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It goes without saying that good quality content is crucial for a website to perform well and convert website visitors into new patients. It should be carefully considered, well written and have a clear objective in mind. 

Your website content should clearly and accurately address the information potential patients need to know (i.e. treatments you provide, why you provide the best care, who is on your team etc), but it should also make sure that you’re driving visitors towards your website goals, like booking in for a consultation or calling you to find out more.

Ultimately, you want your website to be a pleasure to visit, and reflect who you are, whilst still being high performing. 

However, when it comes to actually creating content, even the most experienced professionals can get writer’s block. Well thought out, clear and concise web copy can really make a difference to the overall performance of your website, and it often can feel like an almighty task to create.

With our top 5 easy to follow copywriting tips you should be able to beat that writer’s block, and also ensure your website copy is working for you! 

Tip #1 Establish your Tone Of Voice

The difference between good copy and great copy really is the tone of voice that is used throughout your website. Creating a unique tone of voice is a brilliant way to not only make you stand out from the crowd, but also to build up a relationship with your web visitors right from the very start. 

The best way to find your own tone of voice is to establish who your target patient is and how they speak or like to be spoken to. It’s them who you’re speaking to after all! 

Why not start by building your very own Patient Profile? 

Download Our Free Template HERE.

A consumer profile is a one page document that helps you to outline your target patients’ credentials. It can list their pain points, interests, buying patterns, and key characteristics. 

Whilst it may seem that your current patients have different pain points and different things that are important to them, if you take an hour to sit and think through your top fifty or so patients, you will probably find that they have lots more in common than you think. There could be similarities in age, who they are, what they like and what’s important to them. Work out why your patients come to your practice and not the practice of your competitors down the road. 

All of these unique factors will start to build up a fantastic insight into who your target audience is. You can then use this to start reflecting on the type of language that they’re more likely to resonate with to start building your tone of voice. 

Tip #2 Make sure your Treatment Page is informative 

Although this may seem obvious, a well thought out and clear treatment page can often be overlooked when creating a high performing website. 

Whilst it may be easy to just simply “list” the treatments you have available at your practice, you could be losing lots of potential patients by simply assuming they already have the knowledge they need when looking at the treatment options available. 

Never assume knowledge and use language as your best friend to help your potential patients really understand your treatment page and what it is that you offer. You may know what peridontistry is but your potential new patient may not, so use more simple and descriptive language to communicate what you offer.

Start by categorising your services into a logical and simple structure and put them in context using your patients’ language. Don’t use overly complicated jargon, which has the potential to increase your bounce rate (visitors bouncing off your page or whole website as they cannot find or understand what they are looking for!) and confuse your reader. 

Don’t forget to make sure that all of your language is appropriate and follows the rules of the CQC. For example, we see many people using the word specialist on their dental practice website. However you can only use the word ‘specialist’ in dentistry if you are genuinely a qualified specialist! This is definitely worth noting and making sure you do your due diligence when creating your copy. Head to the CQC website for more information: https://www.cqc.org.uk/about-us/transparency/transparency

Tip #3 Don’t forget your FAQ’s

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when creating the copy for your website is forgetting your FAQ’s! 

Don’t fall for this age-old error and neglect your frequently asked questions. Spend some time really considering your language here and making sure that you cover everything a potential patient might want to know. 

Not only does it make life easier for your website visitors, it can save your company time and resources because you don’t have as many patients contacting you for answers. 

Plus it helps to build trustworthy relationships right from the very start!

Really consider the questions that your existing patients ask when they’re in your practice, or are having certain treatments. Speak to the team and ask them what questions they are asked too! 

You might find that each team member interacts with a patient at different stages of their journey, from enquiry, to TCO appointments, and questions may vary at each stage of the process. Use these to help to build a more thorough FAQ’s section on your website. 

Tip #4 Consider your on page SEO

Whilst it is important to know how to speak to your patients – it’s just as important to know how to speak to Google! 

