When potential patients search online for your orthodontic practice, what are they likely to find? Your Web site or the Web site of a competing practice? Like it or not, those who receive recommendations for or referrals to your practice are likely to check you out on the Internet before picking up the telephone to make an appointment. And there’s a good chance they could land on the Web site of a neighboring practice.

According to the latest numbers, more than 500 million people worldwide now use Facebook each month. Users are no longer limited to teenagers and college students. In fact, the fastest growing demographic is individuals age 35 years and older. They include grandparents, business people, other dentists and people just like you.

Dr. Jason Lipscomb, a Virginia general dentist, has become one of the leading authorities on the use of social media by dentists. Social media refers to Facebook, Twitter and other Web-based applications that often employ user-generated content to attract the attention of consumers—in this case dental patients.

You have worked hard to create a Web site for your dental practice. But do you find that while you get hundreds of hits each week, converting prospects into dental patients falls short? The answer to boosting your conversion rate may be found by focusing on your landing page.

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media Web sites provide a wealth of opportunity for dental practitioners to reach out to new and existing patients. But no matter how savvy or high-tech your online strategies are, without successful word of mouth, social media marketing will fail. If you expect an immediate flood of new patients from Facebook or pay attention to social media only when you have extra time, you will be quickly disappointed. The following traditional “word-of-mouth” tips can help you make the most of your social networking efforts: