’t even know where to start with that. Start with the people and the products and the brands and the businesses that you really enjoy seeing online. I guarantee that almost every time, the social media influencers or businesses that you follow have some kind of fantastic video piece that’s included, because of your point, Nate, the authenticity of it. We get to see a little bit more of the “who” behind the “what” and to see that type of connection.

I always tell people in lectures that marketing evolves quickly, and it evolves because of how the consumer is gathering information, how the consumer is using online resources, and how the consumer is finding what they’re looking for. So marketing isn’t continuously changing just to make your life harder. Marketing’s actually changing to make the consumer’s life easier. And so that was something that I wanted to share concerning what you’re talking about. Sorry to interrupt, but I love the point that you’re talking about in terms of authenticity.

Authenticity Helps Businesses with Smaller Budgets Compete

Nate Porter:

I think it’s a really, really important point. The other thing too, I think is, you can probably get a little bit discouraged if you see some of the big corporate entities coming in. Some of them look really polished, and a lot of them are spending a lot of money on marketing– TV and otherwise– and you wonder how you are ever going to compete with a $12 to $15,000 a month budget per practice. The thing is that they are taking a shotgun or sledgehammer approach to it. So there are a lot of ineffective dollars being put towards marketing in those situations. And you can compete if you’re authentic and you’re strategic with a much, much more affordable plan. Just the fact that you are personal, that you do care, and that you are focused on the patient is a big differentiator if you can frame that message in a way that breaks through.

Carrie Webber:

Absolutely. And just to answer the question for yourselves as businesses– how can I be more present in my efforts? How can I really show up more? It doesn’t have to be perfect. To your point, Nate, it doesn’t have to be this shiny thing. It’s really about that authentic presence in your message, and repeatedly doing that. You have to be continuously putting effort into it. Some of our favorite clients use a combination of the services that we provide for them, and they bring in their own mix to the recipe, using their own team and skills and time and efforts. And I think that’s really a secret sauce–using professional services to give you some really high level great content, great video, a great website–all of those pieces. Then combine that with your own personal efforts as a team to be continuously posting and reaching out and connecting with your community, your patients, your online reach, and so on. Would you agree with that?

Nate Porter:

Yeah, a hundred percent. I think it’s really important. One of the things that can be overwhelming for practices is understanding what tools to use for what purposes. And so you try this, and try that, and do a little bit of everything, and you can probably feel overwhelmed and discouraged pretty quickly. One of the things that we look at when we look at practices is their goals and the outcomes that they’re hoping for, and then we identify what tools meet those needs.If you’re looking to build referrals and engage with your current patient base, we really recommend strengthening your social media efforts, and maybe even personal email campaigns, because that really connects with your existing patient family and it helps create some buzz around your practice.

Improving Your Business’s Appearance on Google

If you’re looking to grow new patients and build traffic in that way, your focus really needs to be on your website, and it needs to be on the ways that you can leverage your website to grow traffic from Google. We know that 85 to 90% of that traffic comes from a Google search to your website, so that’s everything. It can be as simple as making sure that you’re asking for reviews verbally when you have patients in your practice, not just putting a sign out there that says, give us a review. The other thing that you might want to look at is what the patient sees when they are searching for dentistry in your area. If your listing comes up on Google, and there’s a picture on your Google listing that looks dark and uninviting, or maybe just a picture of the street view of your building, you can change that really easily and give a more welcoming feel.

And often for people that’s the first, and sometimes the last, impression of your practice. Things like that are things that would be easily updated and changed. I really like what Gary Vee says, putting it in dental terms, “You no longer have the luxury of being a dentist who does marketing, you’re a marketer who does dentistry.” You have to think about how you incorporate storytelling throughout your process and your day.