There is no point in having a fantastic looking, and sounding website, if Google can’t find it. SEO is the practice of Search Engine Optimisation, and it’s a method of sowing carefully selected keywords into your copy, to make your website visible to search engines. 

Enquiries that come from search engines are the best type of leads, afer word-of-mouth of course. They are searching for a solution and are ready to take action. You didn’t interrupt their day and find them – they found you! 

Most searches begin with typing keywords like “dentists near me” into a search engine. There are only 13 spots on page one of Google, including the three map results, and the best way to ensure your practice is appearing in one of these sought after positions is by helping Google to understand that your website belongs there. 

It is important to meet all of the technical “on page” requirements that go into ensuring that the search engine understands the value you are delivering and puts your website in front of your target patient when they make a search. This plays a large part in how you structure your website’s pages and should be considered when creating all pieces of written copy on your website. 

Read our post ‘The Ultimate Guide to Dental SEO’ to get a greater understanding of how to start using SEO content on your website.

Tip #5 Use your own case work to support your copy

Your practice is as unique as you! So make sure your potential patients know this by showcasing your own case work to support your copy. Your competitors may have roughly the same treatment information as you, but your work will always be uniquely yours, so make sure to include this on your website. 

Have you had a particularly transformative case, overhauling a patient’s smile using different treatments to achieve the results? 

Or perhaps you have a specific technology that you offer that has delivered some great results to very happy patients? Feature them on your website!  

With the permission of the patient, write about the problem, the solution and the results, with as much detail as possible. Use emotive language to really help your website visitor understand your work and begin to build a relationship with them. The more your website visitor feels that your work can target their pain point the more likely they are going to want to find out more. 

Don’t forget to include rich media here, too. Rich media is simply a digital marketing term that adds value to your digital content. It can be photographs, videos, audio or any other element that encourages viewers to interact and engage with your content. Take as many photographs and videos of your work as you can, and use these to support your case studies.  Plus, rich media can help to support your SEO too. 

Why not check out our guide to taking photographs for your online Smile Gallery? 

We hope these top 5 tips have kick started some great conversations and ideas for you to create or refresh your dental practices website copy. 

We get it, the thought of producing high-quality content for your website is a daunting one, but that’s why copywriters exist! If you are serious about creating a website that you are proud of, consider working with a professional to achieve all of the above. The cost will pay for itself ten times over! 

If you would like some help in getting started, send us an email to set up an appointment with one of our experts and we will ensure that your copywriting, and the rest of your website is performing to its full potential. 

We know that when it comes to managing your dental practice’s social media accounts, staying up to date with the latest features, posting regularly, creating quality content, interacting with your audience AND staying on top of your follower engagement is not an easy task. 

Reels are the latest addition to instagram’s feature repertoire that you might have noticed popping up on your feed. Whilst not only original and entertaining, they’re a fantastic way to showcase more aspects of your dental practice, whilst also helping to expand your reach.

Expanding your reach ultimately means growing your follower list and increasing your engagement – which of course we always hope will lead to new patients enquiring about who you are and what you do. 

So, where to begin with this new feature? We have answered your top 5 most asked questions about Instagram Reels:

What Are Instagram Reels?

Reels are the latest video feature on Instagram that allow you to create 15-30 second video clips, which can be edited to include music, text overlays and visual effects, helping you to create fun and engaging video content. Think Insta’s own version of TikTok but not quite so advanced. 

Reels have been given their own tab on your profile. These short-form videos can then be shared to this tab as well as having the choice to share the Reel to Instagram Stories and to your main feed. 

You can see the Reels Tab on your Instagram by clicking the icon shown below:

Why should I incorporate Reels onto my Dental Practice Instagram page?

Instagram Reels are a highly effective feature for you to share quick video content that gives your patients behind-the-scenes insight into who you really are as a team and a business. 

According to a study conducted by Billion Dollar Boy, Reels have a higher average engagement rate compared to videos that are shared directly to the main feed, stating “Reels see an average engagement rate of 2.7%, vs 2.2% for main feed videos.”.

