Imagine showing a video to explain a procedure, service you perform, how a medical device works or the indications for these procedures.  Think of all the time you spend explaining these (and the patients not always getting it).  Think of all the time you would save by simply showing the video you have created and the engagement your patient would have viewing it.  Comprehension and compliance soars for those patients.

Videos have become the latest trend in content marketing with sharing capabilities across most social networking platforms (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube) and it’s no surprise that they do.

Videos engage the viewer, help inform as well as entertain, make the message more memorable, and enables the viewer to understand much better than trying to read explanations.  This is great for professionals in the health field.  Showing how a procedure or medical device works makes it much easier to convey the messages.

Proof of Importance

Take a look at these statistics for proof that video marketing is the way to go.

  •  1-minute videos are each worth 1.8 million words.
  • Landing pages with video content are 80% more likely to have conversions.
  • 88% of consumers are more likely to spend more time on a website that has a video on it.
  • YouTube’s mobile traffic reaches 18-49-year-olds, more than traditional media.
  • 64% of consumers are more likely to purchase a product or use a service after viewing an online video

5 Steps to Create a Marketing Video

1.Decide on Your Goal and Audience 

Before you start planning the actual video, set up guidelines. Ask yourself who you will be targeting the video towards and what messages you want to convey so that you can customize the content specifically to them.

2. Identify Content Category

Look at the end goal- is the video for education, decision making, brand awareness or to highlight a new service that you provide. Content should match the video type that you select. For awareness videos, it can be how-to’s, short documentaries, and storytelling. Provide value, not commercialism. Speak to your patient’s wants and needs.

3. Plan Keeping it to a Specific Length

If the video is more than two minutes, eyes will glaze over and the viewer will click off before your message is received. The ideal sweet spot is within 2 minutes. 20% of viewers will click away within the first ten seconds of a video if it isn’t captivating.

Make your video informative, and visually enticing for your viewers. Try out different styles and techniques, like animated and interactive videos.

4. Where Will the Video Live?

Decide where to upload your video. Which  social networking sites do your patients hang out on?  You can opt for   Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or even your own website.

Facebook enables you to post highly shareable, emotional, and fun videos.  For content on Facebook, the video should be in a 1:1 (square) format with high resolutions (720p and/or 1080p) and captions since as much as  85% of videos on Facebook are viewed without sound.

YouTube is the largest video search engine platform. Upload high resolution videos in 720p or 1080p with captains since 40% of viewers are more likely to watch content that contains captions.

Instagram  format is 1:1 (square).  Videos here are  thoughtful, inspirational, and captivating.  Typically, videos are played without sound. Hashtags will give 12% more engagement.

5. Use Analytics

It is crucial to determine if social media strategies are working. This is done by measuring number of views, click-through rates, number of likes, referral traffics, comments and feedback, and number of shares.

Recap

Facebook reflects more than 100 million hours of footage watched. YouTube has approximately 4.95 billion views daily. These states emphasize the importance and reach that video content have on social networks.

But, you can’t just do it without a content marketing plan. You need resources, equipment, and editing to make a successful video marketing campaign.

Video content is a evolving continually  but a great opportunity to get your information across in an engaging and creative way. This drives viewers to your site and boosts your social media engagement levels.
Need Help with a Script?  No worries.  Contact Barbara@TheMedicalStrategist for a free 20 minute consultation.