Carrie Webber:

Oh, I love that. And you can see it online. You can see it with the people that just get it– that recognize they need to be continuously on top of what’s working and staying relevant. I was just talking about this the other day. Your online presence is not only building a type of perception for potential patients and your existing patients, but it’s also building perception for potential employees of whether or not you are a practice that they would want to work at and be a part of. So it’s important to keep in mind that this needs to be a priority, not just once, not just every five years, but continuously. Find some companies and services that you trust and feel aligned with to help you for the long run, because it’s a long game. This is not a sprint, this is the marathon, because you need to be continuously updating, continuously contributing, and you’re going to need help to do that. 

Organic Results Versus Google Ads

Nate, you brought up Google search and that’s something that I’d love to pick your brain about. I think there are archaic concepts about what works in being found. I think a lot of people still put all their eggs in the basket of Google ads and things like that just to check that box. But something that we always talk about is that we’re not just looking for quantity of opportunities, we’re looking for quality of opportunities. So could you share a little bit of how the tides have turned and what the trends are today– what really does work in terms of finding ideal patients, ideal customers, for whatever kind of business whoever is listing is a part of? What has Google shifted over the years that people really need to be aware of?

Nate Porter:

In general, for the past 30 to 50 years, people have looked at marketing as advertising, and they are not the same thing. Recently there’s been a lot more differentiation between the two. Advertising is making a slick statement that says here’s this service for this price; you should buy it because of x, y, z. Marketing is more about storytelling, and it’s more about building value in what you do. And Google search is no different. So, Google ads can have a place and they can be beneficial for sure. However, when you start with Google ads and someone clicks on that ad, they know that you paid to be there. So you’re already kind of starting the relationship at a disadvantage in terms of trust and buy-in.

Because of that, less people click on the Google ad. So if you are doing a search and you see three ad results at the top, only about 10 to 15% of searchers will click on one of those results. And the rest, 70 or so percent, will click on the top three organic results. And the reason is because they trust that those results are more accurate; they’ve earned the right to be in the top of search. And so you have more buy-in right off the bat with that. Getting into top results for organic search can be a journey. It can be a process, but again, because you’re earning that position and you’re earning the authority, the right, to be at the top of search results, by the quality of what you’re offering, the quality of content that you’re putting out, you just have a better or more qualified result.

Being Found Organically Results in Better Quality Leads

We hear that all the time from our clients as well. As we build their organic position in search, the quality of lead that they get, the quality of new patients that they get, is completely different. The way that you do that is you do have to build authority in search. And so it’s not a quick process, but also you’re providing value to the searcher. And so if someone’s searching for dental implants, they may have a lot of different questions around dental implants. What’s the cost?  How long does it take and what’s the recovery process like? Does it feel different from my natural teeth? They are going to ask all of those types of questions. And if you can answer those questions authentically from the perspective of your practice, not a dictionary encyclopedia answer, and in a way that they connect with, by the time they’re done consuming that content– whether that’s a video or written content on your website– they already have bought into you as a provider in that process. So you’ve shortcutted all of that initial building value and educating the patient, by providing that content to them on your website, and you have the side benefit of showing up in search for that information.

Carrie Webber:

I love that you brought up that it’s building trust, and I love that you said it adds value, because for anyone that listens to the Jameson files, or is a Jameson client, or has come to see me lecture, or is on Grow, I talk ad nauseum about building four pillars in your practice with your patients. And those are trust, need, urgency and value. And so that doesn’t just happen when the patient is in the practice, this happens the moment they connect the dots with you at any point in time. Whether they’ve been referred to you by a friend, if they’re seeing a review, if they’re going to your website, if they’re going to your Instagram page, or whatever the case may be, every single touch and every single conversation, every single experience is either building up those pillars or they’re not.

And so I love the point that even how you are found in online search plays a role in the building up or diminishing of that patient’s perception of you, your practice, your care, and whether or not they’re going to become a patient of record of yours. So I loved that, Nate. I kind of took us on a left turn, but thanks for answering that question. Let’s get back on track of the things that you would consider important for practices to review, or work on, or focus on in the coming year. Are there any other trends that practices need to be aware of?

