Monthly Archives: September 2011

You may know that an entire tourism industry developed around the film series known as “The Lord of the Rings,” but you may not know that a huge amount of that film was also shot directly in front of a “green screen.” The green screen is also something that is used for traditional weather forecasting on local television, allowing the “radar” to appear behind the weather person, without appearing ON them.

Basically, the green screen allows a totally different image or setting to be added around you. It is a relatively simple technology, and it can save a huge amount of money when making promotional and professional videos.

The Cost of NOT Having Video

For starters, if you have a dental website, it is nearly impossible for you to continue without having atleast a handful of videos…

Google Places, which is Google’s local search engine that shows the precise map location of your dental office, give all sorts of contact information and details, including up to five videos. Facebook allows for videos to be uploaded directly onto the Business Pages. Many prospects looking to educate themselves on dental procedures or diagnose a problem they are having will search YouTube for the answers as well. When you chose not to use this FREE space to promote your dental practice, it amounts to near insanity.

Just think, someone searching for a dentist in your local area will see you along with all your competitors. Would you rather call the dentist with the “plain jane” listing, or would you call the dentist that has several professional videos describing his passion for helping people and his services?

Let’s take sedation dentistry as an example. You could make videos about twilight/sleep dentistry and pain management. You could insert a creative “dream sequence” into this video by using a person in a dental chair against the famous green screen. You could show that person “floating” through clouds, along gently flowing rivers, or sitting in a quite forest while being treated without any pain. This would not require any “on-site” shooting and would create a very original, humorous, and motivational film.

Save Time on the Green Screen

The green screen allows for a lot of creativity and reduced costs, but there is also the simple fact that shooting a video in a studio is a huge time saver too. Rather than toting all of the gear from location to location, we can fly you into our studio, shoot for an afternoon, and have you back home in time for dinner!

Videos are an essential component for any dentist that wants a dominant presence on the web. The green screen is very liberating because it reduces expenses, saves time, and really opens the door to creativity and unique opportunity.

Get a free copy of our bestselling book “The Dentists’ Strategy Guide to Video Marketing” @ Dominate The Web With Video .com!

Okay, we’ve all seen “professional” videos. You know, the ones where a man (or woman) in the proverbial white lab coat addresses the audience very formally.

They might be discussing some new dental treatments or they might be talking about life insurance, but the point is they are BORING! You might spend a moment or two assessing their appearance, but almost from the start you are tuning them out.

This is why we recommend any dentist thinking about adding videos to their website implements a “creative videos only” policy. This is going to work wonders for your website because it will immediately reduce the “bounce rate” as visitors actually get drawn into your website.

First Steps

How will a prospects know that your video is creative and “different” from the norm? You will use creative titles and descriptions to catch their attention!

Let’s say that you want to make a video about your new dental implant certification. You also want to explain implant dentistry and its benefits. You could do that standard, documentary type of presentation that had a few slides or photographs illustrating the process….

…OR you could make something A LOT more appealing.

Tickle the Funny Bone

Your video could use a lot of humor. In fact, if you have ever heard the phrase “viral video” you already understand the appeal of funny and original clips. Why not put on your thinking cap and find a way to use your sense of humor to market your dental services. Get your staff or employees in on the fun too and see what you can come up with.

Get Informal

Even if you don’t do a humorous video, we suggest that you lose the classic business attire or traditional medical garb. Approach the camera as if it was a friend or new customer, and speak in a very approachable way, allowing your prospects to feel engaged in your dialogue.

Get them Calling

Do you know what a “call to action” is? This is one of those “act now” offers, but in a far more sophisticated way. While you could always say the “next 50 new patients…” but that is non-sense to the modern consumer. Instead, why not write an eBook and offer that as a “freebie” to someone who makes a call to the office or books an appointment?

Try to think of any sort of product that your prospects will appreciate, and then find a way to give them that if they act on your offer. Sometimes this requires the use of a code or even a “tracking” phone number, but it is very useful because they clearly show you if your advertising efforts are paying off.

Stumped for Ideas

If you find that your creativity is not what it used to be, why not consider stealing a few ideas from others? As long as you don’t plagiarize or blatantly copy someone else’s work you can find a lot of inspiration on the Internet. Head over to the famous YouTube and look around at their most popular videos. Check out Vimeo and see what others have put up there too.

Try thinking about a “series” of videos that will keep their attention. Making some short videos on implant dentistry will keep your prospects attention but also allow them to gather all the information they are looking for.

Don’t “Recreate the Wheel”

We see video everyday shot on dad’s “Christmas” flip camera that looks worse than you would see in a 70′s horror flick.

Quality video will attract quality prospects. Think of your web videos as an extension of yourself – would you walk into your office in an old pair of jeans, ready to see patients (and expect them to buy)?

Give us a call and let us help you make your web videos exceptional. We have experience creating videos with hundreds of dentists, and can help you through the process. Let us WOW you with our creativity and professionalism… on camera!