Why Your Doctors Need to be on Camera

As a healthcare marketer, you want patients to have access to the best, most reliable and scientifically-based healthcare information out there. More and more, patients are turning toward video for their answers. For starters, more than 500 million hours of video are watched on YouTube each day.

If you’re thinking about putting your doctors on camera, here’s how to do it:

Find Hollywood Doctors

Not all your doctors want to be on camera. And that’s OK. Your goal is to find the doctors who love being in the spotlight. The ones who want the extra attention. The ones who get a rush when the local TV crew wants to do a story on their latest technique or procedure.

These are the doctors who will be excited to be part of your video marketing project. They’ll be happy to be on camera. They’ll want to make time for you. They’re naturals.

Skip the naysayers and head straight toward Tinseltown.

Showcase Humanity

Don’t zoom in on your doctor and produce a three-minute “talking head” video. So boring. Instead, showcase what brings your doctor to life. Take a cue from this video by Hackensack Meridian Health, which highlights a doctor’s favorite part of the day. Get ready: it’s heartwarming.

Be Efficient

Now that you’ve got a roster of doctors who want to be on camera, you still need to be efficient with their time. One way to do this is to go over the questions you’ll ask before you start filming. This isn’t meant to be a “gotcha” interview. The more prep work you do beforehand —scouting the location, knowing your “shots,” reviewing questions and understanding your story arc — you’ll make the whole production go smoother.

Small Budget? No Problem

You’ve got Hollywood doctors, but you don’t need a Michael Bay budget. In fact, you could hire college students from your city’s local film school or college to do video production. If that option isn’t available, don’t fret. iMovie, anybody?

Promote the Video

Don’t just do a video “to do a video.” Make sure whatever video you’re doing serves some kind of purpose. You can tie it into a specific service line or promote it during a national health month. The video can be repurposed for multiple outlets: your intranet, email campaign, website and social media. Speaking of social media…

Facebook Loves Videos

On Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital Facebook page, there’s a special focus on showcasing doctors. In this video, the marketing team takes an inside look at the cardiac catheterization lab with Dr. Stapleton, co-director of the Johns Hopkins All Children’s Heart Institute. The video has nabbed more than 100 shares and has been viewed more than 17,000 times.