Nate Porter:

If I was going to summarize it in a nutshell, I would say start by looking at what your potential patients see when they’re looking for dentistry in your area. That is going to be an eye-opener for you, and follow it through the whole way to your practice website and to making an appointment. What does that journey look like? Is it frustrating? Is it engaging? Is it something that they feel welcomed? Is it a happy experience? Does it feel interesting and does it bring joy in that process? That’s foundational. 

Using Social Proof to Build Trust

If you feel like you’re in a pretty good place with your online brand, and your marketing, and all of those things, really think about how you build social proof. And social proof is basically just saying, I can say all day how great I am at what I do, but nobody’s going to listen to what I say. People are going to listen to what other people are saying. Do you have social proof throughout your marketing process when someone lands on your homepage? Are there patient testimonials of people talking about their experience in your practice? Are there reviews or stories being shown? Think about that across the spectrum. And of course, part of that is video, and I think when we look at video, video is about 80% other people talking about you and your approach to dentistry– their experience in your practice–  and maybe 15 to 20% is introducing your team, your practice, and you as a practitioner. So, I think, video is key. Understanding what a patient sees when they engage with your practice is really key. And of course, that organic, authentic brand and content is really key to building value in your dentistry in 2024.

Carrie Webber:

I love that. You actually introduced the book Building a Story Brand to me when we first started working together. Basically, the concept of the book is exactly what you’re saying. It’s allowing the stories of your patients’ experiences with you, the story of you and your practice, to be the guiding narrative that people find and help them make the decision of whether you are a good fit for them and their families in that whole buying consumer process. 

And you’re absolutely right, Nate, concerning video– letting 80% of the story be someone else talking about their experience with you. Because, as we always say, it’s not necessarily about you, it’s about them. When patients or potential patients come to your website, when they go to look at reviews, they’re not looking to hear all about how many degrees you have or where you study, or all of those things. They want to know what you are going to do for them. They want to know how they are going to feel as a patient in your practice. And so if you do nothing else, then I would recommend in this quarter that you go and do a personal review of your website, of your social media, of your reviews, of all of those external channels and outlets that patients have access to, and decide for yourself if you were a potential patient in your practice, do those outlets and do the stories that you’re telling, help them feel drawn to become a patient of your practice as well. Does it draw me to you? If you were a potential patient of your practice, would you want to go there? And if the answer is no in any of those channels, then I would recommend that you prioritize that particular outlet to improve that.

And to Nate’s point, create authentic stories in that channel that help you. And if it’s because you haven’t had a review posted for you in six months, then it’s time as a team to work on how you can ask for more reviews. How can we improve this, and our verbal skills, and our efforts, when our beloved patients are in our practice to help us build our business externally? 

So, great points, Nate. Looking for authenticity, looking for the stories, looking to make sure that you are organically being found for the things you want to be found for. Making sure that your website reflects the best possible version of you. And even if that means updating some photographs on your site, updating the homepage, getting more patient stories and videos on there, take those little tweaks of improvements and see the results come because that is what the consumer, who is your patient or potential patient, your future 2024 patients, that’s what they’re looking for. So Nate, thank you so much for joining me today. I really appreciate all the things that you’ve shared.

Nate Porter:

Yeah, absolutely. I’m so happy I could be on.

Carrie Webber:

And thanks to all of you for being with us today. We so appreciate having you as a part of our Jameson Files community. If you like this community, if you like the information that’s being shared, we certainly want to grow our community. So thanks in advance for sharing these videos, for following us, and subscribing to us wherever you listen to podcasts. You’ll be able to find the Jameson files on our Facebook page, on YouTube, on our website, on Grow, and also wherever you listen to podcasts. So thanks for being a part of our community. Thanks again to Nate. You all be well and we’ll see you next time.

Carrie Webber:

Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Jameson Files. Visit us online. You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Google Play, or Spotify. See you next time.