They say one picture is worth a thousand words. However, recent research shows that one minute of video is worth 1.8 million words. With YouTube being the second most popular website worldwide after Google and with online video content expected to make more than 80% of all internet traffic by 2020, you could definitely say that video content is the next big thing.
More and more businesses are jumping on the bandwagon and making video marketing an essential ingredient of their marketing strategy.
Whether you’re already creating video content or you are about to use this new approach for your physical therapy clinic, here are a few things you should consider if you want to rank high on YouTube.
Recent reports show that searches related to “how to” videos have grown 70% year on year. YouTube has become a video version of Google through the lenses of user behavior. Consumers reach to YouTube when they look for services and products, whether if it’s for demos, inspiration, and educative/informative content. When they are about to make a purchase or book a service, nearly 50% of them look for a video first.
It's not hard to see by looking at the numbers that video content is one of the crucial tools of a modern marketing approach. If you understand its power, you can make your physical therapy clinic more relevant to potential patients and, even more, create an entire brand for it. A powerful brand could mean people are willing to pay more for the services of your clinic, compared to your competition, just because you offer credibility, through not only your expertise and achievements but also your notoriety.
Creating video content is not difficult. Whether you produce it in-house or you hire an agency or specialists to do it for you, at the end of the day, we talk about a series of videos you’d like not only to publish on YouTube but to make reachable and relevant. How does relevancy translate in YouTube? That’s by ranking high in the results page.
Here’s how to achieve that.
What’s the big fuss about YouTube SEO, you may ask yourself. How difficult can it be to find the appropriate keywords, title, and tags for your video content?
Well, if you get down to the nitty-gritty of it, you will soon find that the right keywords or a descriptive title can make or break your efforts. For instance, if your physical therapy clinic has a series of video content with informative or with an educative purpose, such as explaining the consequences of a sports injury or the benefits of potential treatments, you might be tempted to give them a generic name.
So, for example, one of the first title ideas that may come to mind could be the name of the said injury + solutions. A closer look to your analytics might show you that building your title and choosing keywords and tags can be a process inspired by numbers. It would be useful to check if you can integrate favorite search phrases or keywords like “how to” in both video title and description, along with tags. Use them as filters to make looking for your content faster, more comfortable, better than ever before.
One of the most critical performance indicators for YouTube is engagement. If you want to increase your chances of ranking high and improve your position in the results page, then try to look for ways you could persuade your audience to engage.
Video content on YouTube is not only for views and awareness. It can also be a mean of creating communities and an open discussion with your audience, based on the topics that interest them.
Don't make it about your PT clinic or your latest promotion with every video. Encourage your audience to ask questions, talk about the challenges they’ve faced during treatment, speak about their experiences or suggestions. By engaging them in conversations that speak to their neede, you get a higher chance of boosting your presence on YouTube.
Try to focus not only on what you as an expert in your niche have to say but what your audience needs to hear from you – answers, reassurance, clarity on some issues or practices. Don’t be afraid to challenge your audience and make them reach out to you. The more you encourage this behavior, the more their positive perception will grow. Comments, likes (or dislikes), subscribers, and so on can influence your final rank in every search.
Video consumption is one of the segments in which the audience is very selective. Consumers use YouTube as a search engine to look for solutions to their problems.
For instance, prospective patients might look for videos about back pain exercises they could do at home. Or, maybe a new mom is looking for an explanatory video to help her understand what is happening to her body. Regardless of the topic, one thing remains essential: the quality of your video should be par excellence.
Think about it for a second: would you watch a video with poor image or sound quality? We can guess the answer.
You can’t focus on the message or the essential information if the sound is barely audible even at maximum volume. The same stays true if you don’t have video subtitles and the narrator speaks too fast or if animations are blurred or pixelated.
Even if it seems common sense, first make sure that after you made all the effort of being found, people actually watch your video.
If potential patients open and then close your video repeatedly, no SEO optimization can save you. That's because YouTube understands from consumer interaction with your video content that, although you may be using the right keywords and tags, the content of your video isn't relevant or qualitative.
Exploited heavily by entertainment vloggers and video content creators, Thumbnails can be an eye-catchy way of signaling and differentiating your content. YouTube is an immense collection of video content, many with a similar title, tags, and keywords as yours.
How can you stand out among the clutter? A savvy and relevant thumbnail can persuade prospects to click on your video link instead of those of a competitor.
For instance, you could create a caption from the video itself, with an exciting line or graphic. Capture a relevant message for your audience and include a Call-to-Action captioned from the video itself to create suspense. The possibilities are endless, and you can play with them, finding, failing and learning what makes your audience tick.
If you want to get traction both from YouTube and other platforms, then make sure to embed your videos on your blog and website.
For instance, one smart way to use this practice is by including your video content in the dedicated section of your services or in the service page, where you can highlight the important aspects of it. Not only you help your audience understand what you bring to the table versus the competition, but you also help improve your YouTube ranking.
The digital space is a complex ecosystem. Different elements work and co-exist together, helping you spread the message about your practice. You can't focus on one and ignore the other and still hope that you'll win at this game. You can't optimize your content, for instance, without considering social media as it is a big part of SEO. As such, you can't boost your YouTube ranking without optimizing your videos or getting social.
So, make it a habit o sharing your videos on your social media pages. Follow or create groups related to your niche and share the content there as well. That's an excellent way to get the conversation going and draw viewers to your other video.
The success of any marketing strategy relies on your ability to identify patterns, errors, and opportunities. The same stays true for YouTube content. You need to and analyze the impact of your video content, optimize it based on the data you collected from your Analytics, and tweak your strategy accordingly. It's a trial and error process, and it will take you a while to figure out what works for you and your audience, but the result is well worth it.
One of the most important metrics you should keep an eye on is the watch time report. It can tell you a lot about how your content is performing and what you need to change.
Don't expect to find a magic formula that will get you views and engagement every time. YouTube is like a living organism that changes its algorithm based on user behavior and preferences. What worked today might not work tomorrow. So, you need to be on your toes all the time, test, improve and adapt on the go.
Video content is both a challenge and an opportunity for physical therapy clinics. Speaking to your audience has never been easier and faster. But how do you get your potential patients to notice you?
There’s a lot that goes into creating quality video content, from a good understanding of your audience to having the right tools and resources.
What you need to remember is that YouTube is a journey. Best practices are great, but why not create them instead of following them?
If you are at the beginning of this beautiful journey and are feeling a bit overwhelmed by what's ahead of you, then let's have a chat. Contact the experts at PatientSites.com, and we'll help you get the most of your efforts on YouTube.
Do you want to take your physical therapy marketing to the next level? Download our Free Evergreen Marketing Blueprint for Physical Therapists and start creating long-term assets that generate new patient bookings for years to come.