It’s a well documented fact that social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have revolutionized the marketing landscape for large businesses, SMBs and now even medical and dental practices. Vibrant as it is, the social networking domain is in a state of constant change, which ironically is one of its biggest selling points.

Joining the long line of social media marketing options available to medical and dental practices is Pinterest. With its “out of the box” marketing capabilities, this unique photo sharing social medium is all set to drive social media marketing strategies.

What is Pinterest?

One of the best ways to understand Pinterest is to think of it as a giant virtual bulletin board which allows you to “pin” images associated with your medical or dental practice. Pinterest allows users to set up minor user profiles which can include your name or your practice logo or image. It also allows you to include a brief description of your practice. In essence, your practice and what it stands for and offers will be reflected in the images that you are pinning.

Currently more than 48.7 million users frequent Pinterest. This should give you a good idea of just how popular this new social media platform has become. So if you’re medical or dental practice is not already on Pinterest then now is your chance to jump in and start reaping numerous marketing benefits.

How Does Pinterest Work?

The main difference between other social media sites and Pinterest is that here the main focus is on photos and images, and less on words. Hence Pinterest is based on the premise of visual simulation. A Pinterest page typically features multiple pinboards that are categorized under a variety of topics such as “Inspirational,” and “In the News.” If you come across visual items which you think might be of interest to your patients, you can simply go ahead and “pin” that image.  You can then share your “pins” via the Facebook page or Twitter account of your practice.

One way of making your mark on Pinterest is by providing interesting content to your audiences. So if a patient or more importantly a potential patient comes across something that they like, they will click on it and will be redirected to your website.

Why do I need Pinterest for My Medical or Dental Practice?

There are few marketing avenues which can be associated with the words – “free,” “low maintenance,” and “less time consuming.”  The good news is that Pinterest is one of those few avenues.

Like most social media tools, Pinterest is free and is very easy to manage. However, unlike Facebook and Twitter which are conversational platforms and need to be updated almost on a daily basis, with Pinterest you can regulate the frequency of updation based on convenience. So everything from a few times in the day to a few times a week will work just fine.

Another point of interest with Pinterest is that because it makes use of hashtag attachments and pictures, it is ideal for marketing campaigns that are geared towards targeted audiences.  And while on the topic of targeted audiences let us consider the demographics – a very large percentage of Pinterest users are women. And going by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 80% of women are still the primary health care decision-makers within their families. So again, if you are not on Pinterest, then you are missing out on the opportunity to reach out to a major consumer base.

To provide you with a quick summary of the talking points of Pinterest – little extra time or cost, easy to maintain, quick access to target audience, and the ability to encourage healthy lifestyle options among people. There is just no way you can go wrong with Pinterest.