Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor

DC Tech Talk: Online Video for Your Practice

By Stephane Laverdiere   

Features Business Technology

ComScore, a company that provides digital analytic information, recently
revealed that the popular social network YouTube has reached 144
million viewers. In total, Internet viewers are averaging more than 14
billion videos viewed per month.

ComScore, a company that provides digital analytic information, recently revealed that the popular social network YouTube has reached 144 million viewers. In total, Internet viewers are averaging more than 14 billion videos viewed per month.

Google continues to surpass others in terms of online video viewing, with a 43 per cent market share. (YouTube accounts for 99 per cent of that.) Fox Interactive Media accounts for 3.7 per cent, Yahoo! sites, 2.5 per cent and Viacom Digital, 1.9 per cent. As you can see, these are trailing behind by a wide margin.

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We can thank shows like Survivor, the pioneers of reality TV, that fuelled the desire for millions of viewers to post their life stories on the Internet. These life stories are now mainstream entertainment. The most recent statistics are from May 2010 – 144 million U.S. Internet users have watched an average of 101 videos per person in their lifetime.

ARE WE HOOKED ON VIDEOS?
People are turning to the Internet – to YouTube, MySpace and other services – as their source of evening entertainment. We’re going to see a big shift from watching conventional television over the next 10 years to watching on the web, with this new generation being born and raised on the Internet.

Web video will not be taking over TV anytime soon, but it has caught the attention of big media giants like NBC, News Corp, CBS and Viacom. At a 50+ per cent growth over the last year, as announced by Neilson in May 2009, this is not something you can ignore. With YouTube firmly entrenched, and Hulu’s premium content allowing viewers to watch their favorite TV shows at any time, it’s safe to assume that online video will continue to grow at a rapid pace. Don’t forget to couple this with a young generation that is more tech savvy.

HOW CAN A DC BENEFIT FROM VIDEO TECHNOLOGY?
There are a number of ways to benefit from video technology and let’s start with YouTube – it’s a must these days. To increase the exposure of your office, you need to set up a YouTube channel and post videos of who you are and what you offer as a chiropractor. Potential patients will not only “Google” for a chiropractor in their area (we talked about SEO in my last instalment of DC Tech Talk), but also will often go to YouTube and search for chiropractor “the name of your town or area.” If you don’t have any videos posted, you can lose out, big time.

Buy yourself a good camera and, most importantly, make sure the sound is good. There is nothing worse than YouTube videos with bad sound, especially if you’re trying to sell your product or service to the public.

WHAT TO AIR
Creating multiple videos with up-to-date content that is relevant to the viewer will be your biggest challenge. An office tour explaining what you do in your office, and how you have seen chiropractic help your patients is the best place to start. Be creative. Direct your patients to your YouTube channel – have them join and comment on your videos. The more views you achieve, the higher your ranking in a search – this results in the most exposure.

Do you feel you are not the “video type” of chiropractor, and you don’t know if you belong in this new generation? There are other ways to send video, and video content. You can subscribe to one of multiple services that are available for this, and send prerecorded videos on various topics. You can start by sending them to members of your practice and use your existing patient base to generate a tremendous amount of publicity, not to mention internal referrals.

WHAT MOST CHIROPRACTORS DO NOT KNOW!

  1. Collecting e-mail accounts is a big business and should be an office policy in all chiropractic offices. Once you have patients’ e-mails, you can set them up on a regular e-mail campaign, sending them videos on a regular basis. (Just a note though: Bill-C28, legislation requiring inclusion by consent on all e-mail lists, will come into effect, in Canada, as of Septemer 2011. I will be discussing this in greater detail in a future instalment of DC Tech Talk.)
  2. Do you have your patients watching videos on headaches, asthma, chiropractic and children, and many more topics inside your practice? They might see something in your office, but think of the convenience if they have a video in the inbox they can watch over and over again, and even send to friends and family.
  3. Chiropractic software comes in all shapes and sizes to fit just about every practice need. The companies that shine are the ones that not only have great patient management systems, but also have superior marketing tools for your practice. This includes video technology and is one of the reasons why YouTube is so popular.

WHY ARE THESE POINTS IMPORTANT?
A complete patient management system, along with a video e-mail marketing system, can revolutionize your practice. Educating patients in the office is one thing, but reaching them outside office hours, in their own homes, is totally new for most chiropractors.

However, doctors have expressed the success they are experiencing with this type of advertising. Patients are not only viewing the videos, but also sending them to friends and family. Patients are far more likely to forward a video on headaches to someone than they are to distribute a brochure. Furthermore, that forwarded message will contain your contact information, including phone number, hours of operation, your website and, most importantly, your e-mail address.

This is pure genius marketing! It is coming from your patient and goes to someone else, but it has your clinic all over the e-mail. It’s also a great way to reactivate old patient files.

Get busy and start collecting e-mail addresses, and then make the most of this video phenomenon. The doctors of the future will own the video and e-mail waves in their town.

There are services you can subscribe to that have e-mail systems with video. Take the next step and get involved in the new generation with video e-mail technology.


Dr. Stephane Laverdiere is a 1995 graduate of the National University of Health Sciences in Lombard, Illinois.  He is president and co-founder of Atlas Chiropractic Systems, a paperless office solution.  He is also founder of the Internet video marketing company, ChiroVMail. He can be contacted at 877-602-8527 or slaverdiere@atlaschirosys.com.  Please  visit www.atlaschirosys.com and www.chiroVMail.com for more information on digital solutions for your practice.


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