Though physicians are increasingly turning to social media to engage patients, YouTube still remains one of the lesser-used marketing mediums. A recent survey of more than 4,000 physicians shows that 67 percent participate in at least one social media site for professional use, but only 8 percent of that group operated a YouTube channel.
But for David Greene, MD, owner of PreferredPainCenter.com, a YouTube account with nearly 150 educational pain management videos has proved an effective and low-cost patient engagement tool. Dr. Greene's videos have been viewed by more than 40,000 people in less than two years, and an average of several patients per week contact the Phoenix, Ariz.-based Preferred Pain Center after having seen the videos, he says.
Dr. Greene provides tips for pain management clinics interested in launching and operating a YouTube channel as a medium for patient engagement and education.
1. Be approachable. When examining the visitor counts on his website, Dr. Greene was initially surprised to find that the second most-visited page contained the physician biographies. "People want to know who they're going to see and who the educator is," he says, adding that a YouTube video is an ideal opportunity to demonstrate a physician's personality and level of approachability. "Being formal, with a coat and tie behind my desk, is not how I'm doing these videos anymore. I want to be personable and I try not to be so stiff when I'm doing the videos by throwing in a joke," says Dr. Greene. An approachable demeanor will ideally make potential patients feel comfortable about initiating contact with the physician.
2. Tailor the videos to patient needs. People who are searching for an informational video on a pain condition or procedure are typically directly affected by the condition and seeking information for treatment. The videos are therefore an ideal opportunity to present helpful information while drawing potential patients' attention to procedures done at the pain clinic. "I try to focus on the topics that doctors at our practice are seeing most often, but if you offer something that not many people in the community offer, it can also lead people to you," says Dr. Greene.
3. Keep the video production cost low. Pain clinics don't need expensive camera equipment, or fancy video editing tools to make an effective video. Dr. Greene typically films on his own and uses YouTube's free video editing tools before posting the final product. YouTube has tools that let the user make cuts to the beginnings and endings of videos and add annotations, titles and notes.
4. Post videos consistently. To increase the number of video views and build a reputation as a pain management educator for the community, a pain clinic should aim to post five to ten videos per month, says Dr. Greene. Viewers who see that the pain clinic posts a consistent volume of videos will also be more likely to subscribe to the YouTube channel.
5. Include the videos on websites and newsletters to increase visibility. YouTube provides an HTML code that enables users to embed videos elsewhere online, which can be useful for pain clinics to promote their videos beyond the YouTube site. Dr. Greene embeds his videos into blog postings, on his webpages and as part of email marketing strategies, including patient newsletters. The open rate of emails with videos is often higher than that of text-only emails, he says.
6. Use simpler language. Patients will be less likely to watch a video if the language is overly complex and consists mostly of medical terminology. Dr. Greene says that communicating in layman's terms will keep them engaged. "If you make the language down to general public's understanding, the conversion rate to patients will be higher," he adds.
7. Keep the videos brief. "The attention span gets pretty low after three to five minutes," says Dr. Greene, whose videos range in length from two minutes to longer than ten minutes.
8. Keep track of which patients have seen the videos. In order to gauge the effectiveness of a YouTube channel, physicians should keep track of how many patients are coming to the center after seeing a video. "Our practice probably gets a couple patients per week calling and saying they saw our video and are interested in learning how radiofrequency ablation can help," says Dr. Greene. "We also get emails from people in other areas of the country, asking if we can recommend someone in their area who performs a specific treatment."
9. Replicate the strategies behind most-popular videos. One of Dr. Greene's most-viewed videos, an eight-minute informational clip about lumbar facet joint nerve injections, features PowerPoint slides with images and a voiceover narration. Dr. Greene has since used this strategy in additional videos, focusing on assembling information that viewers can quickly read and understand.
10. Diversify the marketing strategy. While a YouTube channel is a useful and cost-effective tool for engaging potential patients, Dr. Greene stresses that a pain clinic cannot rely on videos as its sole means of marketing. Other methods, including maintaining a website, creating patient newsletters, writing content for online magazines and advertising via radio should also be taken into account, he says.
