In earlier posts, we discussed how establishing a powerful brand identity for your dental implant practice will lead to a higher case acceptance rate. As your brand becomes clear and consistent, patients will grow loyal to your practice and begin recommending you to their family and friends. 

All of this requires clarity and consistency in every area of your “marketing stack.” A marketing stack consists of all the pieces of your practice’s marketing, from things like your website and social media to things like word-of-mouth and reputation. Essentially, this is everything you do to influence someone to accept your implant treatment. 

So, what are all the pieces in a marketing stack, and how do they relate to one another? The best way to understand the marketing process is through the PESO model.

Introducing the PESO Model

PESO stands for Paid media, Earned media, Shared media, and Owned media. It’s an easy way to remember the primary marketing categories. The important thing to note is this: Strong marketing requires effort in all four categories. 

When you consistently deliver on every letter of PESO, you develop authority and trust with your prospective patients, leading to a positive reputation. All of this contributes to higher case acceptance and recommendations to friends and family.

Let’s look at the four categories and a couple of practical things you can do to establish your presence in them.

Paid Media

What Is Paid Media Within The PESO Model? Paid Media Means All Of The Digital Advertising You Directly Pay For.

The most obvious examples of paid media include Google and Facebook ads, but they also include things like contests and affiliate marketing. 

Examples of Paid Media within the PESO Model include: 

• Facebook ads
• Google AdWords
• Google display network (can be used for retargeting)
• YouTube advertising
• Offline advertising

Paid Media is the fastest way to acquire leads as you start out. You can activate your ad and have it shown to people within minutes. And you can set your target audience with much more precision than many other forms of marketing, showing your ad only to people you know to be likely to want your services. But that speed and ability to target comes at a (literal) cost.

Earned Media

What is Earned Media within the PESO Model? Earned media is the attention you get for free on channels you don’t control.

As opposed to paid media, earned media arises more organically and over time. These days, earned media is like a digital version of old-school word-of-mouth advertising.

Examples of Earned Media within the PESO Model include:

• When you or your practice is mentioned on a blog.
• When the local news writes a story about you or your practice.
• Traditional word-of-mouth advertising.
• Earning a steady flow of online reviews from happy patients.

Although earned media cannot be directly controlled, it can certainly be influenced. For example, if you give your patients positive experiences, they are much more likely to talk with friends of family about you. Additionally, over time, growing buzz in your community also will make it more likely for your practice to be featured in a local news story.

Shared Media

What Is Shared Media Within The PESO Model? Shared Media Comes Through The Relationships You Build With Patients, Local Businesses, And Your Community.

Shared media expands your audience to people who may not have seen you, even through paid media. 

Examples of Shared Media within the PESO Model include:

• When a happy patient posts about your practice on her Facebook profile.
• Partnering with local businesses to conduct joint events or exchange promotions.
• Engaging with people in social media groups or other social media channels.

With shared media, your benefits go beyond being exposed to new audiences. When someone posts about you to their Facebook profile, you not only get exposure to their friends and family but you also get a reputation boost based on how much their audience respects them. Their word goes a long way.

Similarly, when you partner with local businesses, you benefit from being promoted to their clients or customers. But you also benefit from being associated with another respected brand.

Owned Media

What Is Owned Media Within The PESO Model? Simply Put, Owned Media Is All Of The Content You Publish To Your Online Platforms.

While it’s often overlooked, owned media presents tremendous opportunities for dental practices because you are in complete control of the content.

Examples of Owned Media within the PESO Model include:

• Regularly updating a blog on your website.
• Conducting webinars.
• Hosting a podcast.
• Posting to your own social media channels.

While owned media doesn’t generate leads as quickly as paid media, it develops your authority and credibility like none other. It also earns organic traffic to your website that we can use to reduce ad costs through retargeting campaigns. And, over time, all of that content will help improve your practice’s SEO so you are more likely to appear in organic search results when people search for a dentist in your area.

While owned media doesn’t always get the most attention, it’s long-term value is why even top enterprises like Google and Safeway still have their own blogs.

Putting It All Together

As you can see from the diagram, every section of the PESO model overlaps, as in a Venn diagram. Owned media in conjunction with paid media creates new leads. Shared media in tandem with earned media creates engagement. When your marketing fires on all four cylinders, you earn a positive reputation that nets you new and returning patients.

The first steps are simple: Paid ads, a blog, surveys, and social posts that encourage interaction. This is the foundation for your implant practice’s new marketing stack.

If you want help using the PESO model to improve your dental marketing, please reach out and book a free strategy call with us today.