The Anatomy of a Great Medical Promotional Video

When it comes to digital marketing, video is king. Multiple studies have shown the impact that brand videos can make on audiences of all kinds, from increasing engagement to improving recall of your business even days after watching the video.

The same is true for promotional videos focusing on ophthalmic practices. But even though video is powerful, throwing one together isn’t enough – you need to ensure that your message captivates your audience, driving them toward a visit.

How can the savvy ophthalmologist use a promotional video to their advantage? Let’s take a look at the different elements that make up a great promotional video:

1. It Captures Attention Immediately

Our attention span online grows shorter by the day. Statistics now place the average attention span on the Internet at 8 seconds, which is shorter than that of a goldfish…and if you’re marketing LASIK services to younger patients, it could be ever shorter than that. Any successful promotional video needs to make sure that it captures its audience’s attention within these first few moments.

Don’t wait to share the most compelling footage, colors, or sound. Make sure that as your audience scrolls by your video on social media or your website, they stop and pay attention (a great way to do this is with a compelling thumbnail).

Consider starting your video with direct eye contact from an ophthalmic specialist, or asking a question of your audience. Get to the point quickly by illustrating the issue the viewer may be having. The best videos introduce the viewer’s problem almost immediately, getting them to think, “hey, that applies to me!”

2. Sound Design Matters

When crafting a promotional video for your practice, make sure that your music is top-notch. Studies have long shown that music and sound can make a big difference in influencing audience behaviors; the same is true for a promotional video. Make sure that the music is interesting and engaging, but don’t try to force it – having music that overpowers the voices in a video is a great way to make your viewers lose interest.

3. Think about Color

Just like music and sound, the colors you choose for your video can have a crucial impact in how your audience subconsciously perceives your practice and its message. Yellow, for example, tends to reflect warmth and optimism, while blue conveys trust, calmness, and strength.

Colors are deeply psychological and can subliminally influence buyer behavior and feelings toward your brand, so if you’re using any sort of motion graphics or animations in your video, pay attention to color. While you should always maintain brand consistency, choosing color carefully can have a powerful effect.

4. Make Sure Your Messaging Stays on Topic

Attention span doesn’t just matter at the beginning of your video. If your messaging ventures off-course, your potential patients may stop paying attention before you get your value proposition across.

It’s important to storyboard before creating a promotional video. If your goal is to get a singular message across about your medical expertise and the value of your ophthalmic practice, don’t dilute that message to draw your audience away from that value. Instead, stay on topic for the entirety of the video, focusing your entire messaging on that singular point.

5. Choose Authentic Footage, Not Stock

Whenever possible, shoot authentic footage of your practice or relevant medical footage. Potential patients can see kitschy stock video from a mile away, so try to avoid big stock companies whose libraries are filled with inauthentic corporate footage.

Patients want to see the real you – even if it feels uncomfortable to be on camera, authenticity wins every time. If you need good stock footage to serve as b-roll, try a quality licensing service like FilmSupply:

6. Real People Capture Attention

Finally, your promotional video should include people to make your brand relatable and not just an abstract concept. While explainer videos and animations are great, real people telling authentic stories capture a viewer’s attention like nothing else can (that’s why video is a more powerful communication medium than plain text, or even an image).

Incorporating real patients rather than just employees of your practice can help, too. Social proof has been proven to work because it allows your audience to learn about your value from someone neutral. Try to involve both your medical team, employees, and existing patients to make sure your audience understands that your ophthalmic practice is making an active difference by restoring sight.

Take the promotional video we made for Eye Center of New York, for example:

It Takes Investment

Creating a great promotional video isn’t easy, but it is worth it. By ensuring your practice promotional video contains these elements, you can take advantage of the many benefits that the video can bring you in today’s digital world. Approach it strategically, and keep the above elements in mind, and your chances of attracting new patients with the power of video will increase dramatically.

Want to grow your practice and engage more patients with a promotional video? Learn more about our Video Production services today.