online-ads-vs-print-ads

Using Online Ads vs Print Ads to Promote Your Orthodontic Practice

In the pursuit of generating new patients for your orthodontic practice, you may decide to create and run an ad campaign. Generally, there are two ways you can do this: creating an online ad or making a print ad. Both options have the potential to bring in new patients, but they also each have their unique pros and cons.

Online Ads for Orthodontic Marketing

Online ads are generally pay-per-click (PPC), meaning you pay for some degree of the ad’s actual effectiveness instead of paying a flat rate and hoping the ad performs well. However, the performance of your ad campaign depends on the quality of the ad as well as other factors.

You’ll need to make sure your ad is created in a way that doesn’t just generate clicks, but also leads to conversions. If your ad takes users to a page on your website that isn’t geared towards booking an appointment or gathering their contact information, you may end up paying for a lot of clicks without gaining many new patients. But if you create an engaging ad that leads people to start treatment, you’ll see a great ROI.

Another advantage of using online ads is you can target them based on your location, demographics, and other factors. This way, you are generating clicks from people who are most likely to become new patients. Plus, digital ads can be evaluated through digital analytics, meaning you won’t be guessing about where your new leads and new patients came from. You’ll know exactly how well your ad performed and where you can make adjustments to your ads in the future.

Print Ads

There are a variety of ways you can create and publish print ads. Depending on your region, there could be hundreds of potential publications you could place an ad in. One of the fun things about print ads is you get to see your company promoted in publications you might read. Though print ads are generally more expensive upfront compared to online ads, you aren’t charged for your exposure or for how effective your ad is. Once it’s out there, there’s no limit to how well it could actually perform.

However, print ads do leave you in the dark as far as knowing how well it’s performing. The only real way to know if your ad is doing well is if you hear from your new patients that they saw your ad. You also won’t be able to target your print ads quite as precisely as you would be able to with an online ad. However, you can still try to get your ad printed in publications that are likely to be read by people you’re targeting, such as local magazines for parents or college newspapers. This is a broader way of targeting your ad, but it still targeting that can be effective.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for effective orthodontic marketing, so while both print ads and online ads can be highly effective, you may find that focusing on one over the other works best for you.