Updated: March 28, 2023
In the digitally transformed world we live in; healthcare video marketing is a must-have content marketing tactic for any company targeting customers in the industry. From large hospital systems to pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers to patients themselves, videos are a vital tool for reaching today’s healthcare buyers.
The complex nature of products, equipment and services of the healthcare world lend themselves perfectly to visual types of digital content tactics including video – and healthcare marketers are tapping into this.
To find stats on healthcare and medical video marketing strategy in general, you’ll have to go back to the oft cited Google study from 2013 that found that 68% of healthcare buyers using video to compare products and 63% using them to see how a product performs; and 63% of healthcare buyers will contact a vendor directly after watching a video.
In B2B, 75% of content marketers plan to use video in 2023 (up from 66% in 2022) and 50% of marketers rate video as their number-one content format. Video marketing in general garners the highest ROI compared to images, blogs, podcasts and case studies.
It’s safe to say, given the growth in consumers who watch video to learn about a product or service – 80% in 2015 and 96% in so far for 2023 – if your healthcare business hasn’t at least dipped its toes into the video marketing for healthcare sales pool, now is the perfect time to start.
The same research also found that 89% of people claim watching a video played a part in their decision to purchase a product or service and 79% claim a video played a part in them buying new software.
If you’re not already leveraging the power of video, it’s only a matter of time before you fall behind those that are, particularly as video consumption is set to soar to new heights over the next few years.
The powerful nature of video, coupled with the global COVID-19 pandemic, has led healthcare marketers to start experimenting with tools they weren’t previously using. This includes expanding the use of social media to drive leads and increase sales. Those efforts also include video marketing for doctors and embracing emerging platforms like TikTok. Lastly, they’re evolving their webinars to include on-demand options and experimenting with emerging channels like connected television advertising (CTV) and over-the-top (OTT) to get their message across to potential buyers.
Data source: Wyzowl
Video has become an integral part of healthcare marketing. Today’s marketers must determine which types of videos perform the best to reach a specific audience. The following is a list of three ways you can boost your video marketing efforts. Let’s dive in.
1. Create and post videos with social media in mind
Whether the social channel is strictly video based like YouTube or TikTok or a more traditional social platform like LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook, posting videos on social media is a must for healthcare companies. YouTube is the king of video platforms with 78% of marketers claiming it as the most effective video channel, followed by 69% for LinkedIn and 67% and 59% for Instagram and Facebook. (Source: Wyzowl).
When you look at healthcare customers, in the provider-to-patient sector alone, more and more consumers turn to social media for healthcare information and advice before they consult their physician. 1 in 5 Americans consult TikTok before their own doctor for health advice. And 33% consult YouTube. Overall, 75% of consumers factcheck the information they find online. 55% trust information from influencers with a medical accreditation or certification and 26% value relatability and shared personal experience.
So, what types of videos should healthcare marketers post on social media?
Explainer and educational videos
In 2023, explainers and other types of educational videos continue to work well for business audiences. This type of video is entertaining and useful content that helps patients understand self-treatment at home between visits. It can also include a public service video on a healthcare topic or how-to videos aimed at medical professionals. Explainer videos inform buyers and generate engagement, including shares between current customers and new prospects.
Medical device manufacturer, Medtronic uses their YouTube channel to post medical device marketing videos. They post a variety of content to their channel, such as explainers and educational videos, patient stories, company culture, etc.
YouTube videos range from entertaining and relatable to practical and informative. Video aesthetics range from DIY to glossy and professional. The trick is knowing which type of video works best for the subject matter and type of customers you’re targeting.
TikTok
Let’s discuss TikTok. The popular short video social network used to be a fun site for consumer content. However, due to the pandemic, the video platform has become a valuable B2B marketing channel, including for B2B healthcare audiences. During one of the worst times in history, healthcare companies, starting with hospitals and clinics, began posting both healthcare culture and public health style educational videos. The platform was perfect for a global audience trapped at home and providers experiencing a large influx of patients and dwindling personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies.
