Photography

The best of our photography tips and tricks for dentists looking to grow their practice and up their marketing game!

Make Your Dental Blog Look More Polished

by Dr. Jessica Emery | Jun 18, 2019 | Branding, Photography, Social Media

Blogging is a big part of dental marketing, but most dentists we talk to either haven’t blogged in a while, or they only post something when they think of it, usually quickly and without too much thought. However, a blog is a necessity when it comes to dental marketing, especially for SEO (you know, showing up high in the search results when someone searches “dentist near me” or something like that). Creating quality, consistent content that people will click on and share is super important.

Having a great dental blog not only attracts new potential patients to your website, but it can also shine a spotlight on your services. Blogs help build an immense amount of trust in you and the work you do. The more people find what they’re looking for on your blog, the more likely they’ll be to turn to you when they need help down the road or are ready to switch dentists.

Evergreen Content

One of the greatest things about a dental blog is how long-lasting they are. Once you hit post, those posts live in the world forever unless for some reason you decide to take them down. There’s no algorithm that will hide your blog posts or prevent people from finding them, and you can re-purpose them in so many ways: you can email them, post them on social media, turn them into an ebook… the possibilities are endless!

However, this also means you should be putting a lot of thought into not only the words you use, but also the imagery. According to social media marketing strategist Jeff Bullas, articles that contain images get 94% more total views. This is a staggering number, and it should be enough to convince even the biggest skeptic of the importance of including images in your blog posts!

Image Quality Matters

So, we all agree that blog imagery is important, but image quality is also crucial. Hastily shot iPhone photos just aren’t going to cut it. When you use grainy or low-res photos, it no longer matters how much research and thought went into writing your dental blog. That content isn’t going to be shared as much or even clicked on as often because of the poor imagery.

Don’t panic, though. This doesn’t mean you have to be a professional photographer or have super expensive equipment to have loyal followers or content that gets lots of shares and engagement. Many (and I mean many) business owners and bloggers turn to styled stock photography when they create their blog posts… and you can too!

Why Styled Stock Photography?

When we say styled stock photography, we’re not talking about your run-of-the-mill, often overly cheesy stock photography. You want to stay away from this kind of unnatural imagery, because you run the risk of devaluing all the hard work you put into researching and writing your blog post. That’s no good!

When you choose to use styled stock photography for your dental blog, you have so much more consistency and control over not only the tone of the post, but of your entire blog and image. Just like the rest of your branding, you want your blog to be fairly uniform. You don’t want images full of bright, neon colors in one blog, and then dark, muted tones on the next. When you go to share your blog posts on your social media feeds, everything will end up looking really disjointed.

Soiree Stock for Your Dental Blog!

Our sister company, Soiree Stock, was made with dentists in mind. Our styled stock photography allows you to find a large number of images in your preferred style. Often, you will even find that the images are categorized by theme, color, tone, and/or season. This makes it very easy to match the photography style to your brand, creating a cohesive look across all your platforms.

We have libraries full of dental-themed images that will work no matter what topic you’re covering in your blog post. We’d love for you to try it out for a month and see how much it changes your blogging process. Don’t stop there, though! These images are perfect for social media. Download as many as you want (you get unlimited downloads with your membership) and save them to your camera roll so you always have the perfect photo to post on social. It’s a much smaller investment than hiring an agency or even a contractor to do your social media. We think you’ll love how much easier it makes things, and how much time it saves you!

How Content Creation Sessions Impact Your Dental Practice Marketing

by Dr. Jessica Emery | Sep 10, 2018 | Branding, Dental Soiree, Photography, Social Media

If I were to ask you what kind of content your dental practice marketing plan should include, “photos of myself” probably wouldn’t be the first thing out of your mouth. You might not even think it’s worth listing at all. So many dentists think marketing their practice has very little to do with who they are as a person. However, what may be missing from your marketing — and what could very well be standing in the way of the growth you want to see — is that personal touch.

People are drawn to the people they know, like, and trust. Because you can’t physically get out and meet every potential patient, social media is your primary way to do this! So, rather than thinking it’s a little vain to share a photo of yourself, think of it as a way to connect with other humans who want to know more about you. Content creation sessions are a great way to get tons of unique branded content you can use as part of your digital marketing strategy!

How Unique Branded Content Leads to More Conversions

Think about it; if you were to refer a friend to your doctor or chiropractor or fitness trainer, you wouldn’t just talk about their top-of-the-line equipment or their techniques. You would probably talk about how that person makes you feel, and what makes them different from other people you’ve seen in the past. You’d talk about the real human things about them that make them special.

Unique branded content helps highlight your personality, style, and approach to life and business. It is so important to included content like this into your overall dental practice marketing plan because without it, you’re just another business. When you showcase who you are as a person, people are going to take notice and start talking to you, getting to know you better, and listening to what else you have to say. It doesn’t take much to turn an Instagram scroller into an actual patient when you take the time to make a real connection.

So What Exactly is a Content Creation Session?

