5 Ways Video Can Help Grow Your Dental Practice

Kelly Matsudaira

About Author

Many marketers predict that the future of content marketing is in video. Nielsen has voiced “64% of marketers expect video to dominate their strategies in the near future.”

With YouTube receiving “more than one billion unique visitors every month,” that is a lot of opportunity to expand your audience and grow your patient base.

As people’s attention dwindles over time, you will see more and more videos replacing long, bulky paragraphs of text on websites. No one wants to read time-consuming content when they can watch or listen to it through a video, especially when they are on the go. It’s the perfect format to grab people’s attention, tell your story and make it memorable.

According to Cisco, by 2018 79% of all customer-based internet traffic will be through videos. Therefore, if you haven’t thought about using video in your marketing efforts, then it’s time you put it on your radar and seriously consider investing in this helpful platform.

What is Video Marketing and How to Use It?

More and more businesses are using videos to promote their services and products. Numerous studies are already indicating that half of companies are already using video as a main medium in their marketing.

Video gives your brand a presence online so you can convey your marketing messages to your target audience. It humanizes you, the doctor, to your patients. They are able to see and hear you outside of the office on a more personal level where you can connect with them in a more casual, emotional way.

If you’re worried about the cost of creating videos, don’t be. Today it’s more affordable than ever. You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment or even need to hire a video production company. You can make them by yourself.

And if you don’t want to buy a video camera, you don’t have to. You can just use your smartphone or digital tablet. The quality of the video in these mobile devices is so high that even famous directors have shot parts of their movies using iPhones.

You will only need a tripod to keep the camera or device steady and post production software. Both of these items can be found online at low-cost, and many editing programs are very easy to use.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when you’re creating your videos:

• Keep it short, ideally three minutes or less.
• Keep your messages simple, relevant and direct.
• Be sure to include a call-to-action at the end so people know what to do next. Examples of calls-to-action include:
• give the video a thumbs up
• subscribe to your YouTube channel
• comment on the video
• share the video
• call the office
• go to your website
• Don’t try to make your videos too “flashy” in the post production process.
• Always write a description about your video and even better, include a link to your website homepage or specific page on your site that deals with the topic you’re discussing in the video.
• For more visibility, and to keep patients on your website, embed videos into your blog posts and web pages instead of posting a link.
• Think of high traffic areas where you can post videos (i.e. your homepage, specific procedure pages, blog posts, social media, email newsletters, etc.)

How to Use Video in Your Dental Marketing

You want to create videos that connect with your audience and engage them. Try not to focus so much on selling your services or products, but talking to your audience as people who are looking for your help and answers.

Here are five ideas on types of videos you can create:

1. Video Series: You always want to keep people coming back for more; therefore, create an interesting series of videos discussing a popular topic that your patients want to know more about. You can spread it out over a long period of time, like six videos in six weeks, posting one a week, or condense it down to a three-part series in one week, posting a video every other day.
2. How-to and Tutorial Videos: These videos are the most popular and most searched on YouTube. People want to know how to do things on their own. Take advantage of the popularity of How-to videos and show patients how to brush their teeth or floss the right way, or even something more complex such as caring for dental implants after surgery.
3. Answer Common Questions: Many patients have the same questions they constantly ask you or your staff, so why not make videos answering those common questions? Then you can direct clients to your video channel to get more answers to their questions where they can learn more about dental health.
4. Share Your Story: People love stories, especially when it involves businesses they interact with. Tell your story to your patients—why you wanted to become a dentist, what schools you attended, how you got started, etc. The more interesting or humorous or entertaining your story is, the more you engage your audience.
5. Create Video Testimonials: If you have a few happy patients that don’t mind being on camera, ask them if you can shoot a quick testimonial of their positive experiences with you and your staff. When potential patients are researching dentists, reviews and testimonials are top priority for them to read or watch.

Also, keep in mind that YouTube is not the only video website people use. You can also check out Vimeo, Instagram for short 15-second videos and Vine for super short six-second videos. On the really short videos, you can get really creative.

From the recent trends and variety of studies, it’s quite obvious that video use is on the rise. It can be a fun, creative and beneficial way to communicate with your patients and increase your audience and network.

If nothing else, you could be doing something unique your competition isn’t which will give you an advantage when prospective patients are deciding whether or not you can meet their dental needs.

So now it’s time to put on your director’s hat and get to work!