Search ads and social ads both have their benefits and can both play an important part in your overall marketing plan. However, it pays to appreciate that they can serve different functions, and act as touchpoints at different stages of your buying journey.
This doesn’t mean that one is necessarily better than the other. If time and resources allow, it’s best to do both – and here, we’ll explore why.
Search and social should be seen not as rivals, but as complementary approaches. Despite this, many practices will confine themselves to one or the other. This could be due to preference, lack of resources (such as budget, or the time to respond to enquiries), or consciously targeting just one part of the sales funnel.
This sales funnel shapes one of the main differences between social and search. Fundamentally, this refers to how far along the buying journey your prospective patient is. On social media, users are more passive: they probably aren’t actively looking for information but are instead served your advert. This is what’s called “proactive” media: they’re right at the top of your funnel (or at the beginning of the buying journey) and you’re taking your brand to them through targeting. Because they’re not ready to buy yet, converting social leads takes more time than those found through search. It can also be harder to touch base with them; they’ll most likely have filled out a lead form, which means it could take repeated attempts to contact them.
On Google, a user is much further down the funnel. The difference is that they’re out there, looking for services, and prepared to purchase. They might have experienced a dental emergency – such as a cracked tooth – and be seeking help near to them. Alternatively, they might have been recommended a certain treatment and be shopping around. Either way, you’re much more likely to get a faster return on your investment. And, because a potential patient finding you through search will most likely call you, the initial contact is far more straightforward.
Although they’re different, each channel has its benefits. Social ads are a great way to build brand awareness, which is a vital step in the buyer journey. At the top of the funnel, users can start to learn about your brand and what you’ve got to offer – perhaps an open day, or an advert for new patients. As a visual form of communication, it provides the opportunity to adopt a friendly face and reflect your personality. You can post videos and photos that begin building a connection and present a view of your overall brand experience. On social, you can also retarget those who’ve already visited your website; reminding them (even if it’s unconsciously) that you’re there should they need you.
One strength of social ads is the ability to target very specific niches of users, based on factors such as hobbies, career level, and even beliefs. In this way, you can deliver your ads to those who are most likely to want your product. However, be wary of taking this too far – it’s better to target more broadly to begin with, and then reduce your pool based on your findings.
Paid search is less successful when it comes to building awareness, but it’s characterised by the audience’s active buying intent. Here, you can form the answer to someone’s query – in the above example of a cracked tooth, you’re the solution to their problem. This means that if you create a compelling ad with your information included, there’s a good chance of converting a search user. Google Ads targets keywords rather than demographics, meaning you don’t need to know precisely who your audience is. On top of this, you can choose to target people geographically near to your practice, picking up that important local traffic.
Ultimately, discerning the “right” platform depends on what you’re hoping to achieve. If you want to drive direct traffic with real buying intent to your site, opt for paid ads. If your priority is building brand or product awareness, re-engaging users, or directing traffic to your site and social pages, instead lead with social ads.
If you have the budget, doing both is best. This means that they can work together, with social media laying the foundations for brand recognition and trust during search. For an initial foray, we recommend splitting your efforts 50/50 to see which gives the best return, whether that’s in leads and awareness or actual sales. From here, you can plan where to invest your money next.
Regardless of your route, do give your campaigns time to gain traction. Nothing is an overnight success, so be patient, keep an open mind, and be fluid with your budget – remember, you may need to make changes. Importantly, allow time for your data to build; knowledge really is power.
These platforms may seem simple, but to perform well you need to be actively managing data and optimising as you go along; it’s not enough to set up your campaign and let it run. There is a lot of room for error in advertising, so monitoring, changing, and spotting where you’re losing budget are crucial. A digital team can help with this targeting and optimisation, while also handling the creative delivery. By this I mean ensuring that you have the right message, which will resonate and convert users.
Only you will know what your practice’s needs are, but we’re here to help you understand them, work on your marketing strategy, and outline the tactics required to deliver it and yield the outcomes that you want. If you’d like to get started with paid search or paid social, or need help defining your strategy, get in touch.