Reel’s content is also much shorter and more digestible compared to main feed videos and IGTV’s (which can tend to be long replays of live broadcasts). This is especially important as we know that a user’s average attention span is around 8 seconds, giving you a very short window to grab a user’s attention and keep them fully engaged. 

Reels are a great way for your account to become more visible on Instagram too – as when planned and posted with a bit of thought behind them, they can easily become featured on the explore page and hashtag feeds. This ultimately generates more organic traffic to the video clip and to your account! 

That sounds great, but how do I create a Reel?

To access the Reels screen, simply tap on the ‘+’ icon situated on the top right-hand corner of Instagram and then select ‘Reel’ from the pop-up menu. 

You can then choose from the following options:

• Clip Length – Record a 15-second or 30-second clip.
• Add Music – Search for a song from the Instagram music library.
• Video Speed – Choose to speed up or slow down the video clip.
• AR Effects – Select one of the many effects in Instagram’s effect gallery.
• Touch Up – Acts as a cosmetic filter and makes the skin appear smoother.
• Timer Countdown – Set a countdown timer when recording.

Check out this handy tutorial on how to create easy and engaging reels:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvbqH2tb3Q0

What sort of content should I include in my Reels?

How about turning your before and after pictures into a catchy Reel? Utilising existing content you already have in your smile gallery is a great way to start creating! Or why not showcase behind the scenes at your practice and get the team involved? 

We also love the idea of creating a Reel series on your Oral Top Tips, recording and sharing a different piece of advice each week. You can also use Reels as a way of introducing your team members or shouting about your treatments and their benefits. The more creative you are, the better!

Try to portray as much of your practice’s, team’s and business’s personality as possible in your social media content. Consider your tone of voice, brand colours and personality and include these when creating your Reels!

Do you have any top tips when creating Reels?

Of course! Getting to grips with the capabilities of Reels and generating creative ideas is the most important bit, but it can be helpful to take note of the following top tips: 

• The first few seconds of your Instagram reel are the most important as you need to immediately grab the viewer’s attention. So make those first few moments count! 
• Always use the Instagram app to record and edit your Reels, rather than uploading a video you’ve recorded elsewhere via a third party app or software. Creating Reels outside of the app can often result in watermarks, pixelated videos or edges of videos can be cropped and cut-off, reducing the quality of your video. 
• Reels should be recorded with your phone in vertical orientation using your smartphone’s full screen rather than encased in a frame, squared off, or set horizontally.
• Utilise the features available to you! Reels that have creative transitions, edits and music can help to keep the viewer engaged.
• Don’t forget emojis and hashtags! Include up to 30 content-related hashtags and relevant emojis within the caption.
• Share the Reel to your Instagram story and to your main feed to generate extra traffic to the video.
• Be high energy! People want to see you having fun and enjoying yourselves. Don’t be shy. 

So, now it’s time to get started!

We hope the above has inspired you to give Reels a go for your practice’s instagram page. Why not start by sharing 1-2 Reels per month and see how this impacts your overall engagement rate and follower growth? We’re sure it’ll give it a much needed boost.

Keeping up to date with new features on social media can be overwhelming, but when properly utilised and added into your digital marketing strategy, they can be a great way to increase your engagement, grow your follower list and build genuine relationships with your patients. 

Think outside the box and try to be as creative as possible when creating Reels. Good luck and if you follow any of our top tips, don’t forget to let us know and tag us in your creations:

@DominateDental 

Or, why not Get in touch with us today and we can show you how to make sure that not only your social media is the best it can be, but all aspects of your digital marketing are working to deliver great results for your practice.

When a prospect visits your website for the first time, they’re looking for a solution. One of which will be “Will this work for me?”…and what better way to answer them, than to show them? 

Introducing your Smile Gallery. 

A Smile Gallery, simply put, is a collection of before and after photos. These can demonstrate a wide range of treatments, cover a scope of cases and give real evidence of the solutions that you and your practice can provide. Your Smile Gallery is an effective way to show how great you are and showcase the treatments your practice has to offer. 

