PART 2 OF A 2-PART SERIES Online Opportunities for Orthodontists High-traffic in-person events like open houses used to be the marketing norm, but now the digital world is the logical venue for building " community " referrals. Here's how to get started Patient referrals and dental referrals are key components of any successful practice, of course, but to unlock true potential for long-term sustainable growth, it also must have robust community and digital marketing strategies. Community outreach in 2021 looks very different from years past: We don't have the luxury of community events and high-traffic opportunities. In the digital marketing space, the options are ever-increasing-and so is the cost-so let's focus on the most time- and cost-effective strategies to help encourage growth in 2021. Community referral strategies Before COVID-19, the best community referral lead-generation strategy involved open houses. Some of our clients reported having as many as 40 starts from a single event! If you're in an area where restrictions are lifted and community confidence is high, this is still a great way to get a lot of production in a single day. But over the past year, a few other community referral strategies have proven to yield great results without the requirement of face-to-face events. orthotown.com \\ MARCH 2021 OT0321_Bull_Marketing-Part2_MM.indd 53 53 2/25/21 11:45 AMhttp://www.orthotown.com