Scheduling Social Media Posts
Dental Marketing Tool's social planner lets you write, schedule, and publish posts to your Facebook and Instagram pages from one place, so your practice stays visible online without requiring you to log in to multiple apps every week.
Before You Start: Connect Your Social Pages
Your Facebook Page and Instagram account need to be linked to Dental Marketing Tool before you can schedule posts. If you have not done this yet, open Settings, go to Integrations, and follow the steps in Connecting Your Facebook Page. Instagram is connected through Facebook, so once your Facebook Page is linked and your Instagram account is attached to that Page, both will appear as publishing destinations.
Opening the Social Planner
- From the main menu, click Marketing.
- Select Social Planner from the submenu.
You will land on a calendar view showing any posts you have already scheduled. You can toggle between calendar view and list view using the buttons in the upper right corner.
Creating a New Post
- Click New Post in the upper right corner of the Social Planner.
- Under Post To, select the accounts you want to publish to. You can pick your Facebook Page, your Instagram account, or both at the same time.
- Write your post content in the text field. Keep in mind that Facebook and Instagram have different character limits, and what looks right on one platform may need slight adjustments for the other.
- To add a photo or video, click Add Media and upload your file. Image posts typically get stronger reach on both platforms, so adding a photo is recommended whenever possible.
- If you want to preview how the post will look on each platform, use the Preview toggle to switch between the Facebook and Instagram views before publishing.
Scheduling vs. Publishing Immediately
Once your post is ready, you have two options:
- Post Now publishes the content to your selected accounts right away.
- Schedule lets you pick a specific date and time for the post to go live. Use the date and time picker to choose when you want it to publish, then click Schedule Post.
Scheduled posts appear on your calendar in the Social Planner so you can see the full picture of what is going out and when. You can edit or delete a scheduled post at any time by clicking it on the calendar before its publish time.
Managing Scheduled Posts
To make a change to a post you have already scheduled:
- Find the post on the calendar and click it.
- Select Edit to update the copy, swap the image, or change the publish time.
- Click Save Changes when you are done. The calendar will update automatically.
To remove a scheduled post, click it on the calendar and select Delete. This removes it from the queue and it will not be published.
What to Post for a Dental Practice
Consistency matters more than volume. Posting two or three times a week on a predictable schedule is more effective than a burst of daily posts followed by long silence. Some content ideas that work well for dental practices:
- Before-and-after smile photos (always get written patient consent before posting)
- Short tips on home care, flossing, or protecting teeth during sports
- Staff spotlights to put a face to the team
- Announcements for new services, extended hours, or openings in the schedule
- Seasonal reminders like back-to-school checkup season or end-of-year benefits
Next Steps
Social posting is one part of a broader marketing picture. If you want to reach patients directly, pairing your social content with a targeted message can make a big difference. See Sending an Email Campaign to reach your patient list by email, or Sending a Text (SMS) Campaign if you want to put an offer or reminder right in their pocket. For a full look at the marketing tools available to you, visit the Marketing Overview.