Join Orthodontic Products Chief Editor Alison Werner as she talks to Andrea Smith, owner of Smith Social Company, a social media agency dedicated to supporting specialty physician practices. In this episode, they talk about what orthodontic practice owners need to know when contracting with a social media agency to handle their social media plan and the 10 questions they should be asking when vetting an agency during the discovery call. 

But before practices can vet a social media agency, they need to know what one does—so Smith starts there with a breakdown. The truth is these agencies can offer quite a few services from graphic design and caption writing to community management, email marketing, and website management. Smith then talks listeners through timing: Specifically, when is the right time to bring in an agency to handle this aspect of your practice’s digital marketing plan. Clues that it might be time to hire an agency: You’re not posting at least three to five times per week and/or the staff member in charge of social media dreads the task. If your social media strategy is random then you aren’t going to get the return on investment, according to Smith. 

From there, Smith provides guidance on how to find an agency that can meet the marketing needs of an orthodontic practice specifically. One tip she offers, go straight to Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn and search “social+media+agency+dentistry/orthodontic+practices.” Looking at social media channels like Instagram also allows you to get a good introduction to the agency’s work before you ever contact them.  

And finally, Smith talks listeners through the questions they should be asking during discovery calls. Her 10-part interview guide gives orthodontic practices the tools for vetting an agency to know if it is the right fit for their digital marketing campaign and their practice.