These days, it seems like there is a national holiday, national day, or national month for everything, including National Make Your Bed Day and….National Bicarbonate of Soda Day? There are over a thousand examples just like these, and many of them are just as random. When you add in bank holidays and the major religious holidays, your calendar can start to look pretty crowded! As silly as some of these days of observance may be, they can actually work in your favor when it comes to social media. These holidays can be unexpectedly efficient marketing opportunities for dental and orthodontic offices, giving you the chance to grab attention and promote your practice with original, eye-catching content. Let’s take a quick look at a few of the ways you can use dental and oral national observances to stand out from the crowd!
Social media and content marketing
Create fun content for your blog (or let us do it for you!) that highlights a relevant national holiday, month, week, or day. If you’re looking for potential search engine traffic, publish a post ahead of time for anyone searching before the day arrives. You can then publish content on the actual day, linking back to your first post about it. However you decide to share your content, make sure to post about it on social media, using the relevant hashtag so that others can find it that way. Take advantage of free online tools like Canva or Picmonkey and create a cute image to go with your posts. You can include the name of the holiday, the date, relevant hashtags, and maybe even a quote if you have one that helps the image pop. People love to share these kinds of images, so use that to your advantage!
Sales and specials
Use national days of observance to offer a sale on products or a special on procedures. Publicize ahead of time with signs in and around the office, and distribute details about it in your email list and on your various social media platforms. This is an easy way to increase traffic and interest in your particular promotion.
Themed events
Everybody loves a party! Plan a celebration in honor of your favorite holiday and invite patients to attend along with your team. You can get a lot of mileage out of a single event. If you plan it right, you can have a blog entry with details about it, multiple social media posts with pictures, newsletter blurbs, and unique hashtags specific to your practice and the event. This works better for the bigger, more recognizable holidays, but it can be a great way to engage clients and build brand familiarity and loyalty.
Dental and oral health holidays and observances
When it comes to days set aside for celebrating or observing anything having to do with dental or oral health, you won’t find yourself lacking! There’s at least one for almost every month of the year. Take a look below at some of our favorites.
February
National Children’s Dental Health Month
Sponsored by the American Dental Association (ADA), National Children’s Dental Health Month was created to raise awareness about the importance of good oral health for children. It began as a one-day event in 1941, became a week-long event in 1955, and was extended to a month-long observance in 1981. This is a great time to focus on your younger patients.
Gum Disease Awareness Month
In 2012, the Institute for Advanced Laser Dentistry launched Gum Disease Awareness Month as a way to bring national and global attention to gum disease. Their goal is to encourage patients to take an active role in improved oral health through prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
National Toothache Day (February 9)
It’s kind of a weird thing to have a day for, but it’s a good way to remind patients that maintaining their oral health is an important part of avoiding painful toothaches. You could also use this day to encourage patients to schedule a checkup or routine cleaning.
March
Dental Assistants Recognition Week (First full week of March)
Dental assistants are an essential part of any successful practice, and this is the perfect time to thank them for all their hard work.
National Dentist’s Day (March 6)
Dentistry might be one of the oldest medical specializations, but setting a day aside to celebrate its practitioners is relatively new. Use the #nationaldentistsday hashtag to highlight the dentists in your practice, or the dentists you tend to work closely with.
May
Root Canal Awareness Week (First full week of May)
Although nobody ever really wants a root canal, this tooth-saving procedure can put an end to pain for patients and give them their smile back. Established by the American Association of Endodontists, this week focuses on the importance of caring for all parts of the teeth and mouth.
June
Oral Health Month
This is a big one, and it aims to encourage the oral health and wellness of families, particularly children. With an entire month to celebrate, you can do everything from a daily social media post with facts, hints, and tips on oral health to a big giveaway, and just about anything in between.
National Toothbrush Day (June 26)
The average person tends to not know a whole lot about toothbrushes, but this is your chance to change that! Give away toothbrushes in your office, make up a sheet with facts about brushing, run a daily contest – there are any number of ways to work this day into more feet in the door for your practice.
August
National Tooth Fairy Day (August 22)
A favorite of children everywhere, and so popular that it’s actually celebrated on February 28, too! We’ve had orthodontists dress up in pink tutus and some especially clever social media campaigns centered around this day. It’s a lot of fun thinking up ways to connect with your younger clients who still believe in the tooth fairy (and the ones who just pretend they still do.)
October
Considering the amount of candy you know is coming at the end of October, this month is a great time to remind patients of the best way to brush, what kind of candy to avoid when wearing braces, and you can even throw in some teeth-friendly treats, whether you have a bowl in your office or publish a blog with easy recipes.
November
National Brush Day (November 1)
An annual campaign designed by Kids’ Healthy Mouths to emphasize the need to brush for two minutes, twice a day, every day, National Brush Day is perfectly timed for the day after Halloween. Use the #natlbrushday hashtag and encourage patients and parents to share brushing selfies to reinforce the importance of oral health and good tooth-brushing habits.
Whatever national days, weeks, months, or observances you choose to use, Neon Canvas can help you craft social media posts and campaigns for maximum reach and effectiveness. Don’t miss out on these built-in chances to engage your clients throughout the year!