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?
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.