If a picture is worth a thousand words, what’s the value of a video? It must be at least a million, right? That’s why you can find tutorials online for everything from boiling an egg to rebuilding an engine. Engaging with video content is now the most popular thing we do online – surpassing social media in 2015, according to several studies.
Given its popularity, it’s logical that healthcare marketers and communicators have jumped on the video bandwagon. It’s a great way to promote services, build a brand and become established as a thought leader. If you’re ready to get on board, here are some suggestions to help you get started.
Compete Where You Can Win
When someone is newly diagnosed with a condition, the first thing they often do is jump on the Internet and start furiously Googling. Their goals are to learn as much as they can about their condition and to prepare to make good decisions about where to go for treatment. Thanks to WebMD, there’s no shortage of good information about diseases and treatments. Don’t try to beat them at that game. Instead, focus on the second part of the goals stated above, “… to prepare to make good decisions about where to go for treatment.” That’s a game you can win, because WebMD doesn’t provide care.
Promote Personalities and Professionalism
In a recent Gallup poll healthcare survey, 63 percent of respondents indicated that a facility’s expertise in a particular area would influence their hospital choice, “a great deal.” Video can help establish your facility as thought leaders in what you do, and that can give patients the confidence they need to seek you out for care. How? By putting your best in-house experts on camera.
When you board a plane, do you glance up front to get a look at the pilots? Sure you do. You want to make sure they look respectable and trustworthy, right? That’s why they wear their “pilot uniforms,” instead of Bermuda shorts and t-shirts. Those outdated hats, white Oxford shirts and skinny black ties tell us they went to pilot school – and that builds trust.
Now, think of your doctors in the same way. There are no better confidence builders than calm, well-spoken medical professionals. Just make sure they look the part and help them speak in words regular people can understand. Your experts are your “pilots.” Your videos are the “cockpit” where you put them on display.
Keep It Simple
Remember, the goal of your videos is to create confidence in your doctors and, therefore, your hospital. Resist the urge let them become medical school lectures that no consumer wants to watch. There will be plenty of time to explain the pros and cons of catheter-directed thrombolysis later, when doctor and patient have connected in person. For now, keep your video segment to a high-level, 2-minute primer that demonstrates you know something about treating blood clots. For example, you might have your doctor answer a common question or address a common misconception.
Finish Strong
Whatever the topic, be sure to end with a clear call to action for scheduling a consultation, preferably a phone number that will be answered by a live person. The video is the bait. Don’t fail to “set the hook.”
Following these suggestions will help you create compelling video content that cuts through the clutter and attracts patients. Used correctly, they’ll also build your brand and make you a hero with your doctors.
Wax Custom Communications knows how to write, direct and produce compelling video content. Visit waxcom.com or call (305) 350-5700 today to learn more.
