Dental Photography Tips To Improve Your Marketing Efforts

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Do you have a new or long-standing dental practice but struggle to acquire new patients? You’re located in a convenient and heavily-populated area, you have flexible office hours, state-of-the-art equipment, affordable rate plans, and exceptional services, but none of these factors seem to garner the attention of your target market. 

Although these elements are what most people look for in a dental practice, what often encourages them to schedule a consultation is the results. That’s where dental photography comes into the picture.

 

Pictures Are Worth A Thousand Words

More than any blog post, social media share, or reference, dental pictures allow viewers to see how your services have benefited previous or existing patients. Before and after shots, particularly, enable your target audience to identify with the photographed subject and envision themselves with the same outcomes. They reduce insecurity and embarrassment and increase confidence and peace of mind. 

 

Using Photography To Market Your Dental Practice

There are a few things you should know before you grab your smartphone or digital camera and start taking pictures. Check out these tips to use photography to enhance your dental marketing efforts. 

 

Always Get Consent

Taking patient photos and using them without their knowledge or consent is not only unethical, but it’s also intrusive and could cause you to lose a loyal patient. Therefore, you should always ask permission and get it in writing. If a patient is hesitant, you can always suggest removing their face and name to maintain their privacy. 

 

Practice Makes Perfect

Unless you have experience taking pictures, you’ll need to practice to ensure your images come out perfectly. Whether you’ve opted to use a smartphone or digital camera, play around with the various features. Experiment with taking pictures of different items in multiple locations and lighting to see what works best. The idea is to develop photos that don’t require much editing, as authentic images translate better to your audience.  

Of course, DIY photography isn’t as easy as it sounds. Creating amazing images takes time, patience, and effort. As running a dental practice is an all-encompassing task, it may be best to hire a professional photographer to assist you. 

 

Make Your Patient Comfortable

Coming to the dentist is already scary and nerve-wracking enough. When you add photographs to the mix, it can make a patient feel uneasy. As you might imagine, that uneasiness could show up in the pictures. Before snapping photos, take a moment to make your patient feel comfortable. Start a conversation about something outside dental work, like your favorite sports team, upcoming vacations, family, side business, etc. 

 

Upload Images To Multiple Platforms

You won’t get much traction from your dental photos if you stop at hanging them in your exam rooms. You should upload the pictures to various platforms to increase exposure. Add them to your dental website, blogs, and social media pages. You can even incorporate photos into your newsletters submitted to your existing patients and followers. 

 

Tag or Incorporate Reputable Brands

Another way to increase exposure with dental photos is to tag or incorporate reputable brands in the image descriptions. For instance, if you took before and after pictures of a patient that got digital dentures from high-tech dental labs, adding the laboratory name to the image or tagging them on social media could attract new audiences. It also helps build the dental lab’s reputation, encouraging them to return the favor. 

 

Update Photographs Periodically

Lastly, remember to update your dental photographs regularly. No one wants to see images from five years ago. As your skills, services, and technology evolve, it's essential to showcase them through photography. 

If your newly established or long-standing dental practice is having difficulty attracting new patients, perhaps it’s time to incorporate photography. Images help audiences see the results for themselves and further confirm your skills and experience. Whether you take the photographs yourself, task an assistant with the job, or hire a professional photographer, use the advice above to take your marketing to new heights.