In the beginning, healthcare-related videos were mostly humorous or typical TikTok videos for the time, e.g., dance and lip-syncing challenges. These days, though, healthcare video marketing has evolved on the short video platform. Healthcare companies and providers use TikTok to post educational content and combat healthcare misinformation. They also use the site to recruit employees and highlight patient stories. Humor and brevity still win on the platform even for content that is typically more serious and straightforward on other social channels.
Most of the content on TikTok is from healthcare providers (HCPs), hospitals and government public health departments. However, there are companies that market products and solutions to other businesses, including medical device manufacturers and biotech companies. For example, biotech company, Amgen uses the site to post company culture-related content, company announcements, micro-explainers, etc.
@amgenbiotech Our scientists are all 10s but they each have their own preferences when it comes to the lab #STEMTok #biotechnology #sciencetok #biotech
♬ FEEL THE GROOVE – Queens Road, Fabian Graetz
Proctor & Gamble.is another example of a brand that uses TikTok well. They post videos about life as an intern, their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) initiatives, health education, etc.
@ ♬ –
@proctergamble For the AAPI community, belonging starts with a name. Join us to celebrate and learn AAPI names. #OurNamesBelong
♬ original sound – Procter & Gamble
@proctergamble Water scarcity affects every continent on our planet. That’s why we’re committed to building a WaterPositiveFuture. #ItsOurHome
♬ original sound – Procter & Gamble
The largest audience shares on TikTok tends to be Gen Z and younger millennials. However, both older millennials and Gen X are also embracing the platform. Keep in mind too, that millennials now make up nearly half of B2B decision makers.
And it’s only a matter of time before most healthcare brands are on TikTok. The platform gets results. CVS Health used the platform to improve their lead gen and reduce their cost per lead to bolster their employee recruitment efforts. Even if your brand isn’t comfortable with TikTok, similar types of videos are also popular on other social channels (largely because of how popular TikTok has become).
Live Streaming
Live streaming has really taken off in the past couple of years. So much so, in fact, that 80% of viewers prefer live video to reading a blog. And 42% of Americans have streamed a live video. Moreover, 52% of live videos stream over social media.
Why is it so popular?
Because live streaming gives viewers the chance to get to know a company on a deeper level, creating a sense of authenticity that’s vital for businesses today.
This gives you the chance to combine the engaging nature of demo videos with the live, in-the-moment distribution that people today are craving.
While you can always run live demos via YouTube, LinkedIn or Facebook Live, there are other ways to leverage this idea, too: you can share behind the scenes clips from your company, showcase new products, share important news like awards and funding, and anything else that might deepen your connection with potential buyers.
CVS Health streamed the video above as part of its live video series, CVS Health Live. The video targeted healthcare providers and other CVS partners and featured an expert panel discussion of the importance of clinical trials. Live videos can be watched in real time, with colleagues or watched anytime on a company’s YouTube channel or wherever the live stream was originally hosted.
Sharing the content with more than just the attendees expanded the summit’s reach and garnered the event a lot of additional online attention. Not only did it give an insight into some of the key trends in the healthcare industry, but it created trust through partnering up with well-known figures in the industry.
Regardless of type of social video or channel, repurpose video content by platform and cross post relevant videos on multiple social media sites. But make each post platform specific. Even if the videos are the same, how you entice your audience to engage with them should be both audience and platform specific.
You don’t want to use the same introductory copy to post your video on LinkedIn as you would on YouTube or Instagram. Instead, have your content or social media team write unique video introductions. And keep in mind that many online videos are watched on mobile devices. View your videos on multiple size screens to ensure they work on phones, tablets, laptops, desktops and even large screen TV.
As we mentioned above, a large majority of healthcare buyers will watch videos to compare products and services before they buy, to see how well a product performs, or to see what services are offered.
