Dental conventions send invitations to dental professionals because non-dental professionals wouldn’t be interested, and dental Facebook ad targeting works the same way in dental marketing. Rather than advertising to a general audience, dental Facebook ad targeting helps ensure your ads are seen by people who are most likely to be interested in the services your practice offers.
To help you get the most from your targeted dental Facebook ads, this blog covers:
- How Facebook ad targeting works
- Basic types of Facebook ad targeting based on audience
- 10 Facebook ad targeting strategies that actually convert
Let’s dive in.
How does Facebook ad targeting work?
Facebook collects data on what people like, what they do, and who they are (age, location, etc.). To market your dental practice more effectively, you can use this data to target your Facebook ads toward specific audiences:
- Custom audiences
- Core audiences
- Lookalike audiences
Custom Audiences
Custom audiences are a core feature of Facebook ad targeting, created by uploading data (such as email addresses, phone numbers, or user IDs) from an existing database. Facebook then matches this data with its user profiles to create a custom audience. These audiences can include:
- Past patients
- People who have interacted with the dental practice online
- People who have visited your practice’s website
By targeting specific groups, you can create more personalized and effective dental Facebook ads.
The Importance of Custom Audiences in Dental Marketing
Facebook ads geared toward a custom audience means they reach a warm audience—people who already know or have interacted with your dental practice—which increases the likelihood of ad engagement. A few ad-strategy examples:
- Re-Engage Past Patients
Use a custom audience approach to target past patients who haven’t scheduled a visit in the last six months and remind them about the importance of regular dental checkups. Approaches might involve a special offer on cleanings or a free consultation. By using Facebook ad targeting strategies to remind patients about the importance of oral health, you can bring back patients who may simply have forgotten how long it’s been since their last dental appointment.
- Promote Your Dental Services to Website Visitors
Meta Pixel is a piece of website code that enables you to understand what actions people are taking when they visit your website (e.g., what pages they view). By using Meta Pixel data, you can create a custom audience based in behavior. For example, if website visitors spent time on a blog article about teeth whitening but didn’t book an appointment, you can target them with a Facebook ad promoting a discount on teeth whitening. Such ad strategies help turn website visitors into patients by ensuring your Facebook ads are reaching out to people who’ve already shown interest in specific services.
Core Audiences
Core audiences in Facebook ad targeting refer to broad targeting options based on user demographics, interests, and behaviors. These parameters allow you to target potential patients who fit a specific profile, even if they haven’t previously interacted with your practice.
Key Parameters:
- Demographics: This includes basic information like age, gender, location, education, and job title. For dental practices, targeting by location is crucial to ensure ads are shown to people within a practice’s service area. Age and gender can also be important. If, for example, you offer cosmetic procedures, targeting by age and gender may offer targeting options that are more specific to the services you provide. Lastly, income level is a targeting option, enabling you to target potential patients who are more likely able to afford your services or identify people who are more likely to generate higher revenue or engage more deeply with your practice.
- Interests: Facebook tracks user likes, hobbies, and interests, which can be used for targeting. For dental marketing, you might target users interested in “dental care,” “oral health,” or “family health.” This helps ensure ads are seen by people already inclined to think about their dental health.
- Behaviors: Facebook also allows targeting based on user behaviors, such as recent purchases, device usage, or travel habits. Dental practices might target users who recently moved to a new area, since they may be looking for a new dentist. Another behavior to target could be parents, since they might be searching for dental care for their kids.
By targeting by core audience, you can effectively reach potential patients who are most likely to be interested in your services, making your advertising efforts more efficient and successful.
Lookalike Audiences
Lookalike audiences are target audiences who are similar to your existing patients, meaning people who are more likely to be interested in your services.
How They Work
Lookalike audiences are created by taking an existing custom audience (e.g., a list of current patients who’ve engaged with your practice Facebook page) and using Facebook’s algorithm to find other users who share similar characteristics, which may be demographics, interests, or online behaviors.
The main benefit of using lookalike audiences: They allow you to target potential patients who are more likely to engage with your ads, based on the success of previous campaigns. This strategy hedges toward improved ROI by focusing on audiences with a higher likelihood of becoming patients.
Creating and Using Lookalike Audiences
To create a lookalike audience, first define a custom audience, such as past patients who have booked an appointment. Facebook then analyzes this audience and identifies users with similar profiles. You can then target this new lookalike audience with specific ads.
