If you’ve ever sat at your desk, opened your practice’s social media page with the intention of sharing something, and immediately felt that low-grade anxiety creep in, wondering what to say, how to say it, or if it’s even worth posting, you’re not alone.
For as long as I have worked in dental marketing, one question has come up more than any other: “What on Earth am I supposed to post on social media?”
Robyn Damaris.
For many practices, social media feels like one more thing you have to manage in an already full day. You worry about being too formal, promotional, technical, or boring. You start a post. You delete it. You try again. You worry it’s not good enough. You give up posting for the day and promise yourself you’ll try again tomorrow.
The pressure builds. Either the anxiety becomes overwhelming, or you push it far enough into the background that you forget to post. Before long, social media becomes something you avoid completely instead of a tool you use to your advantage.
A study by The Alternative Board (TAB) found that 64% of business owners only check their social media once a week or less, so it’s no surprise that consistency becomes a challenge, especially when you’re not sure what to say. It shouldn’t be this hard to talk to your own patients.
After spending years watching practices struggle with social media confidence, I started looking for a way to solve that problem, something simple, human, and repeatable. What I came up with is something I call the Just Talk To People Method, a mindset shift that takes the pressure off and replaces it with something far more powerful ... connection.
Your audience isn’t an algorithm. It’s people you know
If you’ve ever felt intimidated by social media, it could be because you’re imagining you’re performing for the whole internet. But that’s not your audience. Your audience is people who trust you with their health. With that in mind, here’s the first step in the Just Talk To People Method:
Picture every single follower of your practice's page gathered in one big room.
Not like you’re on stage, but they’re around you, like you’re walking through a farmers market or school cafeteria, or you’re catching up with them in your waiting room. You’re not performing, you’re just talking.
What would you talk about? You wouldn’t open with a technical explanation of crown materials. You wouldn’t launch into a sales pitch. You wouldn’t talk at them. No, you’d talk to them. You’d greet them. You’d smile. You’d share a story. You’d introduce your team. You’d talk about something real.
That’s how social media should feel.
Once you visualize your audience as human beings in the same room as you, the anxiety about what you’re going to say melts away. You stop worrying about perfection and focus on connection.
What are you supposed to post?
This is the No. 1 question that stops everyone: What am I supposed to post?
When I ask teams what stops them from posting, the most common answer is a lack of confidence. They don’t know what belongs online. They don’t want to post the wrong thing. They don’t want to sound unprofessional, too casual, too personal, or too boring.
Here’s what I tell them: If you wouldn’t say it to your audience in that room, don’t post it. If you would say it, post it.
That eliminates a big portion of the guesswork. It mirrors how people actually build trust. Patients choose a practice based on how it makes them feel and the connection they experience.
What do you talk about with patients in real life?
- Their kids
- Their hobbies
- Their weekend plans
- Your team
- Funny moments in the office
- Local events
- The things that make your practice human
Social media is, quite literally, social. It’s meant to feel like a conversation; do post the things you’d talk about in person with your patients. That’s it.
Human content always wins
A recent report found that 86% of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding which brands they like and support. That’s what people are responding to: content that sounds like a real person. Once teams use The Just Talk To People Method, their content becomes more engaging.
Here are some examples of how the shift works:
- Before: “Dental implants help restore function and aesthetics.”
After: “Today marks five years since Jerry got his implant! He told us he smiles bigger in photos now than he ever did before.”
Before: “Happy Dental Hygienist Week to our clinical team.”
After: “Meet Sarah, the world’s best dental hygienist! When she’s not keeping your smile healthy, she’s out hiking the trails with her dogs. We adore her, and we know you do too.”
Before: “Our new technology is now installed!”
After: “We just got a new piece of tech and our team literally cheered. Are we nerds? Absolutely. Do we love it? 100%. Here’s why you’re going to love it too …”
See the difference? One is a post, while the other begins a conversation.
A simple three-step plan you can start today
The Just Talk To People Method makes posting more natural, but I also want it to be practical. Here’s the three-step plan I give every team.
See your audience in the same room. Visualize them standing together -- your patients, your community, your people.
Say what you’d say face-to-face. Move away from procedures and move toward stories, personality, and real life.
Use simple tools to multiply what you already have. Once you see content through the Just Talk To People Method, you’ll notice that one good moment can go a long way. A single photo, team video, or a story from a patient interaction can easily become several different posts with the help of today’s easy-to-use content tools. You don’t need anything complicated. Basic AI and repurposing tools can help you turn one idea into multiple formats, like:
- A Facebook story
- An Instagram caption
- A TikTok script
- A photo dump
- A fun one-liner
- A behind-the-scenes feature
- A team spotlight
- A community message
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time you post. A little creativity and some online tools that help you repurpose what you already have can stretch your content further than you think.
When practices use the Just Talk To People Method, I see something shift. Teams relax. They find their voice. Posting becomes fun again. Consistency becomes natural instead of forced. Patients engage more because the content actually feels like the practice they know. And best of all, teams tell me, “This finally feels doable.”
You can do this, and you don’t have to do it alone
If you’ve been stuck or stressed about social media, you’re not failing. You just need a different way to look at it. Start with your audience in that room. Talk to them like the people they are. Let tools like Phoenix Dental Agency’s Social Studio help carry the workload. And watch how quickly your social media transforms from a source of anxiety into a source of connection.
Robyn Damaris is the director of operations for Phoenix Dental Agency, the marketing arm of Productive Dentist Academy. With a passion for aligning marketing strategies with practice goals, Damaris oversees a holistic approach that helps dentists clarify their message, connect authentically with patients, and achieve sustainable growth.
The comments and observations expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DrBicuspid.com, nor should they be construed as an endorsement or admonishment of any particular idea, vendor, or organization.