Social media videos are the perfect way to engage buyers and easily buy into this trend by sharing these videos about your products and services on social media and your website. Plus, you can promote other types of video content on your social pages or even live stream video webinars, which brings us to the second way to use video to reach healthcare industry customers.
Related: Trends Shaping B2B Healthcare Marketing
2. Host Webinars
Video comes in all shapes and sizes. It doesn’t just have to be Hollywood-style stories that rival the latest Blockbuster. In fact, one of the most popular forms of video at the moment is webinars. 76% of marketers claim webinars get more leads and 94% of webinars are now on-demand. Although, you can still host a live webinar and have the content available as gated on-demand content after the fact.
Webinars are essentially online workshops or talks that showcase a product or an idea to anyone who registers and tunes in at a specific time or streams the video later.
The best thing about webinars, though, is that you can keep the momentum going after they end. Besides making them on-demand videos, you can also repurpose them into YouTube videos, share the recording on your social media channels, or create a blog post that highlights the key points mentioned in the webinar. You can also embed a key section or highlights of the webinar within a blog.
Cardinal Health, a pharmaceuticals and medical products distribution company does exactly this. They host a series of webinars throughout the year, each one of which is focused on attracting a different segment of healthcare buyer.
During #FeedingTubeAwarenessWeek we’re organizing a series of free global webinars that will explore key issues that affect children and adults that require tube feeding.
— Cardinal Health (@cardinalhealth) January 31, 2023
Register now. For #HCPs only. #EnteralNutrition https://t.co/CAscNJBpOT pic.twitter.com/VYw9CwTo7o
As you can see here, Cardinal Health advertises their webinars on social media and encourages people to sign up and watch live. This also works as a great lead generation tactic, as every person who signs up to watch has to hand over their email address in return.
3. Targeted advertising on CTV and OTT
Over the last few years, there have been exciting developments in video marketing for healthcare sales and new ways to use healthcare videos to reach more people and audiences, particularly highly targeted advertising via OTT streaming and CTV campaigns that allow a degree of targeting not possible with traditional TV advertising.
85% of U.S. homes subscribe to at least one OTT video streaming service, e.g., HBOMax, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc. And free advertising-supported streaming television (FAST) services are growing in number, e.g., Peacock, Paramount+, the Roku Channel, etc. Plus, nearly 60% of Americans claim they’re willing to watch ads between streaming TV content if the cost was lower. Moreover, unlike social media platforms, OTT audiences span multiple age groups (85% aged 30-44 and 62% aged 55-64).
CTV and OTT targeting is different from broadcast advertising. Instead, it’s more like other forms of online ad targeting. It uses the internet of things (IoT), including IP-based device mapping and household categorization to reference other devices in the same house. It also uses other data like website visits and can target audiences based on specific criteria.
For example, a company that needs to market a new Class III device, such as a newly approved and more advanced implantable pacemaker would never consider using a medium like television. Advertising on television is expensive and means promoting the devices to everyone, not just hospitals, doctors and patients who make up a very niche market. With ad-supported streaming television or CTV, that same firm can create segmented audiences and deliver highly targeted medical device videos for each audience segment at a fraction of the cost of a commercial on broadcast television. They can also more easily track KPIs to gauge how successful their streaming video ads are at increasing sales and improving ROI.
Video is the Future of Healthcare Marketing
For many healthcare brands, the prospect of video marketing might not be as enticing as it is for other industries. After all, the subject matter can be quite serious or mundane. More importantly, not everyone is comfortable in front of or behind a camera. Deciding on a video style, learning how to produce your own marketing videos or hiring video content creators can seem daunting. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to use video marketing to connect with buyers.
In fact, healthcare marketers are getting more creative by the day when it comes to video.
Sharing information social media videos, hosting webinars as a lead generation tactic, and investing in targeted CTV/OTT advertising are all great ways to leverage video marketing and to start getting visual with your brand. Curious how video marketing could help your organization reach its marketing goals? Find out more here.