Example:
If you offer cosmetic dentistry, you could create a lookalike audience based on patients who’ve previously had procedures like teeth whitening, veneers, fillings, or implants. By targeting a lookalike audience, you can better attract new patients interested in similar cosmetic treatments, thereby optimizing the effectiveness of your Facebook ad targeting strategies.
Ten Facebook Ad Targeting Strategies That Actually Convert
1: Target Your Competitors’ Patients
Just as businesses in general target their competitors’ customers, targeting a competing practice’s patients can be a strategic way for you to attract new patients and grow your practice. This approach involves using Facebook’s targeting tools to reach people who’ve shown interest in or have interacted with a competing practice.
For example, suppose there’s a dental practice known for its cosmetic procedures, and your practice offers similar services with added benefits like extended office hours or advanced technology. You could create a targeted Facebook ad aimed at people who’ve interacted with the competitor’s Facebook page or visited their website. The ad could highlight your practice’s unique selling points, such as a special discount on cosmetic treatments or a free initial consultation with state-of-the-art technology.
Tips for Creating Effective Ads:
- Highlight differentiators. Clearly communicate what sets your practice apart, such as specialized services, exceptional patient care, or advanced technology.
- Use testimonials. Incorporate positive patient reviews to build trust and credibility.
- Offer incentives, like special promotions or discounts to attract new patients.
Ethical Considerations
While targeting a competitor’s patients can be effective, it’s important to do so ethically. Avoid negative comparisons or disparaging remarks about competitors. Instead, focus on promoting the strengths and benefits of your own practice. Ensure that your ads are respectful and professionally crafted to maintain a positive reputation.
By ethically targeting your competitors’ patients and clearly differentiating your services, you can effectively attract new clients and enhance practice growth.
>> Read more about the power of patient testimonials and how to get more of them.
2: Use Custom Audiences for Retargeting
Retargeting is a powerful marketing strategy that involves showing Facebook ads to people who’ve previously interacted with your practice but haven’t completed a desired action like booking an appointment. In dental marketing, retargeting is crucial because it helps to re-engage people who’ve shown interest but may need an extra nudge to become patients.
Examples of Retargeting Campaigns:
- Incomplete appointment bookings. Target people who began booking an appointment but didn’t complete the process and offer a limited-time discount to finish their booking.
- Service inquiries. Retarget people who viewed your services page but didn’t schedule a consultation, and offer a special introductory offer accompanied by a positive patient testimonial.
Best Practices for Frequency and Messaging
- Avoid overwhelming people with too many ads. Limited ad frequency to a few times per week to avoid ad fatigue.
- Make sure your ad copy is relevant and personalized. Use clear calls to action (e.g., “Schedule Your Free Consultation Today”) and highlight benefits to encourage engagement.
Privacy Considerations and Compliance
When implementing retargeting as part of your Facebook ads targeting strategies, make sure to comply with privacy regulations and adhere to dental regulations governing patient information. Be transparent about data usage and offer opt-out options in your privacy policy.
By leveraging retargeting effectively, you can acquire new patients and grow your practice while maintaining ethical and regulatory standards.
3: Find People Similar to Your Best Patients with Value-Based Lookalike Audiences
Identifying high-value patients and creating a seed audience for Facebook ad targeting involves analyzing your current patient data to find those who generate the most revenue or show the highest engagement with your services. This approach helps in creating value-based lookalike audiences, which can attract new patients similar to your best clients.
Steps to Identify High-Value Patients
- Analyze patient data. Review your patient database to identify individuals who have undergone high-value treatments (e.g., dental implants, orthodontics) or those who frequently schedule appointments and refer others.
- Segment these patients based on criteria such as treatment type, frequency of visits, and overall spend. This helps you understand which patient profiles are most valuable.
- Create a seed audience. Upload a list of high-value patients to Facebook as a custom audience. Facebook will then use this data to find other users with similar characteristics.
4: Improve Targeting with Facebook Ad Relevance Diagnostics
Facebook’s ad relevance diagnostics provide insights into ad performance and help refine targeting strategies for better results.
Three Relevance Diagnostics Metrics
- Quality Ranking. This measures how well your ad’s perceived quality compares to other ads targeting the same audience. High-quality ads are relevant and engaging. For dental practices, improving ad quality could involve using compelling visuals and clear messaging about unique services or promotions.
- Engagement Rate Ranking. This metric tracks how your ad’s engagement (likes, shares, comments) compares to other ads. A higher engagement rate suggests that your ad content is resonating well with potential patients.
- Conversion Rate Ranking. This measures how effectively your ad compels people to take action (e.g., booking an appointment).