We specialize in completely customized content creation sessions, and we have a blast doing it. Our Socialite package is ideal for those wanting to really kickstart (or overhaul) their dental practice marketing. We’ll spend a full day together in Chicago, snapping photos in front of stunning murals and cool backdrops that we’ll scout and coordinate beforehand. We’ll go shopping for props that speak to your brand and personality, and our team of professional photographers and videographers will make sure you get the highest quality content possible. We even have professional hair and makeup artists on hand as well as a professional stylist to help you select the perfect outfits to wear!

We take the time to get to know you and your practice beforehand so we can prepare and come into the content creation session with specific goals that make sense for your marketing strategy. We’ll give you so many amazing content and advertising ideas, you’ll return to your dental practice feeling energized and eager to implement everything you’ve learned.

Every content creation session begins with a consultation call where you’ll get a chance to talk to Dr. Emery about your specific goals, and you can go over anything that’s been standing in your way when it comes to your dental practice marketing strategy. To set up a call and learn more about how a content creation session can benefit your practice, just shoot us a message!

Color Psychology and Social Media Images

by Dr. Jessica Emery | Jul 16, 2018 | Branding, Photography, Social Media

Did you know there’s a science behind how you feel when you see certain colors? Psychologists have known about this for decades and great marketers and advertisers have been taking advantage of this knowledge for just as long. These days, digital marketers tap into color psychology when it comes to designing social media images. Just think about it… if a certain color makes you feel happy or evokes trust, brands are going to use those colors to try to get you to buy their products or services.

If you’re an entrepreneur trying to figure out how to get more conversions on social media, maybe you’ve been thinking about the colors that you use in your imagery. Choosing social media images that are not only pleasing to the eye but also stand out in the very busy, very crowded social media landscape isn’t easy. Using every tool in your arsenal, even psychology, is just smart business.

The Basics Behind Color Psychology

It’s important to understand that choosing a certain color for your social media images isn’t going to guarantee more sales. It’s more subtle than that. However, certain colors do evoke certain feelings or connotations. For example, green is often used by people in the wellness industry because there’s a strong connection between the color and health. Think of brands like Whole Foods, The Body Shop, Subway, and Green Giant.

Red generally connotes excitement and energy. Think of brands like Nintendo, Coca-Cola, LEGO, and Target. These are all brands trying to capitalize on the feeling of fun. Blue is the color of trust and dependability, and brands like American Express, Walmart, Facebook, and GE are all definitely trying to evoke those feelings with their brand colors.

Research has found that up to 90% of snap judgments made about products can be based on color alone. While there are no clear cut rules about what color to use for a certain company or situation, playing on the general feelings that go with each color can definitely give you an advantage when it comes to attracting the right people and getting them in the preferred mindset to make a purchase.

Choosing Social Media Images That Work

When it comes to choosing social media images for your brand, you want to be sure that the colors in the images match your already established brand. You don’t want to confuse your followers by all of a sudden switching from mostly dark, moody images to bright pink images without any explanation.

If you’re thinking about a rebrand or if you’re launching a new company, give some serious thought as to what the colors you want to use will communicate to your target audience. We recommend this guide if you want to learn more about the psychology behind different colors.

Our sister business, Soiree Stock, specializes in creating a wide range of styled stock photography, from dark moody images to light, feminine ones (and everything in between). You’ll be able to find dozens of images at any given time in your preferred color scheme, and we add at least 50 brand new images on the first of every month. You’ll always have a large library to choose from for your social media campaigns. Want to learn more about becoming a member? Visit the membership page to learn about our monthly or discounted yearly options!

Four Insider Tips for More Professional Social Media and Blog Images

by Dr. Jessica Emery | Jun 8, 2018 | Branding, How To's, Photography

Are you struggling to create enough imagery to share online? Do you feel your photos could look a little more polished? Maybe you’re taking dozens of shots just to get one that you’re happy with. Don’t get down on yourself! People spend years learning photography, and even then, it still takes a lot of time. While having professional-looking social media and blog images is important, so is everything else you have to get done!

Photography isn’t just useful for Instagram, you need imagery for everything! When you write a new blog, you need a photo to attach when it streams on Pinterest or Facebook so people want to click through. You need polished cover photos for LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. There are so many ways to use imagery to market yourself online, but so often we miss the opportunity.

Whether you want to DIY your imagery or let someone else do all of the work, it doesn’t have to be a complicated process. If you want to DIY it, start with these four tips to elevate your game with minimal effort or extra time!

#1 – Understand Your Lighting

This is especially important when it comes to photographing people (ahm, selfies). When light shines directly on your subject (frontlighting), it’s going to minimize texture. Skin is going to look more flawless and imperfections are going to be less obvious with this kind of lighting. This is why most YouTubers sit in front of a ring light!

It’s also important to understand that different lights have different color temperature. In the morning, sunlight is warmer than it is midday. Different light bulbs create different hues, and anything the light bounces off of can impact the overall effect. If you have a digital camera, you can adjust this with your white-balance control, or if you’re good with photo editing software, you can touch it up later.

#2 – The White Foam Board Trick

Clean, minimal images are everywhere these days, and you might be wondering how to make your own. There’s a very inexpensive tool that can help: a piece of white foam board. It usually only costs a few dollars, and you can find it at Target or Hobby Lobby.

