3 Ways Healthcare Marketers Can Use Video

The way patients conduct health-related research is constantly evolving. Today's patients aren't just looking up symptoms online; they're researching doctors, treatments, and reading reviews of nearby practices and hospitals. One way healthcare marketers can set their company apart from the competition is by creating original video content that is both interesting, and informative.

Video content has a lot of benefits for healthcare marketers. Video presents a unique opportunity to connect with your audience in a more personable way. It also helps to brand your company as an authority in healthcare.

Here's three ways healthcare marketers can use video content in their next marketing campaign:

1. To Announce a New Location

To help create awareness of a new nearby medical campus or practice, hospitals can create short videos ads (no more than 60 seconds) to use on social media. According to a 2014 Healthgrades American Hospital Quality Report, 58% of consumers who had selected a hospital in the past three years were more concerned about convenient location than a friendly office staff or success rates. When selecting a physician, the percentage of consumers was 62%.

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all offer location-based targeting for paid advertising. You can also use Google AdWords to create "in-stream" video ads - which play before other videos uploaded on YouTube - or "in-display" video ads - which appear on the YouTube search results page, or next to related videos on YouTube and the Google Display Network. 

Billions of videos are watched on YouTube every single day. Short videos like these should be engaging within the first 5 seconds, to help ensure that the viewer watches your entire video and clicks-through to get to your website.

Creating great video content is important, but distributing that content correctly on the appropriate channels is just as important. Why create and pay for video production if no one sees your video?

2. Authentic Storytelling with Patient or Staff Testimonials

When presenting a service or product to a potential patient, a sales-oriented pitch might not be the best approach. A real story from a real patient and/or doctor is much more personable and authentic.

People tend to consider the experiences of other people before making decisions. How often do you read the reviews before trying or buying something new? Do you ask for the opinions of family and friends?

An effective testimonial video utilizes great storytelling to create an influential message for the audience. Use a real and emotionally-compelling story to illustrate how your services positively impacted someone's life. Support the story with specific data and facts to establish your institution's credibility.

This type of video content is also great for social media because of their personal and sharable nature. Social media is meant for connecting with others and sharing stories.

3. To Explain Treatments or Procedures

Video is a great educational tool because it can be highly informative while being visually appealing at the same time, making it more likely to be remembered.  

This can be extremely helpful when explaining a detailed procedure, or when giving patients important instructions to follow before or after an appointment. Instead of hiring a voiceover, have a regular physician or nurse talk on camera. This gives them an opportunity to showcase their skill and expertise, as well as their personality. 

Overview videos can also be comforting and reassuring for patients who might have anxieties about an upcoming procedure. These are great for websites. According to a 2012 Google study, 83% of patients visit a hospital website before booking an appointment. 

Interested in creating video content for your next marketing campaign? Check out our latest healthcare demo reel, showcasing some of our best work from projects with healthcare industry companies and professionals. 

Britny Sanders

Marketing Coordinator

bsanders@vitalcompanies.com