5: Target People Who’ve Recently Taken Action with Facebook Ads
The Engaged Shoppers targeting option in Facebook Ads is designed to reach people with a history of interacting with Facebook ads. This targeting is highly relevant in dental marketing in that it helps you reach people who are actively engaged in online transactions and are therefore more likely to respond to promotional offers.
Setting Up Engaged Shoppers Targeting
- Log in to Meta Ads Manager and create a new ad campaign or select an existing one.
- Go to the Audience section of your campaign setup.
- In the detailed targeting options, enter “Engaged Shoppers” in the search bar.
- Check the box next to Engaged Shoppers to include this audience in your targeting criteria.
Tips for Creating Compelling Offers for Your Facebook Ad Targeting Strategies
- Exclusive deals. Offer limited-time discounts to create a sense of urgency.
- Highlight benefits. Where possible, clearly communicate what makes your practice/services unique compared to competing practices.
Combining Strategies
- Demographic and interest targeting. Combine Engaged Shoppers with demographic targeting (e.g., targeting users within a certain age range or income level) and interests (e.g., interest in dental health or personal care products) to refine your audience.
- Custom and lookalike audiences: Use custom audiences of past patients or lookalike audiences based on your high-value patients to further enhance Facebook ad targeting.
6: Find Your Unicorn Content
Unicorn content refers to exceptional and highly effective content that stands out by its ability to engage, attract, and convert people. Within dental marketing, unicorn content is any type of content that not only resonates strongly with current and potential patients but delivers outstanding results.
Identifying Top-Performing Content Using Facebook Insights
- Access Facebook Insights: Navigate to your Facebook page and go to the Insights tab.
- Analyze content performance. Review metrics such as likes, shares, comments, and click-through rates to determine which posts perform the best.
- Look for patterns. Identify content types and themes that consistently receive high engagement and perform well in terms of reach and interactions.
Examples of Potential Unicorn Content for Dental Practices
- Showcase before-and-after images of dental procedures to compel and visually demonstrate the benefits of your services.
- Share videos or written testimonials from satisfied patients to elicit trust.
Tips for Repurposing and Amplifying Unicorn Content
- Use top-performing content in Facebook ads to target a broader or more specific audience. For example, use before-and-after photos in a campaign promoting a special offer on cosmetic dentistry.
- Adapt successful content into different formats, such as turning a written testimonial into a video or creating an infographic from before-and-after photos.
Creating More Unicorn Content Based on Past Successes
- Review the attributes of your top-performing content (e.g., type of imagery, tone of voice, or topic focus).
- Use insights from past successes to guide the creation of new content. For example, if before-and-after photos were successful, create a series showcasing different procedures or incorporating patient stories.
- Encourage feedback and interaction to understand what resonates with your audience. Use this feedback to refine and enhance future content.
7: Get Ultra-Precise with Detailed Targeting
A few examples:
- Pediatric dentistry. Target parents who’ve shown interest in family health. This ensures that Facebook ads promoting pediatric dental services reach those most likely to need them.
- Cosmetic dentistry. Target adults with higher income levels who’ve expressed interest in beauty and wellness. This audience is likely to be interested in services like teeth whitening or veneers.
Tips on Balancing Precision with Audience Size
- Test and adjust. Start with a broader audience and refine targeting based on performance data. Overly narrow targeting might limit reach and reduce ad effectiveness.
- Monitor performance. Keep an eye on ad performance metrics and adjust your Facebook ad targeting strategies to balance precision and audience size for optimal results.
Pros and Cons of Ultra-Precise Targeting
- Pros: Increases relevance, improves engagement, and enhances conversion rates by reaching people most likely to be interested in your dental services.
- Cons: Ultra-precise ad targeting may reduce your audience size too much, leading to higher costs per impression and limited ad reach.
When to Use Ultra-Precise Targeting
Use ultra-precise targeting when you have a well-defined ideal patient profile and want to focus on high-value leads.
8: Combine Two Unique Audiences
Facebook’s Narrow Audience feature allows you to refine your Facebook ad targeting by combining multiple audience criteria to create highly specific target groups. This feature is particularly useful in dental marketing to ensure your ads reach people who are most likely to be interested in your services.
Using the Narrow Audience Feature
- Start by selecting a broad audience based on key demographics or interests. For example, you might select an audience interested in oral health or family wellness.
- Use the Narrow Audience option to add additional layers of criteria that further define your audience. This could include behaviors, interests, or demographic factors.
