5 Reasons to Consider YouTube in Healthcare Marketing

Social media is an integral part of any marketing campaign – it’s not something that you can afford to ignore anymore, especially if you are part of the healthcare industry. Most healthcare marketers tend to use a mix of social media platforms, but YouTube seems to be a favorite. Compared to 63% of marketers in general, 71% of healthcare marketers use YouTube – it is the only social network that has a higher usage among healthcare marketers than the marketing world in general. As a healthcare marketer, video can be one of your biggest assets.

YouTube’s network is huge, boasting over 1 billion unique user visits and more than 6 billion hours of video watched each month. Year over year, YouTube traffic to hospital websites has increased 119%. Are you currently utilizing YouTube for healthcare marketing or thinking about doing so in the future?

Take a look at five considerations you should make as you think about adding YouTube to your social media and marketing campaigns:

1. Your Audience is Digital

Your potential audience is becoming more digitally focused by the day. Currently, 87% of adults in the United States use the Internet, 72% of whom say they have used the Internet to search for health-related information in the past year.

According to Google, 77% of patients used a search engine to begin their online health-related research. 43% of visits to hospital websites end up originating from a search engine and account for 22 million unique visits, as opposed to just 6 million unique visits from non-searchers.

The bottom line? If you’re not marketing on the Internet, let alone on YouTube, you’re missing out on reaching a critical portion of your potential audience.

2. Craft Unbeatable Content

Once your organization is marketing digitally on YouTube, you need to ensure that the videos you are releasing are relevant, interesting and helpful to your audience. People are likely looking to learn about different illnesses and accompanying treatments, side effects of medications and information about surgical procedures. Additionally, people are now expecting video tours of hospitals and clinics to be at their disposal online.

According to Google, 64% of patients watch videos online to obtain information about hospitals, while 56% do so to understand complicated treatments and procedures.

If you don’t have a video about it, another organization will.

3. Snag ‘Em with a Good Hook

Before people will bother watching your informative video that’s crafted using unbeatable content, you need to draw them in – quickly. Your video needs to present a compelling hook within the first five seconds. Why should people spend the time to watch your video? How will it benefit them? Be intriguing right from the get-go; give them a reason not to close the window.

4. Tell Stories

Videos that feature stories viewers can relate to will be successful. Patients are looking to find out what to expect when dealing with certain illnesses, disorders or treatment programs from someone else who has gone through the same experience. Filming an interview with a patient who has fought and overcome a life-threatening illness can inspire future patients who encounter the same illness, while also giving them the drive to beat it.

5. Humanize Your Organization

Organizations come off as personal and welcoming when they create videos that relate to consumers and address their needs and concerns – videos can help give your healthcare organization a face and personality. Creating a simple video welcome message to post on your website’s homepage can immediately make potential patients feel more comfortable and encourage them to choose your hospital, practice or organization.

Regularly posting educational videos about treatments or procedures, patient testimonials and/or stories about current doctors and previous patients can position a healthcare organization as credible and welcoming in the eyes of potential patients or consumers.

In the world of healthcare marketing and social media, it can be difficult to figure out which direction to go in. As video content continues to surge ahead and capture the attention of Internet-goers, it is becoming increasingly important for your organization to develop an online video presence.

Are you looking for help with your marketing or social media strategy? Not sure where to start with video for your healthcare organization? Check out our digital communications and inbound marketing capabilities and contact us to connect with our healthcare marketing experts!

Updated: Apr 13, 2022