Video Marketing Done Right

Have you decided to add a new service to your dental office, such as orthodontics? If so, it’s important to make sure your community knows about it!

Video marketing can help you get the word out by showcasing your new offering and explaining how it works. Today, we’re sharing 10 ways to achieve video marketing success and how to get more patients through the door with this simple, cost-effective tool.

Why does your practice need video marketing?

Some marketing tactics are designed to generate traffic to your website. These include landing pages, digital ads, and email newsletters that link back to your site.

However, video marketing works a little differently. Instead of driving traffic, this tool is primarily for conversion.

This means that once a visitor is already on your website, they can click on your video ad to learn more about the services that your dental practice offers. The goal of the ad is to eventually convert that casual visitor into a paying patient.

In addition to video marketing, there are lots of different ways to help people find you online. A few common examples include:

• Creating a Google Business Profile (previously branded as Google My Business)
• Sharing reviews on your website and Google Business Profile
• Optimizing search engine optimization (SEO) on your website so your practice shows up higher on search engine results pages (SERPs)
• Establishing an active social media presence

These tactics are all great ways to encourage someone to click through to your website or social media page. However, once they get there, you need something to keep them there. This is where video marketing comes in.

If visitors see that your site or page looks professional, they’re more likely to stick around. Think about it: How quickly do you click away from a site that looks garish or subpar? When a business puts time and effort into quality marketing, it shows—and leads to success.

Studies show that 53% of web visitors want to see more videos in the future, but it’s critical to do it the right way. It takes more than a great-looking video for your marketing efforts to be compelling. Here are 10 ways to improve their outcome and expand their reach.

1. Keep it impactful.

For maximum impact, resist the urge to make your dental video too long. You might be able to wax poetic about your services all day, but be considerate of your viewers.

Research shows that the average time spent on a website is 54 seconds. That means you have less than one minute to make an impression. A few well-edited clips around 1 1/2 to 3 minutes long each is ideal.

2. Hire a professional.

Yes, you can save some money by shooting your video with your smartphone. However, when you cut corners in marketing, it shows. Invest in this effort as you would any other outreach campaign, and the return will be greater.

Hire a professional videographer who knows what they’re doing. They should be well versed in how to optimize the appearance of each clip. From getting the lighting just right to zooming in on key details, they should know all the tricks of the trade.

3. Make it personal.

Instead of using lofty industry jargon your viewers can’t relate to, stay on their level and talk to them as you would a patient sitting in your operatory chair.

However, as you speak into the camera and seek to make that personal connection, don’t start talking off the cuff. Doing so could make the video seem unpolished and unprofessional. Plan everything out ahead of time to make sure you’re saying exactly what you want to say.

4. Keep it authentic.

Authenticity goes hand in hand with personalization. Your current and future dental clients are smart and discerning. They’ll know when a video feels disingenuous.

Shoot the footage at your actual office and highlight real team members. If you’re offering a new service like orthodontics, make sure the instruments and processes you’re showing are ones you actually use at your practice. This can go a long way toward building viewer trust and establishing brand transparency.

5. Don’t get too technical.

As mentioned, jargon is out. It’s also wise to avoid an in-depth discussion on how you perform each of your highlighted services. Remember that viewers want to see two main things: the experience they’ll receive at your practice and the result they can expect to achieve.

This means you can skip the technical discussion on how orthodontics works or the process you follow to create dental implants. They’ll learn all of this when they make an appointment. Right now, you’re just trying to catch their eye and pique their interest.

6. Make it a feature.

Even if you have several different videos on your dental website, make sure to feature at least one on your home page. This is often the very first page that a potential client will encounter, so you want to grab their attention.

Display the video in a prominent location where it will be easy to find. This is a great spot to feature a highlight video that briefly captures everything your practice provides.

7. Share on service pages.

In addition to your featured video, you can also create subvideos for your individual service pages.

For instance, if you have a page devoted to your orthodontic services, include a short video clip on that specific page. In the video, you can go over what new ortho patients can expect.

Or, you can include a video testimonial in this spot, shared by a patient who’s undergone a successful orthodontic experience at your practice. Asking real patients to tell their stories can be incredibly effective—just don’t ask them when they’re in the actual dental chair!

If a prospective client clicks through to a specific service page, that means they’re likely interested in that service. Videos are a great way to capture a good amount of information without relying on blocks of text. Research reveals that 66% of people prefer to watch a short video over reading about a new product or service, and 95% of them retain the core message when viewing content this way.

8. Post to social media.

Once you’ve invested the time, money, and energy into making a video for your dental clinic, don’t just leave it on your website! Remember to share the link to all of your major social media platforms too.

This boosts page engagement and gets your clip in front of more eyes. Encourage your followers to give you feedback in the comment section, and use those insights to improve your video marketing approach.

9. Avoid too many impromptu videos.

As you get used to posting videos on social media, inspiration may strike. Through features like Instagram Stories and Facebook Stories, companies can create impromptu live videos and share them with their networks.

While these are fine to a degree, avoid creating and sharing too many of them. At the end of the day, those videos won’t be the ones that draw new dental patients in. They’re fun for your current followers and community members, but that’s the extent of the engagement.

10. Inform, don’t advertise.

Ultimately, the goal of your dental videos should be to inform and educate, not advertise. You should also look to tell a genuine, relatable story. When you do these two things correctly, the promotional part will take care of itself.

Avoid callouts that seem too salesy or contrived. You aren’t a used-car salesman—you’re a dentist looking to attract more patients, and the foundation must be built on trust.

How To Get More Patients and Find Video Marketing Success

If you want to grow your local dental presence, video marketing is a great tactic to get you there.

Real, relatable videos are the key to expanding your practice. The ones you create should be informative, accessible, and patient-centered. If you do the above 10 things correctly, you won’t have to wonder how to get more patients or achieve video marketing success.

Looking for courses to help you expand your offerings? Check out our orthodontic CE courses for general dentists today!