Carefully create your website biographies to win over new customers.
How do you use website content to build trust with people you don’t know? A good place to start is your “Our Veterinarians” page, says Eric Garcia, IT expert, digital marketer and founder of Simply Done Tech Solutions. “That is the No. 1 most visited page on any veterinary website,” he says. “But most veterinary team biographies are written in a way that fails to engage most pet owners.”
Garcia suggests a few dos and don’ts to help your biography page better capture the attention and hearts of potential clients:
Reasons vs. Resume
Don’t focus on listing your education, internships and previous jobs. “Most bios are written in a way that sound like a CV, like you’re trying to convince people that you actually did go to veterinary school and you did graduate,” says Garcia. It’s fine to mention where you earned your credentials, he adds—just don’t make this information the main concentration of your biography.
Do tell people why you do what you do. What pivotal thing happened to you to inspire you to be a veterinarian? Do you have a role model? What motivates you to go above and beyond the basics of pet care? Brainstorm your own answers and make this information the focus of your biography. (See box.)
Sidestep Stereotypes
Don’t include the exact year you graduated from veterinary school. This invites people to make assumptions, Garcia points out. “Stereotypes will get in the way,” he says. “Either, ‘Oh, you graduated too recently; you’re too young and fresh to be a vet,’ or ‘You graduated too long ago; your medicine is too old-school.’”
Do write something general such as, “I have decades of experience,” if you want to highlight your long expertise.
Use Video Wisely
Do add videos to your biography page. “This allows people to see you in action doing what you love,” says Garcia. “They can see your team, your story, your culture, your compassion, and get that good feeling about what you’re doing and who you are.”
Don’t use video in place of an actual written biography. “We all learn and read and comprehend information in different ways,” says Garcia. “Some people will only look at one or the other.”
Double Up
Do put your team bios up on your social media channels, once you’ve crafted information that you’re happy with. “For example, on your Facebook page, create an album called ‘Meet Our Veterinarians’ or ‘Our Veterinary Team’ with pictures and bios of your veterinarians,” Garcia suggests.
Don’t assume that everyone will visit your website. “Some people may form their whole impression of you based on your Facebook page and never even visit your website,” says Garcia. Be sure to echo the same information in both places.
Eric Garcia’s “Perfect Biography” worksheet
To generate material you can use in your website bio, consider these questions:
- Why did you become a veterinarian? (Did something occur in your life that made you want to become a veterinarian? Did anyone inspire you?)
- What is your goal with every patient visit?
- Who makes up your family (pets and/or people)?
- Do you have a mantra or philosophy that you live by?