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But for David Greene, MD, owner of PreferredPainCenter.com, a YouTube account with nearly 150 educational pain management videos has proved an effective and low-cost patient engagement tool. Dr. Greene's videos have been viewed by more than 40,000 people in less than two years, and an average of several patients per week contact the Phoenix, Ariz.-based Preferred Pain Center after having seen the videos, he says.
Dr. Greene provides tips for pain management clinics interested in launching and operating a YouTube channel as a medium for patient engagement and education.
1. Be approachable. When examining the visitor counts on his website, Dr. Greene was initially surprised to find that the second most-visited page contained the physician biographies. "People want to know who they're going to see and who the educator is," he says, adding that a YouTube video is an ideal opportunity to demonstrate a physician's personality and level of approachability. "Being formal, with a coat and tie behind my desk, is not how I'm doing these videos anymore. I want to be personable and I try not to be so stiff when I'm doing the videos by throwing in a joke," says Dr. Greene. An approachable demeanor will ideally make potential patients feel comfortable about initiating contact with the physician.
2. Tailor the videos to patient needs. People who are searching for an informational video on a pain condition or procedure are typically directly affected by the condition and seeking information for treatment. The videos are therefore an ideal opportunity to present helpful information while drawing potential patients' attention to procedures done at the pain clinic. "I try to focus on the topics that doctors at our practice are seeing most often, but if you offer something that not many people in the community offer, it can also lead people to you," says Dr. Greene.
3. Keep the video production cost low. Pain clinics don't need expensive camera equipment, or fancy video editing tools to make an effective video. Dr. Greene typically films on his own and uses YouTube's free video editing tools before posting the final product. YouTube has tools that let the user make cuts to the beginnings and endings of videos and add annotations, titles and notes.
4. Post videos consistently. To increase the number of video views and build a reputation as a pain management educator for the community, a pain clinic should aim to post five to ten videos per month, says Dr. Greene. Viewers who see that the pain clinic posts a consistent volume of videos will also be more likely to subscribe to the YouTube channel.
5. Include the videos on websites and newsletters to increase visibility. YouTube provides an HTML code that enables users to embed videos elsewhere online, which can be useful for pain clinics to promote their videos beyond the YouTube site. Dr. Greene embeds his videos into blog postings, on his webpages and as part of email marketing strategies, including patient newsletters. The open rate of emails with videos is often higher than that of text-only emails, he says.
6. Use simpler language. Patients will be less likely to watch a video if the language is overly complex and consists mostly of medical terminology. Dr. Greene says that communicating in layman's terms will keep them engaged. "If you make the language down to general public's understanding, the conversion rate to patients will be higher," he adds.
7. Keep the videos brief. "The attention span gets pretty low after three to five minutes," says Dr. Greene, whose videos range in length from two minutes to longer than ten minutes.
8. Keep track of which patients have seen the videos. In order to gauge the effectiveness of a YouTube channel, physicians should keep track of how many patients are coming to the center after seeing a video. "Our practice probably gets a couple patients per week calling and saying they saw our video and are interested in learning how radiofrequency ablation can help," says Dr. Greene. "We also get emails from people in other areas of the country, asking if we can recommend someone in their area who performs a specific treatment."
9. Replicate the strategies behind most-popular videos. One of Dr. Greene's most-viewed videos, an eight-minute informational clip about lumbar facet joint nerve injections, features PowerPoint slides with images and a voiceover narration. Dr. Greene has since used this strategy in additional videos, focusing on assembling information that viewers can quickly read and understand.
10. Diversify the marketing strategy. While a YouTube channel is a useful and cost-effective tool for engaging potential patients, Dr. Greene stresses that a pain clinic cannot rely on videos as its sole means of marketing. Other methods, including maintaining a website, creating patient newsletters, writing content for online magazines and advertising via radio should also be taken into account, he says.
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