Here are just a few research findings regarding the most obvious trend in digital media:

• Video traffic will account for 80% of all consumer Internet traffic in 2019¹
• Social video generates 12 times the shares than text and images combined.²
• After watching video, 64% are more likely to buy a product online.³
• Video can increase organic traffic from SERPs by as much as 157%.⁴
• If video and text are both available on the same page, 72% will watch the video rather than read the text.⁵

It’s really hard to argue with the evidence here: video is far and away the most effective online content. So, why are only the savviest marketers doing it?

Beats me.

Yeah, I know, videos can be expensive. (They don’t have to be.) They can be time-consuming to produce.

Ok… but they work.

You don’t have to have 50 videos. How about five to start… maybe the five most important differentiating factors about your practice and highlight each one? Or create a video profile for each physician that gives a little insight into his or her approach to medicine or personal life? This goes a long way to ensuring your website reflects your practice. Patient testimonials work very well, too.

Like most things in life, the key is to just get started and consistently add to what you’re doing.

According to Hubspot, the most common videos are:

• Explainers. People want to know how things work, whether it’s a product, service or a policy. For example, explain common conditions and your approach to treatment or what to expect after a procedure.
• How-to’s. Show me what to do. This could include examples of better nutrition, fitness, or understanding symptoms.
• Product demos. Let me see it, the features, how easy it is to use. E.g., how to use a Holter monitor or how to conduct breathing exercises.
• Testimonials. What has been the experience of others like me?

You’re only limited by your imagination. Well, and the peculiarities of digital space. For example, the first four seconds are critical in holding the viewer. Conventional wisdom in traditional TV has been the first few seconds were throwaway as the consumer transitions into the spot. Not true in digital video. Also, digital videos must also communicate without sound. Finally, attention spans are fleeting online, so videos must communicate efficiently.

This graph illustrates how in digital video you have to both grab attention and introduce your brand in the first few seconds, whereas in TV you have more time to build the story and the brand.

A word about quality. Some are convinced that all popular videos are the product of a 16-year-old using his iPhone. Not true. In fact, most successful videos are professionally produced. That doesn’t mean they all have big screen production budgets, but you do have to pay attention to the basics, like lighting and sound. There’s nothing like clicking a video only to strain to hear the sound because no external microphone was used, or having your ears blasted by background noises, like wind and traffic.

To be truly effective (and efficient), your videos need to work on several platforms, and you’ll need to account for that before you start shooting. It’s always better to produce for as many use cases as possible than to find your content unusable for a particular format.

The ever-growing array of platforms for digital media have brought on several different aspect ratios to account for. Your video will likely need to work in widescreen, standard, square and vertical for mobile. And those are the basics. There are several in-between sizes. Telling the same story in all those sizes can be very challenging, and sometimes it just isn’t possible. It’s important to know ahead of time how you’ll modify your video to tell the best story for each format.

As with anything in a serious marketing plan, you need to be strategic about what you’re doing. You don’t just go off shooting videos, you carefully plan them as part of your marketing mix. What is their purpose? How do they help you accomplish your goals for the year? How do they amplify the brand?

Finally, where possible group production for multiple videos together. That can reduce the cost per video significantly. And, use a production crew that has good equipment and knows what they are doing with lighting and sound. Again, it doesn’t have to be crazy expensive.

Given the research, it’s pretty simple: people watch videos and prefer them over still content and text. They are increasingly seeking video content to inform purchase decisions. It’s time to make video a significant weapon in your marketing arsenal. And, if you’d like an experienced guide to help you through the maze we’ve outlined, we’d be happy to help.

¹Cisco’s Visual Networking Index.
²Simply Measured.
³Forbes, 2017
⁴WordStream, 2018
⁵Hubspot, 2018