Social media marketing for dentists should be monitored and tracked periodically to assess the impact it may be making in terms of bringing new patients to the practice or improving the loyalty of the existing ones. A number of website analytic tools are available that enable dentist SEO and marketing experts to monitor various metrics such as the number of unique visitors to a dental practice website and the average time spent by a user on the site. That is the proven and most effective way to gauge the dentist marketing social media impact.

One of the popular, free website metric tools is Google Analytics. When the dentist shares a link to content of any of the social networks of the practice that drive readers to the practice website, it is possible to track how many people shared or clicked on that link, and do more advanced analysis using this tool. However, prior to using Google Analytics to monitor data from the social media channels associated with the practice, it is important to set the right goals for various types of conversions.

In case of a healthcare practice, the conversions are not likely to be so much in the form of actual consultation visits as in the form of leads, queries, contact form submission, coupon downloads or subscription to a newsletter or blog feed related to the practice. The monitoring can be done by visiting Traffic Sources on Google Analytics, selecting Social and clicking on Conversions. Detailed advice and instructions are provided by Google to help users set up relevant social tracking goals.

In any case, the evaluation of social media metrics becomes more relevant as the dentist or the social media marketing team consistently posts useful and relevant content across the various social media networks of the dental practice. Once the target readers start engaging with the content by way of responses, likes or shares, the tracking exercise will become important.