Creating Effective Video Content for Your Dental Practice

Creating a great user experience on your website is a huge marketing trend that’s not likely to go away anytime soon. Consumers love to know more about and engage with the people they do business with. This is especially true when it comes to choosing a doctor, dentist or other health care provider. Patients want to trust and feel a connection with you, and your website is one of the first opportunities they have to do this.

An excellent way to connect with your patients and provide a great user experience is to use video content on your website. A video speaks directly to your patients and informs them about your services while also allowing them to know you a little better.

Here are some helpful tips to help you take advantage of this significant marketing trend.

#1: Getting Started: Plan Ahead

When you decide to film videos for your dental practice, spend some time planning these things:

• Scripts – Introduce yourself. Plan out the information you want to share, stay on topic, and don’t include clinical terms. Speak as you would to a patient in your clinic.
• Appearance – Choose natural-looking hair and makeup and wear solid colours.
• Location – Are you filming in your clinic or on location? Where’s the best lighting? Where is it quiet without much background noise? Do you need props?

Prepare Your Lighting

Great lighting is going to make you look better and stand out in your video. Use natural lighting if you can. You may be able to position yourself or your subject by a window; however, be sure not to sit directly in front of the window so you’re not silhouetted and appear darker. 

If you’re filming by a window for natural light, be sure to leave the lights in the room on as well to round out your lighting. You may also want to purchase some additional lights to brighten and add to the natural light. 

Consider Your Composition

Composition is essential when you film your video. Consider your background, and make it interesting with different colourful objects that have fun shapes; however, be sure it’s not too cluttered or distracting. 

If a flat wall is your only option, consider changing the angle you use to film your subject to make it more interesting. 

Using a tripod can help you add depth to your video and improve your composition. 

Think About Sound

Once you’re ready to film your video, be sure you have a relatively quiet environment. Eliminate background noises and keep conversations to a minimum during filming. 

You might also consider investing in a microphone to enhance your sound further and cut background noise. 

Investing in some equipment may be a good idea if you’re going to pursue making regular video content for your website. 

#2: What to Include?

Think about the types of videos you want to create. They may be about treatment services you offer, patient payment options, a tour of your dental clinic,  or all of the above.

Keep each video short. One to two minutes should be sufficient to discuss your topic and keep your viewer’s attention.

Be sure to talk as if you were speaking directly with your patient and addressing their concerns. Use your video to answer common questions patients typically have.

Shoot your video horizontally and on an even, stable surface for the best results.

#3: Editing and Optimising Your Videos

Editing

Once you film your video, several tools can help you with editing for both Macs and PCs. Here are some suggestions for free video editing:

• YouTube Studio (Based on your browser)
• iMovie/Final Cut (Mac)
• Filmora (Mac and PC)
• Shotcut (Mac and PC)

Optimising

Optimising your videos is all about providing the best user experience for your viewers. Here are some things to keep in mind when optimising:

• Don’t use autoplay: Let your viewers decide when they want to watch your videos.
• Resize the video for mobile viewing: If your video is not sized properly for mobile devices, it will be slow to load and may pause during playback. This could cause viewers to abandon your video.
• Don’t allow pop-ups: Pop-ups or other ads that take up the screen space during a video might diminish your viewer’s experience.

Suppose you decide to make multiple videos for your dental practice. In that case, you might consider hiring a professional to do the production for you and help you create high-quality, optimised video content for your website.