Getting your Smile Gallery right is paramount in ensuring your website visitor (and potential new patient) will convert into another name on your patient list.

So how can you make sure your Smile Gallery is the best it can be?

DO develop a standard process for capturing your patients’ before and after photographs. 

It goes without saying that remembering to snap a picture of your patient is vital when building up your catalogue of Smile Gallery images. 

Perhaps you can ensure that your Treatment Coordinator is adding the opportunity to get a before picture into their initial appointment. Or perhaps your reception team is notified of the patients that are comfortable getting great pictures before and after their treatment, and are on hand to snap a picture in your well lit reception area. 

Know what your process is going to be and add this into your team’s day to day workflow. 

FREE SWIPE FILE! Click here to grab our Social Media Patient Consent Form to ensure you’re covered when it comes to using patient images across your media.

DON’T miss out on a branding opportunity. Once you have your process in place for capturing those all important before and after photos, don’t forget to make them “you”! 

Consistency is key, but having a recognisable style helps to make your images stand out in your Smile Gallery. If the pictures are a full smile, consider where the patient is standing and what is in the background. Do you have a wall they can stand against with your logo in the background? Do you have a selfie frame in your reception area that your patients can use to snap a picture? 

When editing the pictures, make sure your logo is present so that they’re easily associated with your practice once shared. Consider your practice brand colours too and incorporate these on a background or border. 

DO utilise them on Social Media. Whilst your smile gallery is an important addition to your practice’s website, be sure to make the best use of your fantastic images by utilising them across all of your digital channels. We know that before and after photos get great engagement on social media, so take the opportunity to showcase your work by posting them with an emotive caption, highlighting their smile journey, and appropriate hashtags. Encourage your existing patients to follow you on social media and post their own pictures too, tagging your account, so you can reshare and thank them on your own page. 

DON’T forget the importance of great lighting.The difference between a good photograph and a great photograph is the lighting. Don’t miss out on the opportunity of highlighting a great case with a bad picture. 

Make sure that you’re taking your photographs in natural light, or if that isn’t possible, invest in a ring light for your practice so you can make sure your snaps are picture perfect. Capture the whole face (with permission) and not just the teeth, the better the photograph, the better the Smile Gallery. 

DO ensure they are consistent with your website and spend some time adding these to your site. Once you have a fantastic catalogue of images to add to your Smile Gallery, make sure you apply the same considered approach to displaying them on your website. 

Your Smile Gallery page will be one of the most engaging assets on your website, so you want to make sure it looks great. Present them in a logical and easy to consume format to ensure the prospective patient can find the treatment they’re considering for themself. Consider dynamic elements, to make your Smile Gallery as interactive as possible. Why not add a moving reel? Or an instagram style grid? A stylistic Smile Gallery is an easy way to increase the performance of your website. 

DON’T rely on old pictures. Keep generating new content as you expand your patient list and treatment availability. Show off the technology and equipment you have available in your practice by taking before and after photos from a range of appointments. 

Some people visiting your social media pages and website may take a little more nurturing before they contact you. Keep them engaged with regular updates to your Smile Gallery (always add the newest cases at the front/start of the page!). 

DO showcase variety. Remember people are looking to relate to your Smile Gallery. Every smile is unique, so make sure your Smile Gallery reflects this. The more people relate to an image and can see real results from the treatments they might be considering, the more likely they’re to get in touch. You want to evoke feelings such as:

“Wow, look how great they look” “If it worked for them, it would work for me!” 

“I want a smile like that…” 

Your patients are paying for the end result of confidence and good looks, show them how you create that for others, everyday. 

A successful Smile Gallery really does make a whole world of difference in a high performing website. Remember, having a well thought out consistent process, great lighting, adding personality and showcasing variety are the key elements to making sure your Smile Gallery is a key element to your success. 

Get in touch with us today and we can show you how to make sure that not only your Smile Gallery is the best it can be, but all aspects of your digital marketing are working to deliver great results for your practice. 

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when designing, or even refreshing, your website is not considering the importance of your ‘About Us’ page. 

