We LOVE summer. And no, not just because some of us who work in Washington haven't seen the sun in months. But because... Hands down, summer is the easiest season to build your brand! Kids are out of school. Everyone is full of vitamin D. There are countless community events. And it's fun. To get your wheels spinning, we have laid out five *brilliant if we may say* ideas to get involved in summer events and build your brand.

Before you read anything else, you must remember...

Your WHYs. Why are you doing XYZ? Is it to:

• Book more patients?
• Push a specific service?
• Increase your social following?
• Gain your patients' trust?
• Build brand awareness?
• Develop communities ties?

If you try to do everything at once, it won't be as effective. Streamline your events and campaigns to focus on one or two goals. Once you have that, it will be easier to plan and initiate your idea, get your team on the same page, and analyze your successes. With that in the back of your mind... Here are our top five ideas to build your brand this summer (some of which you are probably already doing).

#1 Volunteer within your community

Volunteering shows that you care about something. And what patient doesn't want their dental or medical professional to care? With pristine weather, summer makes for an excellent time to volunteer indoors and outdoors. Ideas for places to volunteer at:

• Foodbanks
• Animal shelters
• Blood drives
• Fundraisers
• Retirement homes

Whether you choose to volunteer by yourself or as a team, make it known! *in a humble manner* If you're volunteering at an event, ask your social media audiences who else will be there and tell them to keep an eye out for you. And you MUST: Take photos and videos during, and post them afterward!  You may have heard the saying "pics, or it didn't happen." Another must do: TAG! Tag the place you volunteered at, people you met, associated businesses, and include your location in your posts. We'll get into why this matters soon.

#2 Share what you're doing

Along the lines of what we mentioned above: Stay active on social media throughout the summer. And remember: You don't have to post dental or medical related content 24/7. Mix it up! Posting personal and non-promotional content helps build culture and can strengthen your relationship with your patients. Keep your eye out for these type of opportunities to share on social media:

• Competitions - marathons, softball tournaments, hotdog eating contest, etc.
• Traveling - are you or a team member visiting a new or fun place?
• Sports games - go Mariners! Or whatever local team you support!
• Entertainment - going to the movies, county fair, theme parks, etc.
• Back to school shopping - a great reminder to book appointments NOW!

#3 A social media campaign

Nowadays, people don't go ANYWHERE without their cell phones. And sure, this can be annoying at the dinner table, but you know what? This is good news for you! Having a social media presence means you can reach your patients and potential patients WHEREVER they go this summer! So... What better way to stay in the backs of their minds than a little social media campaign. Here are a few different campaigns you can run this summer to accomplish a variety of branding goals:

New patient referral

Word of mouth is extremely effective! In fact, did you know: 90% of people are more likely to trust and buy from a brand that is recommended by a friend.  To incentivize your patients to refer their friends and family, we recommend a rewards promotion like: For every new patient, you refer to us; we'll give you a $50 Amazon gift card! Make sure you have this promotion listed on your website and post about it once a week to remind your social audience.

A friendly bet

Nothing like a good ol' friendly bet to get your social audience engaged. Here's a good one: If we get 100 likes on this photo, then our doctor will dye his/her hair pink! You may be wondering how this benefits you, but here's what'll likely happen:

• This photo will get more likes than normal
• People will tag others in a comment to help like the photo
• People will make fun comments, which you can engage back with
• People will share the photo to get more like, which helps to increase your reach
• You'll gain a few followers or page likes
• If you get 100 likes, you will post a follow-up photo, which will surely have a lot of likes and comments

A giveaway contest

Last summer, our Weekly Coach Toolkit rolled out a series of social posts for a "Where in the world are our patients?" photo contest. All patients had to do was tag their [dentist] in their [Instagram] photos and were entered into a drawing for whatever prize our clients decided on. It's easy and simple. And... People love free stuff. Other successful social media contests included entries like:

• Like/follow us
• Tag a friend in the comments
• Guess our favorite [movie, food, college team, etc.]
• Comment with your favorite [whatever your question is]
• Tell us why you like us in the comments

Giveaways like this can help boost your social media engagement, gain new followers/page likes, and build brand awareness.

#4 Rent a booth at your local farmer's market

But don't sell anything. That's what everyone else is doing. Instead, give away branded merchandise like:

• Toothbrushes
• Floss
• Pens
• Bottle openers
• Bandaids
• You name it!

Think of this as free advertising. You could even turn it into a spin-the-wheel game. Or... Try to increase your social following with incentives like: "Show us that you like us on Facebook, and you'll be entered into a drawing for [cool prize]." But most importantly: Smile. Say hello. Answer questions. And show your community what you're all about. First impressions are everything, and farmer's markets are an easy spot to get out there and make some.

#5 Throw a party or event

We get it... this one seems a little more daunting than our other ideas, but check out two of our clients' summer events:

Family Fun Night

Orthodontic Specialists Indian Valley throws a Family Fun Night at their dental office every year. Attendees are requested to bring a food donation for the Keystone Opportunity Center, which helps feed children while they are on summer break. In return for their donations, attendees get to enjoy a night full of food, balloon animals, face painting, kid-friendly games, and more. How you could benefit from an event like this:

• Giving back to the community helps build trust
• Partnering with a local organization creates ties and can boost your SEO with inbound links
• Inviting everyone opens doors to gain new patients
• Promoting the event builds brand awareness

Kids Day

Fidler on the Tooth holds a quarterly Kids Day dedicated to children's dental care. During Kids Day, the entire dental office is decked out with a theme, and there are endless games and activities to keep kids entertained. Parents can book their and their child's dental appointments this day, making family dentistry convenient and fun. How you could benefit from an event like this:

• A targeted event like this could increase your number of child patients and appointments
• On the contrary, you could limit children's appointments to specific days
• Creating positive dental experiences creates a positive outlook on the dentist
• Child-specific care and education promotes healthy oral habits early on
• Mixing up the ordinary helps brand yourself apart from your competition

Ready for summer now?

Enjoy your summer, but don't let it fly by too fast! Take advantage of these few months where everyone is out and about, social, and happy, with a few brand-building initiatives. If you're up for a bigger undertaking, then throw that dang party! And if you want to lay a bit lower, run a social media contest and ask your team who wants to help. As always, if you have a question or want some advice on our summer ideas... CALL ME BEEP ME IF YOU WANNA REACH ME: (360) 283-5001 We are here for you! After all, your success is our success, and we like being successful!