Video Marketing for Healthcare Professionals

More than ever before there is a need to engage patients as they take a more active and informed role in their healthcare decisions. Patients are seeking out authoritative content from leaders within the healthcare industry and one way they are choosing to consume this information is via video. Video is a particularly helpful tool to use for current and prospective patients as it communicates efficiently your brand message and how you can help them. This blog looks into the video marketing opportunities available to healthcare professionals, including content types and how to reach your wider audience.

Video Marketing Content Ideas

Video is no longer an emerging trend. One third of all online activity is spent watching video and including a video on a landing page can increase conversions rates by 80% Source Even though healthcare companies have been slow to adopt online tools and practices, there are examples of how some brands have successfully used video in their healthcare marketing strategy. Here are some of the most commonly used video strategies:

• Introductory welcome video. Bio pages all over the web are replacing text written bios with well produced video biographies. This helps to humanize the doctor and his/her practice, aiming to take away any anxiety a patient might have visiting a doctor for the first time.
• 'How to' and solution based videos. These videos are aimed at sharing informative, visual education to patients regarding their illness.
• Video testimonials. Video testimonials are very powerful and give healthcare professionals credibility beyond what is on their website.
• Virtual tours. This final type of video is becoming increasingly more popular, whether it be a tour of the offices or a new piece of machinery for a new service or treatment.

There have been some great use of video so far and one hospital that has built a strong video strategy is the Children's Hospital of Orange County. They have a prominent video section on their homepage and has an accompanying YouTube channel. They upload a new video every couple of months or so, so there is room for more activity, however, they have a good foundation of content with up to 4,500 views on some videos.

How to Share Your Videos

71 percent of adults online use YouTube and Vimeo and this number is growing and growing, especially as streaming becomes more efficient. There is no doubt that pairing your website with a YouTube account will help to showcase your videos on a larger stage. YouTube is the second largest search engine underneath its parent Google. According to Forrester, videos have a 53x higher chance of showing up on page one of the search results compared to plain text results. Using YouTube is vital when building out your video strategy and should be considered your second website. Your website should link to your YouTube channel and vice versa to boost ranking signals in the eyes of Google.

The popularity of online video means it is a key part to any healthcare marketing plan. It can be used as a powerful tool to attract prospective patients and nurture current ones. We expect to see more and more instances of healthcare professionals using video as the centrepiece to their website. What do you think? Need a healthcare marketing agency to help you get started? Contact Prototype.

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