KCL Dental Institute students win major Dental Industry Award with savvy Facebook marketing
ToothWise, a dental news platform created by a group of King’s College London Dental Institute students recently won a major Dental Industry Award. The platform collates the latest research, news articles and blogs from various sources within the dentistry profession, providing an easy point of contact on anything dental. Launched in February 2016, the news platform has gone from strength to strength with over 450 subscribers and an average international reach of around 18,000 visitors on Facebook.
Created by KCL BDS students Sorabh Patel, Anika Parmar, Arjun Varma and University of Debrecen, Hungary student Nikunj Sondagar, the group were finalists in the Dental Industry Awards in two categories; App of the Year and Best Use of Facebook Marketing. Going up against international heavyweight companies such as Oral B, the Dental Directory, and Ivoclar Vivadent, the ToothWise team saw themselves as the underdogs. But showing the giants of the dental industry how to do it, the group won the Best Use of Facebook Marketing award.
The Dental Industry Awards celebrate excellence in the UK dental industry. With award categories that showcase the best of UK dental business, ToothWise were also the youngest finalists in the history of the awards. Executives and Company Directors from their competitors at the awards were shocked to find out they were all students as well.
Founding member and KCL student, Sorabh Patel was delighted just to be shortlisted: “The recognition of our work by industry leaders and fellow professionals was incredible; we had never thought we would have been placed in the same league as some of the international companies. These are companies with thousands of employees, millions in marketing budgets and span across the globe. Just being finalists was a huge achievement.”
As dental students, and therefore a key target audience of their platform, the team has found they have had a natural advantage in Facebook marketing. “We understand the real issues that face young dentists and the concerns of students for the future. We aim to address this by providing real value to our readers and followers” says Sorabh.
“It's been a huge struggle balancing ToothWise with our studies and other personal commitments, but I wouldn't change a thing. The Dental Institute has been amazingly supportive, my advice to any student with an idea; never be afraid to pursue your ideas and passions no matter how small they may be you can still make a huge impact” he concludes.
ToothWise has partnerships with 44 universities across the world to share the latest research findings. As well as the website and social media platforms, they developed an app, keeping their customers up to date, on the go. Their ethos centres on “Bringing Dentistry Together” as they believe it’s vital for professionals to stay up to date with the latest news in dentistry. They aim to make it easier and more efficient, by providing technology to connect people and resources in dentistry together.
For more information on ToothWise, visit: http://news.dental/