This guide explains how to use video marketing in healthcare, with five video content strategies and practical tips for hospitals, clinics, practices and healthcare brands.
Whether you’re new to the healthcare industry or you’re already an expert, there are many ways you can use video-content marketing to grow your business.
It’s not hard to find evidence that the healthcare industry has become more reliant on video content, as a number of studies have shown that consumers are more likely to opt for videos over text, while mobile devices allow for more personalized interactions.
As a result, marketers need to find the best way to promote their content, from creating engaging videos to developing effective social media strategies.
In this article, I describe the most actionable strategies for using video content in the healthcare industry to attract new patients, educate current patients, and increase revenue.
Healthcare Video Types At A Glance
| 1. Video type |
Goal |
Where to publish |
| 1. Provider and practice introductions |
Build trust before a first visit |
Website, Google Business Profile, YouTube |
| 2. Patient education explainers |
Explain conditions, procedures and aftercare |
YouTube, patient portal, website |
| 3. Patient stories and testimonials |
Show real outcomes and experiences, with consent |
Website, social media |
| 4. Onboarding and how-to videos |
Help patients use apps, portals and services |
Patient portal, email, app |
| 5. Staff training and internal updates |
Engage and train healthcare staff |
Intranet, learning management system |
| 6. Short social clips and live Q&A |
Raise awareness and answer common questions |
Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube Shorts |
5 Ways To Enhance Your Healthcare Business With Video Content
1. Promote content on the most popular video platform, YouTube, and other social media networks
Using YouTube as a core video marketing platform and a research tool can benefit the healthcare industry, allowing providers to better understand their patients’ unique needs and preferences.
The platform’s popularity has grown by leaps and bounds, with more than 5 billion videos viewed on any given day.
This boon is largely attributed to its ability to churn out quality content at an accelerated rate. In fact, if you’re in the market for a healthcare vlog, you’re likely to find your options on YouTube’s sitemap.
The most effective ways to accomplish your video marketing goals are via YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, Periscope, and Instagram. In fact, consumers are likely to see videos on Facebook and Instagram more than twice a day, and on average, viewers will spend about four hours a day watching videos.
2. Engage your healthcare staff using video content
Utilizing videos in healthcare goes a long way in increasing engagement with healthcare staff and enhancing learning.
Videos are an effective way to train your medical staff, explain new procedures and policies, showcase good patient care practices, and even provide marketing material to patients. Video content can help your team stay up-to-date on the latest developments in the industry while reinforcing their knowledge base.
Taking advantage of the stats and how people react to video content can enhance the learning experience of your staff, help them communicate with patients effectively, and build relationships with them. That’s how you can create an emotional connection that is essential for successful communication in healthcare.
When it comes to sharing information about medical services, products, or procedures, a video is much easier to digest than written instructions. In fact, videos are the most successful way to convey information quickly and make it easier for people to understand. Videos also increase retention of medical concepts among staff members, making them more likely to remember what they’ve learned.
In addition, you can use medical clips as a source of motivation for healthcare professionals, inspiring and challenging staff members and providing them with positive reinforcement for their hard work.
With videos, you can also foster a sense of community within your organization, showing that everyone is working towards the same goal—providing the best patient care possible.
3. Assist, onboard, and engage your users through videos
Creating and distributing a video is a good idea. It’s not only a good way to get your name out there, but it also has the potential to reduce customer support costs. And let’s face it, nobody enjoys calling technical support.
A recent survey of internet users found that a whopping 82% of consumers prefer live video over other social media posts. And they’re also more likely to click on video thumbnails next to search results. It’s also no secret that video is an essential part of any digital marketing campaign.
Videos can show customers how to use a product or service and what to expect from it. And they can help customers remember what they’ve learned. In fact, video marketing has been proven to increase conversion rates by 80%.
Video content is also a good way to create a fun and engaging experience for your audience. Consumers are more likely to engage with a brand if they have a good time while watching a video.
4. Educate your users through video content
Educating users through videos is a great content marketing strategy in healthcare to build trust, generate more ROI, and increase engagement with patients. Videos are an effective and inexpensive form of educational content.
With the right approach and techniques, your video can reach the right audience, convert users throughout the marketing funnel, and spread brand awareness. Below are the fundamental steps to educating healthcare users through video content.
First, you need to decide what kind of story you want to tell. Whether you want to educate users about your practice or your product, the basic framework is the same. You need to decide on a protagonist, a goal, and a conflict. The conflict is your customer’s pain point, and you want to show how your product or service can solve the problem.
- Define your target audience
Second, you’ll need to decide on your target demographics. These characteristics will inform your voiceover, characters, and content. They’ll also help you determine which distribution channels are most effective.
