By Kristie Nation
During the past 10 years, online video marketing has moved from a novelty to a pivotal role in the world of digital marketing. According to comScore Inc., more video was watched online last year than ever before with nearly 90% of the American Internet audience viewing online video in December 2013.
In fact, the number of video ads watched in the U.S. more than tripled from the previous year, jumping from 11 billion to more than 35 billion. By 2017 (according to networking equipment manufacturer Cisco), video traffic is expected to reach 69% of all consumer Internet traffic. So what does this mean for your practice?
Video Creation
Video is inexpensive and easy to make, can be posted and viewed directly from multiple platforms (including your website, YouTube, Facebook, and Google+), and -- thanks to recent algorithm tweaks by Google -- videos can even rank well in search results.
Use a tool like PowToon to create some new videos for your practice. It's easy to learn (most users can figure it out and create their first test video in under an hour), and it's free.
Video Sharing
Four billion videos are viewed each day on YouTube. But getting your target audience onto YouTube can be a difficult job. Your social accounts may be the best place for your videos to reach the most people:
- More than 700 YouTube videos are shared on Twitter every minute.
- 500 years' worth of YouTube video is viewed on Facebook every day.
Make sure you share video to your existing audiences on these platforms, and do not forget your practice's blog.
Stay aware of video sharing opportunities. The tools you use are as important as what you share and where you share it. These tools can change rapidly. The six-second "Vine" video was a Twitter sensation, but when Instagram jumped in and adopted the method, the app died.
Video Optimization
Each video can be linked to your other uploaded clips on YouTube, meaning that viewers will be encouraged to view more of your creations. Every video you create should go on YouTube first, then shared to your other social media accounts for visibility.
YouTube also allows social sharing, favoriting, and commenting directly from the platform. So once people find your practice's YouTube channel, they can share any or all of your videos to their social media pages.
Tips for Making Your Dental Practice's Videos Shine
There are quite a few steps you can take to encourage viewing and sharing of your videos:
- Keep it short. You do not see six-minute commercials or 10-minute movie trailers, so take a hint, and keep your videos at two minutes or less.
- The first 10 seconds are key. You have to have a hook to encourage viewers to keep watching.
- Include a call to action at the end of each video just as you would in any other type of marketing for your practice.
- Have fun! Did your practice's team members all wear costumes on Halloween? Make sure you capture the hilarity to share with your extended practice family.
- Interview patients if and when the opportunity arises, and get their permission to share their images and words on your social networks. These kinds of personal testimonials are worth their weight in gold, and can be prompted with a question such as, "Why do you like visiting Lakewood Dental?" Multiple examples of patients answering the same question can be edited together and made into a video titled "Why patients love Lakewood Dental."
It's time for your dental practice to start using video. Take out your smartphone or try PowToon. You might be surprised at how easy making a great video for your dental practice can be.
Kristie Nation is the founder and CEO of myDentalCMO, a marketing consulting firm that provides strategic marketing "treatment plans" exclusively for dental practices. The firm was founded with a mission to prevent dentists from wasting countless dollars marketing their practices ineffectively. She can be reached at [email protected] or (877) 746-4410.
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