Do you currently use video to attract new patients to your clinic? If not, you may be missing out on one of the most powerful marketing approaches currently available.
Back in 2008, Dr James McQuivey from Forrester Research got marketers talking when he boldly stated that “a minute of video is worth 1.8 million words” in his report, How video will take over the world. This statistic has been used time and again, amongst others, to stress the power of video marketing.
We can quickly debunk the accuracy of this statement – it seems to have come from the idea that if a picture is worth a thousand words and there are 30 pictures in a second of video, then a minute of video can be calculated with the sum 30 x 60 x 1000 = 1.8 million words! It’s safe to say, we should take McQuivey’s words figuratively rather than literally.
However, beneath the shaky figures, there is a valid point that video can communicate far more than static images or words on a page. And with easy access via mobile phones and tablets, a huge number of consumers have a voracious appetite for videos (300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute!)
In a recent survey – The State of Video Marketing 2016 – Wyzowl found the following:
- 61% of all businesses now use video marketing
- 93% of businesses that use videos say that it increases user understanding of a product or service
- 72% of respondents believe video has increased their conversion rates
- 62% have seen an increase in organic website traffic
Consumers responded that:
- 98% of people have watched an explainer video to learn about a product or service
- 74% of that group went on to buy the product or service covered in the explainer video
- Where text and video is available, 69% would prefer to watch a video
- 70% of people have shared brand videos on social media
The purpose of mentioning these statistics is to highlight just how powerful video is as a marketing tool. It also positively impacts on your search engine optimisation (SEO) efforts because video encourages people to spend time on your website watching the footage, which increases the average dwell time and sends a positive signal to Google about the quality of your content.
In our experience, many clinics worry that video marketing is too expensive to justify its use. Wyzowl’s survey supports this, with 15% of businesses not currently using video citing the costs as the biggest barrier. You may be surprised to read that the Wyzowl survey also revealed that only 25% of consumers are turned off by poor video production; for the majority (37%), the biggest turn off is when a video doesn’t explain a product or service clearly enough.
This means that all-singing, all-dancing Hollywood-worthy video production doesn’t top viewers’ priorities. Clear, correct and easy-to-understand information does.
Even if you’re convinced that video marketing is something you should use to promote your clinic, you might not be sure how to use video to attract new patients. We’ve put together some ideas to inspire you:
1. Tell your story
A video on your website’s Home page telling people your personal story or that of your clinic is a fantastic way to make a personal connection with your potential patients and give them some insight into the values that underpin the clinic.
2. Explain your treatments, products or services
As we’ve seen from the stats above, explainer videos play a hugely influential role in the buying decision. You might want to add videos to your treatment pages showing potential patients what happens during a treatment; many manufacturers have created explainer videos that reside on YouTube and that you may be able to use, copyright permitting.
3. Feature testimonials
One of the biggest barriers to buying from any business is fear. Your potential patients may be fearful that they will regret their treatment, either because the results won’t be what they expect or because of the financial costs. A testimonial can go a long way towards allaying these fears. A video testimonial not only lets a prospective patient hear about the benefits of choosing your clinic but also shows what the patient looks like now their treatment is complete.
4. Shout about a success story
A success story video is rather like an extended testimonial. If you have a patient for whom a treatment has made a significant difference, it’s worth asking whether they would be happy for you to share their success story. For example, if you have found an innovative solution to a particularly challenging case or you have employed your specialist skills to achieve a life-changing result for a patient, a video describing the case is a fantastic marketing tool.
5. Provide a video brochure
Another option is to take all of the information you currently have in your printed clinic brochure and create a video featuring the same information. This could include footage of your staff, clinic, treatments and more.
6. Create a virtual tour of the clinic
When people are looking for a clinic, they often find it helpful to be able to visualise themselves as a patient. By offering a virtual tour of your clinic via a video on your website, you can give potential patients the experience of stepping into reception and visiting a treatment room before they’ve put a foot through the door. This means that, when they do visit in real-life, the clinic will already feel familiar.
7. Answer FAQs
Are you repeatedly asked certain questions about your clinic or the treatments you offer? If so, a video answering FAQs can greatly enhance the visitor experience and show how willing you are to communicate with your patients.
8. Provide pre- or post-procedure instructions
Although you will still need to go through pre- and post-procedure instructions in person, some clinics find it helpful to feature videos giving advice to patients about what to expect before and/or after a specific treatment.
9. Educational videos
The internet is a fantastic thing but, for patients with medical or dental experience, it can be hard to separate urban myths and anecdotes from proven evidence. You might decide to feature a series of educational videos on your website to help your potential patients better understand the science behind different treatments, and decipher fact from fiction.
Social media and videos
As we saw above, 70% of people have shared brand videos to their wider networks on social media. Wyzowl also found that 97% of people are happy to share videos if the content is good.
Videos are a part of everyday life. YouTube stats for 2017 show that six out of 10 people prefer watching online videos to live TV, and that the average online ‘watch’ session is 40 minutes. Three and a quarter billion hours of video are watched on YouTube every month.
If you can create videos that will appeal to your potential and existing patients, they are a fantastic way to stand out on social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. You could even create a YouTube channel for your clinic.
Want to find out more about video marketing and how to video to attract new patients? Call us at Cosmetic Digital on 0115 9140 640 to start a conversation.