Third, you’ll want to decide on a call to action. Whether it’s a “Click Here” button, a link to your homepage, or a thumbnail of another video, your CTA should present itself in the least disruptive way possible.
- Approach video marketing strategically
The key to success is to make sure you have the right tools and staff in place to help you navigate the waters. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a video guru on hand, you might be better off paying for a subscription service to help you manage the workload. This way, you won’t have to worry about a profitable video marketing strategy.
Having a well-thought-out plan in place for video marketing is vital, especially in the complex healthcare industry.
5. Experiment with video content types to boost engagement
Creating engaging videos for the healthcare industry can be challenging. You’ll have to analyze your target audience and decide how to deliver the message. However, it’s a great way to connect with patients and build trust, and videos can demystify healthcare facilities.
Videos are an important part of a healthcare company’s marketing strategy. They can increase your company’s visibility, improve your SEO, and help customers relate to their experiences.
Videos are easy to consume, and they make it easier for your customers to remember information. Consider implementing the following types of videos to engage your customers.
Explanatory videos are a perfect way to show patients how a treatment works and prove that your doctors are experts in their fields. Videos can also demonstrate your company’s latest technology or focus on R&D.
- Video testimonials and case studies
Testimonials can be used to show how you’ve helped other patients. Share video reviews and case studies on your website and social media channels.
A simple tutorial video can show patients how to use some of your systems, for example, a telehealth platform. Or you can create a tutorial explaining how to perform a specific medical procedure.
How To Build A Healthcare Video Marketing Plan
- Set one goal per video: awareness, appointment bookings, patient education or staff engagement each call for a different format and call to action.
- Start from patient questions: use the questions your front desk and clinicians hear most often as your first topics.
- Pick the right format: short clips for social reach, longer explainers for education, and step-by-step videos for onboarding.
- Plan for accessibility: add captions and transcripts, keep language plain, and make sure videos work on mobile.
- Publish where patients look: YouTube, your website, your Google Business Profile, patient portals and email all have a role.
- Measure and adjust: track views, watch time, clicks to booking pages and questions answered, then refine topics each quarter.
If you plan to outsource production, see our lists of top video marketing production firms and top corporate video production companies. Video also supports how patients see your practice online, which our guide to the best reputation management for doctors covers in more detail.
Healthcare Video Compliance Basics
Healthcare videos carry more risk than typical marketing content, so build a review step into every production. This is general guidance, not legal advice: confirm requirements for your country and specialty with your compliance team.
- Get written consent: obtain signed consent from any patient who appears or whose story is told, and keep it on file.
- Protect patient information: never show charts, screens, wristbands or other details that could identify a patient without authorization. In the US, HIPAA applies to protected health information.
- Keep claims accurate: avoid promising outcomes, and have clinical content reviewed by a qualified professional.
- Add disclaimers where needed: make clear that educational videos do not replace individual medical advice.
- Watch comments: moderate public comments and move any personal health discussion to private, secure channels.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is healthcare video marketing?
Healthcare video marketing is the use of video to attract, educate and keep patients, and to engage staff. It includes practice introductions, patient education, testimonials, onboarding guides and social clips, published on channels such as YouTube, websites and social media.
What types of videos work best for healthcare marketing?
Patient education explainers and provider introductions tend to build the most trust, because they answer real questions and show who patients will meet. Patient stories work well when consent is in place, and short social clips help with awareness. The best mix depends on whether your goal is new patients, education or retention.
Do healthcare marketing videos need patient consent?
Yes. If a patient appears in a video or can be identified from it, you need their written authorization before publishing, and in the US this is required under HIPAA for protected health information. Even when it is not strictly required, getting consent is best practice and protects both the patient and your organization.
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Conclusion
Using video content in healthcare is an effective way to create a unique brand story. It also shows potential patients the best features of your hospital. In fact, over eighty percent of leading companies use video content.
Healthcare videos can also help to demystify medical facilities and processes. It’s also a great way to share patient testimonials. These can provide real-life examples of how doctors and nurses are providing care.
Video content should be used across multiple social media channels. In addition, your health brand should allow staff to create content. This will help to ensure that everyone is involved in the process.
It’s also important to create evergreen content. This will help to ensure that you have material to build on in the future. Then, you can use social media to drive traffic to your website.
Using video content for marketing purposes is a no-brainer, especially in a cosseted environment such as a swanky medical center. Video content is a great way to showcase your services to a captive audience without having to deal with the red tape of traditional media.
There are numerous video content marketing strategies to choose from, however, your choice will depend on your organization’s budget and marketing needs. Contact ReVerb to create a superb video content marketing strategy that will help you stand out from the competition!
