How videos can improve online marketing performance

In our column last month we reviewed tips on how to get the most out of your web presence. We explained how to optimize elements of your website code, the importance of a website sitemap and fresh ongoing content updates, understanding backlinks and why you should be active on social media.

This month we will explore the importance and impact of videos on your online marketing performance.

Why use videos?

When you are surfing the internet, do you ever watch videos? Of course you do. We all do. Whether you’re watching cats skateboarding, or getting tips on how to fix an appliance, we all watch videos-and lots of them. There are endless numbers of marketing studies which show the positive impact of videos in all areas of the internet: e-commerce sales, social media engagement, website engagement and so on.

One study by Search Engine Watch found that videos increase engagement on a webpage on average by 400 to 700 percent. What does that mean? If you think about all the hundreds (or thousands) of people coming to your website every year you are getting a certain level of engagement which will show up as patient appointments, phone calls from the website and emails from the website. Adding videos can increase this number of patient appointments, phone calls and emails.

Back in November 2014, Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg made this statement: “In five years, most of [Facebook] will be video.” The reason he predicted this trend is the clear impact videos have on website engagement.

Consider some of these statistics:

• 90 percent of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text. (Sources: 3M Corporation and Zabisco)

• 46 percent of users take some sort of action after viewing an ad, according to Digital Content Next.

• According to Forrester Research it is 50 times easier to achieve a page one ranking on Google with a video.

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Where should you host videos?

Ok, so we can all agree that videos are a good idea to use. The next question is where you should host your videos. There are literally dozens of websites where you can host videos but two of the most popular and widely used are YouTube and Vimeo.

For our purposes, we generally recommend YouTube since it is fairly easy to use, and has the added benefit of being integrated into Google search results (since YouTube is owned by Google).

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What type of videos should I use?

There are many types of videos you can implement for your practice marketing, but the most important is an overview video of your practice. This will typically be one to two minutes long, and be posted on the homepage of your website. An overview video will include a combination of what is known as A-roll and B-roll. A-roll contains video of the subject being interviewed; for example the doctor (or doctors) would be talking directly into the camera or at slightly off angle to the camera. B-roll contains video taken of the environment such as the outside of the building, front door to the office, waiting room, operatory, equipment and technology used in the office. B-roll also includes people interacting such as the doctor reviewing an X-ray with a patient, talking with the patient during a consultation, smiling patients, etc.

The magic happens in post-production. A skilled videographer will weave the A-roll and B-roll into a flowing story about the practice. The goal is to showcase the personality of your practice, and the benefits of coming to your office (friendly and welcoming atmosphere, modern technology, experienced doctors and staff, etc).

You might want to consider producing other types of videos such as patient testimonials, explanation of services, explanation of technology and equipment used in the practice, explaining pre- and post-op instructions and answering FAQs. These videos can be posted throughout your website.

The general recommendation is that your overview video should be done professionally. A good rule of thumb is most videos on your website should be done professionally with the exception of patient testimonials. These can be done with a smartphone if you like, but professionally produced would be better. However, when it comes to videos posted on social media you can certainly use videos produced on a smartphone.

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How to get the most value from your videos

Videos can only produce value if people watch them, so it is important to increase your viewership as much as possible. Think of each video as an important asset, and you want to leverage that asset to the fullest extent. In order to do this videos should be posted on your website, social media sites, online review sites and any other websites that are appropriate. Some social media and review sites don’t accommodate videos, but seek out those that do and post your overview videos at a minimum. It is also recommended to post patient testimonial videos across all these sites whenever possible.

Please note-every practice should check with their State Dental Board or Association to understand the rules and guidelines around posting patient testimonials. At the very least you should have every patient sign a marketing release form which gives you permission to use their testimonial for marketing. It is highly advised to consult an attorney in your state who is familiar with HIPAA and State Board Marketing guidelines.

Stay tuned for future topics that will include Facebook tips and recent developments, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategies, PPC (Pay-Per-Click) best practices, online reputation management and more.