Across the majority of our clients’ sites, this page is in the top three most visited pages!

This is because your potential patients care about who is going to be treating them, so the more clear and effective you are with this page, the more your patient can get to know about your practice and your services. 

Good quality, considered content can be the difference between a poor performing website and one that actively grows its patient list.

With a few simple tweaks you can make sure that your ‘About Us’ page is contributing to the successful performance of your website. 

So, let’s jump in, shall we? 

1. Be Clear and Concise

Too often we see people relying on copy that was written years ago, shoehorned into a modern design, or the copy on their website is simply an afterthought and it is nonsensical and plagued with mistakes. 

Your website should be a pleasure to visit, navigate and read. Don’t overwhelm your reader with technical jargon on your ‘About Us’ page. Make sure your copy is easy to read, communicates your message and is sanity checked for all grammatical and spelling errors. 

Consider your text length, choice of vocabulary, sentence length and structure when writing your ‘About Us’ page. All of these simple, but effective considerations can make a huge difference in the success of your website. 

2. Add some personality

Ultimately your ‘About Us’ page is exactly that, about you and your practice, so make sure your copy reflects your practice personality. 

Perhaps your practice is modern and spa like, with a luxury feel. If so, use words such as ‘bespoke’ or ‘deluxe’ to ensure you’re evoking the premium experience of your practice.

Or, maybe you want to boast about your eco friendly ethos? Be sure to include details of your ‘environmentally friendly features’ and ‘conscious minded staff’.  

Perhaps your practice is bright, energetic and aimed at the insta famous clientele? Then shout about it on your ‘About Us’ page. Mention your ‘#SmileSelfies’ and add playful, interesting details about your staff members. 

Whatever your ethos is, highlight it and use the page to tell your practice’s story and its heritage. It is your chance to capture the personality of the practice and its team.

3. Include Rich Media

Rich media is simply a digital marketing term that adds value to your digital content. It can be photographs, videos, audio or any other element that encourages viewers to interact and engage with your content. 

An ‘About Us’ page that includes real photographs of the team and the practice helps the reader to immediately get a feel for who you are, what your practice looks like and your personality.  It’s another opportunity to cement your brand’s USPs. 

Take the time to have professional pictures taken of both inside and outside of the practice. Make sure that the style of these images matches the style of your practice. Showcase your leafy surroundings or get your staff to gather in front of your ‘selfie spot’ inside the practice, if you have one. 

Have pictures taken of the team so you can introduce them, highlight their strengths, qualifications and personalities. If your practice is fun and family friendly, reflect this in your staff photos, don’t be afraid to be creative.  The more people feel like they can build a relationship with your practice, the more they will build trust and patient longevity. 

4. Check its purpose

Consider what you would like to know beforehand about a professional service you were thinking of using. What would help you build trust and comfort in them and what they do? Use this as a basis to frame your content. 

The best place to start is to ensure that your ‘About Us’ page answers some of the most frequently asked questions patients have about you and your team. Preempting a patient’s questions will help them feel equipped with the right knowledge when enquiring about your treatments.  

Remember the following: 

• How long have you been established? 
• What qualifications do you and the team have? 
• Why are you based where you are? 
• What are you the best at and why?
• Why should a patient come to you and not a practice down the road?

5. Hire a professional

We get it, the thought of producing high-quality content for your website is a daunting one, but that’s why copywriters exist.  If you are serious about creating a website that you are proud of, consider working with a professional to achieve all of the above. The cost will pay for itself ten times over. 

The above are just a few simple ways in which you can really make your ‘About Us’ page stand out from the crowd, and add to the overall performance of your website. Take time to consider what you would like people to know about who you are and what your practice stands for, sanity check your work to make sure it’s not only clear but a pleasure to read, and finally, inject some personality into your page, the more people feel like they can connect with you, the more they will want to join your patient list. 

If you would like some help in getting started, send us an email to set up an appointment with one of our experts and we will ensure that your ‘About Us’ page, and the rest of your website is performing to its full potential.