To create the perfect flatlay, open a window where lots of natural light is shining in. Lay your foam board on the ground where it’s sunniest, and position your props on the board. Then, grab a chair or step stool and shoot from directly above. Try to position yourself over the center of your image (you can always edit later, but it’s much easier if you can get it with your camera). You’ll probably want to adjust brightness to get closer to a true white, but with this trick, you’ll be making your own stylish images in no time.

#3 – Add Some Text

Images can be so much more effective with a bit of text. Free online tools like Canva make it super easy, but there are a lot of other programs and apps out there as well.

If you’re sharing a blog post or freebie online, put your pitch and website URL or social handle right on the image. That image is going to be shared, sometimes without the caption or even your name attached, so you still want people to be able to find you and find your offer.

Make sure you use fonts that are consistent with your branding and that work with the image. You may want to put a semi-transparent overlay on part of your image, then layer the text on top of that. It can make your message easier to read, especially if the photo has both light and dark colors.

#4 – Styled Stock Photography

If all of this sounds like it’s going to take too much time, you can definitely “outsource” your imagery by grabbing images from a styled stock photography service. The photos will be high quality because they’re shot by professionals. However, because the images are available to everyone, they end up being less expensive than if you were to hire your own photographer.

Does this mean there’s going to be a bunch of imagery online that looks exactly like yours? It depends. If you’re using a free stock photography site, you’ll probably notice that other people you know are using the same images from time to time. However, if you’re using a subscription service, the images are going to be much more exclusive and less likely to be seen in other people’s feeds.

In the world of online marketing, sometimes the images you use are just as important as your words. We have short attention spans, and we need something eye-catching to make us stop scrolling and read the content. If you’ve been feeling like your images need an upgrade, I hope these tips help you get the shares and followers you deserve!

Soiree Stock Is Live!

by Dr. Jessica Emery | May 16, 2018 | Branding, Dental Soiree, instagram, Photography, Social Media, Uncategorized

You might have noticed that we were busy taking quite a few photos the past few months! Well, the wait is over and we’re proud to announce that Soiree Stock is fully launched and LIVE! Cue the champagne toast!

The beginning of Soiree Stock began when we were noticing that majority of dental professionals were using the same branded stock that had no POP to it. And when discussing with our clients what type of look they were looking for when it comes to their social media presence, a handful of our dentists state that they want modern and fun and something that is eye-catching to non-dental followers.

Branding is such an important piece of the process when marketing for your business. What colors to pick out, what font you love, and of course your logo. In this day and age, people are aesthetically driven. Especially on social media where all they really see is photograph after photograph.

Taking a pretty image to share on Instagram is always great – but that hardly scratches the surface of how successful businesses are using styled stock photography! You’re able to spruce up a blog post with styled stock, you can turn your social media pages upside down with having a beautiful layout, and finally, increase the engagement you’ve been waiting for, for your business!

Using stock imagery is giving you new ways to create a cohesive brand with the use of stock imagery. And an image can change and bring your brand to life.

Looking for custom photography that fits your brand? Head over to the Work With Us tab and fill out our form!

We hope you love Soiree Stock and please let us know what types of photos you may be looking for! More desktop layouts? Maybe dental and technology? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

Until next time,

Behind The Scenes With Dr. Meenal Patel!

by Dr. Jessica Emery | May 9, 2018 | Clients, Dental Soiree, Photography

What an AMAZING weekend we had in North Carolina with Dr. Meenal Patel and her entire team at Preston Dental Loft.

A little background on Dr. Patel – Dr. Meenal Patel graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Florida. She then continued on to earn her Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree at the University of Florida College of Dentistry. She then went on to receive post-graduate training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) residency program. Let’s just say this woman is amazing!

She also gives back to her community as she is involved with different organizations around North Carolina. When speaking to Dr. Patel, she mentioned that her love for North Carolina grows every day and how excited she is to practice is such a lovely area.

Now, how about a little behind the scenes action from our shoot!?

The weather was more than perfection and everyone was so energetic and ready to shoot!

We started our day off with hair and makeup for Dr. Patel to get camera ready. When working with our doctors, we make them feel like on top of the world because this is THEIR DAY! We even had a client state that it felt like her wedding day all over again. We won’t deny that!

After picking out outfits, we headed out to Raleigh to some super fun walls that we researched. First up, the cougar wall. This wall was SO fun. Between the beautiful roses, to the stripes, and of course the giant cougar on the wall, Dr. Patel looked stunning for her first shots! Take a look below!

We then traveled to another wall that had some great colored stripes that would match her aqua palette for her practice.

And we can’t have a dental photoshoot without some fun EMOJI balloons! With that right pop of her pink dress, it turned out amazing!

And to end our amazing day with Dr. Patel, we took some beautiful shots at her practice and ended with a champagne toast!

Stay tuned for more behind the scenes content! And if you or someone you know needs a dentist in Cary or Raleigh, North Carolina – Dr. Patel is the one!! You can reach her office at (919)-467-6111.

Until next time,

Photography

Behind The Scenes With Dr. Meenal Patel!

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