YouTube Best Practices
In past blogs, you have heard us discuss just how important video is for your increasing your brand’s visibility on networks like Facebook and Instagram, but you may be asking yourself, “Hey, what about YouTube?” You didn’t think we’d leave out the video posting and sharing giant, did you? Let’s dive into some YouTube strategy in today’s blog!
There are a few things we love about YouTube: it’s popular, it’s versatile, it has Google’s name on it, and it’s effective! Maintaining a lively YouTube channel can help your practice visually tell your story and put you in front of a wide audience. Just how wide? Well, it has over a billion users (that’s about 6-in-10 of all internet users)! YouTube is a great social media network for you to work with, so where should you start?
Shoot Some Video! - Yep, you’re gonna need some video first and foremost. Here are a few ideas of what sorts of video content that we’ve seen work well for our members:
- Patient Testimonials: If a patient has had a great experience, ask them to tell the camera all about it for a few seconds.
- New Technology/New Service: Did you get a brand new awesome machine in the office? Are you providing a great new beneficial service for your patients? Encourage your staff to talk about it and maybe even demonstrate how it works!
- Office Tour: This can come in handy for those who haven’t been in the office yet, as it gives them an idea of what to expect and a feeling of the office environment. It doesn’t have to feel stale or forced - you could have fun with it!
- Staff Spotlight: This can really help bridge the gap between the practice and the patients. One of the biggest unknowns for prospective new patients is a very important factor: your personality! Video can show how warm, welcoming, and approachable your office is.
- How-To/Educational: While blogs are an awesome source of information for your patients and potential new patients, having the doctor or staff explain various treatments or offer great advice for care with video really takes your outreach to a new level!
Tag Me In! - Make sure the title of the video is relevant to the content as well as your practice. For instance, Dr. Sam Sesame Explains Proper Brushing, ties in information from the practice as well as captures the substance of the content. The same rules apply for the description and tags for your video, too. Filling your description with rich, descriptive content gives both viewers and Google what they need to find your videos as helpful and relevant as possible!
Organize Your Page - It’s easy to get caught up posting a lot of videos, because it can be a whole lot of fun once you get in the swing of things. But, don’t forget that having nice and neat organization on your page is refreshing and helpful for viewers! For instance, if you collect a handful of testimonials, consider organizing them together on your page into something like a Playlist. YouTube will be able to walk you through it! You can also set a video to appear on the homepage of your YouTube channel (maybe something like a welcome video, or maybe even a seasonal greeting video?) Of course, you can always give the Sesame Social Team a call, and we can help, too.
Just the Beginning - Make sure to consider the thumbnail that appears when your video isn’t playing. Didn’t think you could change that thumbnail? Well, you totally can! Studies have shown that a proper thumbnail to go with the video will increase the number of clicks that video could get.
Create Playlists - We touched on this just above, but seriously; Playlists are awesome.They are a great way to keep your viewers engaged with your content, as each video in the playlist will play automatically following the end of the previous video.
Clear Video Content Strategy - While any video will help to boost interaction with your brand, if you think about the content strategy of the videos you are wanting to show, this will increase the likelihood of people subscribing and returning to your channel. Some good ideas for content themes that we have seen revolve around keeping videos lighthearted and even funny as well as community-driven and focused.
Pay to Play - If you have a video that you want to reach to even further audiences, you are able to pay to promote your videos on YouTube. Here is a helpful resource if you’d like to experiment with that option!
Give Us a Call! - Another really cool feature on YouTube is the ability to add a call to action on your video. This can be anything from a card on the video to give more information, to a direct link to your website. Be sure to include brand specific calls to action with the video to maximize your CTA effort!
The People’s Champ - For those offices that love to engage with their patients on Facebook, don’t forget to engage with your YouTube followers! If your videos receive comments, make sure to engage with the people who are interacting with your brand by answering questions, saying thanks, or just general conversation.
We think these tips are a great place to start for jumpstarting your YouTube channel! If you have any questions or need some help getting started, make sure to check out OUR YouTube channel for some helpful advice. As always, never hesitate to reach out to the Sesame Social Team with any questions or if you’re in need of a helpful hand!
-The Sesame Social Team