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Video is arguably the fastest-growing marketing trend. According to HubSpot, more than 50% of customers prefer to see video over other forms of content, video can increase landing page conversions by up to 80%, and the word “video” in email subject lines results in an almost 20% increase in open rates.  And with video expected to account for 80% of all internet traffic in 2019, both B2B and B2C marketers will need to make video a major part of their content strategy.

“Any good marketer knows that video is highly consumable,” said Steve Berry, vice president of marketing at Welldoc, a digital health company headquartered in Columbia. “It’s how people share ideas and communicate and is used across all age groups. Video is not the be-all and end-all, but it should be an important part of your marketing strategy and often is the bulk of your content spend.”

To that end, Welldoc has employed video to promote its main product, BlueStar, a mobile app which helps people with Type 2 diabetes better self-manage their condition. With its marketing focus for the product shifting from B2C to B2B (insurance companies, self-insured employers), the company wanted to showcase not only the user experience but also the thought leadership and clinical results behind the product. First, Berry and his team created an explainer video, roughly 3 minutes in length, to demonstrate the product’s different features and show the value proposition as well as the user experience. This video became an integral element of the sales process, often included in sales presentations in addition to being featured on the company’s blog and YouTube channel. “It helps fill the top of the sales funnel,” Berry said. He noted that reaction from prospects has been positive.

Realizing the power of video to generate interest and sales leads, Berry’s team also created videos featuring patient testimonials and showcasing Welldoc’s clinical and digital thought leaders. Berry explained that Welldoc conducted a randomized controlled clinical trial to evaluate the success of BlueStar in lowering users’ blood sugar levels, not often done with digital health products, and the results showed significant improvement. Said Berry, “It was important to show these differentiators, explain about the company and get our thought leaders more exposure.”

Measuring ROI

Since potential customers are viewing videos in the early stages of the buyer’s journey, Berry admitted that measuring and demonstrating the return on investment can be challenging. Welldoc uses Google Analytics to measure impressions on each of its video pages and both the number of views and average length of time viewed (i.e. are people watching the entire video or are they stopping in the middle). The company also tracks conversions – when viewers fill out a contact form or click through to another page – and how long viewers stay on the Welldoc website after they finish viewing. Berry noted that most of the promotion of the videos is done through social media, so they measure engagement as well as click-throughs.

Getting Started

For healthcare (or any) organizations looking to integrate video into their marketing strategy, Berry offered the following words of wisdom:

• Focus on the first 15-20 seconds. The beginning is crucial to grabbing customers’ attention, so the content needs to be relevant, compelling and digestible. To improve the odds that a customer will watch the entire video, keep the length to under 3 minutes.
• Identify one or two key messages to convey in each video. You want the content to have an impact.
• Get feedback from people not close to your business, to ensure that people understand the content and message. With technical content, “sometimes you can talk above people’s heads,” Berry noted.
• Reuse and repurpose. “If you film for 10-minutes and create a 3-minute video, you can still use the rest,” Berry pointed out.  “Creating videos gives you an endless supply of content that you can share in other forms and channels.”

For more insight on video marketing trends, see this recent article from the American Marketing Association.

Image provided by Welldoc.