Scenarios Where Combining Audiences Is Beneficial
- Targeting specific services. A dental practice offering orthodontics, for example, could combine an audience interested in cosmetic dentistry with parents of children aged 8-15 to target families likely to be interested in braces for their children.
Promoting local services. If you’re offering a special promotion, you might combine a geographic audience (e.g., users within a 10-mile radius) with a behavioral audience (e.g., individuals who’ve recently searched for dental services or have engaged with related ads).
Tips on Testing and Analyzing
- Test different combinations. Run A/B tests with various audience combinations to determine which yields the best engagement and conversion rates. For example, test combinations of age groups and interests or income levels and behaviors.
- Analyze performance. Use Facebook Ads Manager to track metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and cost per conversion. Compare performance across different audience combinations to identify the most effective Facebook ad targeting strategy.
By strategically using the Narrow Audience feature and analyzing performance, you can optimize your Facebook ad targeting, improve engagement, and enhance overall dental marketing effectiveness.
9: Use Broad Targeting to Find Your Target Audience
As the name suggests, broad targeting on Facebook involves using broad criteria to reach a large audience. This approach is beneficial for dentists looking to increase brand awareness or attract new patients, particularly when launching new services or promotions.
Setting Up Broad Targeting Campaigns
- Log in to Facebook Ads Manager and create a new campaign.
- Under the Audience section, choose broader demographic criteria such as age, gender, and location without narrowing down by interests or behaviors.
- Set a wider geographic area to reach more people within a specific region, like your entire city or metropolitan area.
Examples of When Broad Targeting is Useful
- When introducing a new service like Invisalign, broad targeting helps ensure that your Facebook ad campaign reaches a wide audience who might be interested in orthodontics, even if they haven’t previously engaged with your practice.
- For a special promotion like a discount on teeth-whitening treatment, broad targeting can attract a diverse range of potential patients who might benefit from the offer.
Tips for Creating Ad Content for a Broad Audience
- Highlight key benefits. Focus on universal benefits that appeal to a wide range of people, such as improved oral health or a brighter smile.
- Use clear, engaging visuals. High-quality images or videos that capture attention and clearly convey the message can attract a broad audience.
Optimizing with Facebook’s Learning Phase
During the learning phase, Facebook’s algorithm gathers data on how users interact with your ads. To optimize broad targeting campaigns:
- Monitor performance. Track key metrics like engagement and conversion rates.
- Adjust based on insights. Refine your ad content and targeting based on performance data to improve results over time.
By leveraging broad targeting effectively, you can reach a larger audience with your Facebook ad targeting, boost visibility, and attract new patients.
10: Use Advantage+ Audience Targeting
Advantage+ audience targeting is a Facebook feature that uses machine learning to automatically find and target the best audience for your ads. Unlike manual targeting, which requires selecting specific criteria such as demographics and interests, Advantage+ lets Facebook’s algorithm dynamically identify and reach the most relevant users based on your campaign objectives and past performance data.
Benefits:
- Advantage+ automatically optimizes audience selection, saving time and reducing the need for manual adjustments.
- Advantage+ broadens audience reach by leveraging Facebook’s data to find users who are more likely to engage with your ads.
Drawbacks:
- Provides less granular control over who sees your ads compared to manual targeting.
- May initially show varied performance as the algorithm learns and optimizes.
Tips for Effective Campaigns:
- Set clear objectives. Ensure your campaign goals are well-defined.
- Use Facebook Ads Manager to track metrics and adjust budgets as needed.
- Regularly review performance data to fine tune your campaign for better results.
Summary
Relevant to your goals, Facebook ad targeting involves a variety of strategies and considerations to get in front of more people who may be interested in the services your practice offers:
- Audience consideration (custom, core, or lookalike)
- Targeting your competitors’ patients
- Custom audiences for retargeting
- Value-based targeting
- Ad relevance diagnostics
- Targeting people who’ve taken action with Facebook ads
- Unicorn content
- Ultra-precision with detailed targeting
- Combining two unique audiences
- Using Advantage+ audience targeting
Optimizing Facebook ad targeting also involves time, and if time isn’t on your side, we can help with that.
Our Facebook Ads for Dentists service is the ideal platform for you to get in front of more potential patients and accelerate patient growth.
Simply tell us your goals and we handle the targeting for you. It’s cost-effective and you can easily measure success.
Find out more about why 15+ dental associations trust us to help practices thrive.
>> Contact us today to request a free no-obligation demo of Facebook Ads for Dentists.
