5 Reasons Video Content Helps Convert Leads Into Patients

Figuring out where to spend your money and time as a healthcare marketer is not an easy decision. You want to create relevant content that grabs the interest of your target audience without being too gimmicky. You want marketing tactics that are neither outdated nor dying.

Finding the right balance is essential for choosing an accurate healthcare marketing tool.

And, in the end, that tool must convert.

Patient testimonials have been accessible among healthcare marketers for ages. And with strong reason. The modern version of this strategy – the video testimonial – takes its effectiveness to the next level. Video content, as we will see, is one of the most effective healthcare marketing tools available.

Let us take a look at five reasons why you should be using video testimonials in your healthcare marketing.

It all starts with one fact:

1. Video Content Triggers Emotions

Regardless of what we tell ourselves about our rational decisions, emotion is the biggest driver of decision-making. This is as true for the average patient as it is for the CEO of a big company, though the feelings at play might be different.

Nothing beats video in evoking patients’ emotions. Text is unemotional – only the very best medical copywriters can compete with video content on an emotional level. It takes a lot of time; reading and understanding text is much slower than watching video, and patients do not often have the patience to put in enough time for excellent content to work its magic.

Video, on the other hand, reaches your target audience’s hearts right away. Why is video content so effective at generating emotional connections?

Most of it is related to the brain. Our brain consists of mirror neurons, which fire when we either do something or when we see someone else doing it. In other words, mirror neurons make viewers feel the emotions they see in a video.

So when a patient is visibly happy and relieved because of your services, potential patients will feel it, too. All of the emotions that you want to evoke in your patients can be achieved almost instantly with a video testimonial.

There are other neuroscientific reasons that suggest why video is better at evoking emotions. The human brain is wired to focus on colors, faces and motion. Visuals, including videos, attract people’s attention in ways that text and even images cannot. Undivided attention is the start of an emotional connection. And if you succeed in making an emotional connection with your target audience, you have already won.

2. Video Content Has a Higher Retention Rate

Video has a retention rate of almost 95 percent, while people only remember 12 percent of textual information.

There are several reasons why video makes content “stickier” in the target audience’s minds. The emotional connection we just discussed activates emotional centers in the brain that have been proven to increase information retention.

Storytelling has an almost similar effect on the human brain. Our brains are familiar with stories – and this is what testimonials also offer. Stories of people conquering problems are particularly irresistible. Again, this idea is perfect for testimonials.

Impressive visuals help patients remember information, which keeps your services’ benefits top-of-mind. A video is visually attractive, but adding text and graphics to it will make it even more persuasive.

A well-executed testimonial video should hit all of the points that help target audiences remember your medical practice. Of course, people still have to watch your video.

However, if you create a high-quality video and keep it short, that should not be a problem, because…

3. Patients Prefer Video

In the end, patients prefer video over text. And that should be the end of the discussion.

When it comes to healthcare services, the numbers can be pretty impressive. The majority of patients would rather watch a video about a service than read plain text about it.

This preference extends beyond website or blog content. In fact, the word “video” in an email subject line can substantially increase the open rate and click-through rate.

Your patents love videos. And not just watching them; they also like sharing them.

With the strong preference for videos, it might not surprise you to know that patients want to share videos more than they share images and plain text. So if you wish for your healthcare content to gain traction on social networks, putting together a video is the way to go.
If you want to think outside the box, try to build a great story with your patient testimonials, and you will drive a considerable number of likes and shares on social media.

4. Social Proof Is Powerful

We have talked about why video is the best medium for spreading your patient testimonials, but if you are not convinced that testimonials are an excellent healthcare marketing tool, you probably are not going to make the effort to create a video.

Here’s some evidence that may change your mind:

In Robert Cialdini’s Influence: Science and Practice, social proof is one of the factors. This is a famous book in the marketing field, and its advice is used in some of the most successful marketing and advertising campaigns.

Many studies also reinforce the power of social proof. Patient reviews are trustworthy – sometimes even more reliable than personal recommendations. Reviews, comments, ratings, social media posts and other forms of user-generated content are all quite powerful tools.

Patient testimonials fall into a different category because your brand is involved in the creation of the video. However, the same principles would apply. In order to maximize the social proof of your testimonial, you will want the subject to be representative of your global patient base.

Regardless of how rational we might claim to be, social proof will always be a powerful force.

5. Patient Testimonials Convert

The ultimate goal of any healthcare marketing tactic is to convert potential patients into paying ones. And video testimonials, for all the reasons stated above, are excellent at converting.

The Content Healthcare Marketing Institute’s 2018 benchmarks study asked professional marketers which tactics were the most effective for helping them attract patients and convert leads. Case studies were ranked at number two, behind ebooks. And videos were ranked third on the list of content types that are often used by marketers.

There is a reason so many healthcare marketers use both video and patient testimonials. This is because they are proven and reliable. And when you put them both together, you will have a healthcare marketing strategy that drives social shares, attracts traffic to your website, builds trust with your target audience and converts leads.

Some of the biggest healthcare brands in the world invest significant amounts of money and time in creating video testimonials. These are the medical brands that have millions, if not billions, to spend on marketing and research activities. If they are taking the time to create videos, it is because they know videos can successfully convert leads and generate revenue.

Conclusion

We have looked at a lot of evidence that video testimonials are amazing for healthcare marketing. There is no better way to increase your brand reach, build connections with your target audience and drive conversions.

Creating a video is not easy – it takes more investment in terms of time and effort than many other marketing activities. However, well-made video can be one of the most valuable pieces of content that you will create.