Ages ago (let’s say ten years ago) the big concern when in came to dental practice online marketing was making sure the practice was present and could be found on the web. So-called SEO, (search engine optimization) was all the rage. The online environment has evolved dramatically since those “olden days.” Today, the key is not just to be found but to be chosen; to have somebody not only click on a practice listing in a search engine, but to actually engage and become a new patient.

Making that engagement a reality is really the only thing that matters. Mike Remer launched his new venture, SavvyDDS.com to focus on effectively producing that one all-important engagement and creating a new patient.

During the same period of time, web users and their search and selection criteria have also evolved. No longer content to pick the first couple of references in a search, gradually users became more discriminating and wanted more social proof (trust) in the form of reviews and ratings.The review and rating system started by Amazon with its five gold stars can now be found virtually everywhere on the web.

For a dental practice (and many other businesses) this can be a double-edged sword. As Remer points out, “The problem is that it’s difficult for most busy dentists to know where to even get started building an attractive online brand. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be difficult if you’ve got the right strategy.”

Uber is one of the most dramatic examples of the rapidly evolving trust economy in action. Think about it: what makes it okay for us to get into a car driven by a total stranger? One word: trust. Before Uber came on the scene and added that critical element of trust, that type of behavior would have been classified as hitchhiking and been highly risky for both driver and passenger.

A Price, Waterhouse, Coopers study stated, “…What ultimately keeps this economy spinning — and growing — is trust. It’s the elixir that enables us to feel reassured about staying in a stranger’s home or hitching a ride from someone we’ve never met.” –PricewaterhouseCoopers, Consumer Intelligence Series: The Sharing Economy

For dentists, word-of-mouth referrals from happy patients are probably still their best source of new patients. But now, with the web, “word-of-mouth” has taken a whole new meaning. People can look at many opinions and over a longer period of time.

Remer brings it home for dental practices when he observes, “There is no doubt that a mom who is searching for a health care provider for her family will check for reviews and other online content from your website, social media, review sites and business directory sites. Today people trust what they read online almost more than what their friends tell them.”

In a pointed reference to trust and the Trust Economy, the online trends website TechCrunch declared: “If you’re not working to build and demonstrate it, then the future might be about to leave you behind, as trust is quickly becoming the global — and most-valued — currency of modern time.”