Smile, You’re on Camera! By on August 22, 2013

"The steady increase in my video traffic has been great. Patients come in feeling as though they already know me."

A personality as warm and friendly as that of Dr. Kellyn Hodges is difficult to suppress. That said, it can also be difficult to express, at least in words alone. When those words are contained in the copy of a website, their power is further compromised by the fact that many users will quickly scan rather than carefully absorb them.

Fortunately, by adding well-produced, high-quality dental videos to her website, she was able to provide users with not only a more complete portrait of herself, but also greater motivation to contact her orthodontics practice.

Video has become a powerful, even integral part of a comprehensive online marketing strategy, but don't take our word(s) for it. Take a look at the examples of the videos produced for Dr. Hodges accompanying this story, and we think you'll find that the success of the results is evident in the quality of the solution.

Invodo (2013)¹

The Challenge: Convey the Personality of a Doctor Who Truly Cares

Orthodontist Kellyn Hodges loves her patients. Those aren't the words of a writer or a marketer - they're the words of Dr. Hodges, herself. Undoubtedly, they're strong words, but let's face it: there's a world of difference between reading that someone "loves" something and seeing and hearing it as it comes out of a person's mouth. This is especially true in the age of social media and blogging, when love routinely gets professed for everything from hamburgers to handbags.

When Dr. Hodges says that she loves her patients, however, she infuses the sentiment with a sincerity and sense of commitment that are impossible to capture in mere words. In her case, there are many elements of her philosophy that distinguish her and her practice, including:

A deep understanding of the relationship between orthodontia and facial beauty
A belief that orthodontic treatment can have a profound effect on a person's self-confidence and self-esteem
Sensitivity to the economic climate and the need to make orthodontic therapy as affordable as possible to as many people as possible
The knowledge that she and her team have the power to dramatically improve the quality of life of her patients through orthodontics

While many of these concepts were accounted for in the copy of her website, some of the passion of Dr. Hodges' convictions was lost in the translation. The challenge before us, then, was to find a way to capture her personality and relate it to an audience as accurately, concisely, and compellingly as possible.

The Solution: If a Single Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words, Then Video Is Worth…

"Words mean more than what is set down on paper," Maya Angelou wrote in her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. "It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning."

In the 45 years since Ms. Angelou committed those words to paper, the technology used to transmit the human voice - not to mention non-verbal elements of communication such as body language and facial expressions - has come an astronomically long way. Even since the launch of YouTube, Internet video has gone from being a novelty - "look at that cat playing the keyboards!" - to a fundamental part of the consumer experience. When prospective patients go to the website of a medical practice, they are no longer surprised to encounter video - most of them expect it.

By including video on her website, Dr. Hodges was able not only to express her personality and philosophy in an engaging, captivating manner, but she was also able to:

Acclimate prospective patients to her practice - Before setting foot in her physical office, potential patients have the opportunity to meet Dr. Hodges and her team, see and hear them talk, become familiar with the office in which they work, and get a taste of a typical patient experience through testimonials. This encourages conversion by helping to remove the fear of the unknown from walking into an office for the first time.
Provide an alternative source of education - One of the most important functions of Dr. Hodges' website is to educate patients about various orthodontic procedures. These educational videos not only complement the written content of her website, but also allow her to reach the audience of users who are more likely to watch videos than to read text.
Bolster her reputation as a trustworthy, skilled professional - In each of her videos, Dr. Hodges presents herself as a confident, knowledgeable, highly articulate expert on orthodontics. This helps to promote trust on the part of prospective patients, which in turn promotes conversion.
Signals to the search engines that her website is a comprehensive information resource - Google and other search engines want to produce results that provide the most comprehensive, relevant, and beneficial user experience for any given search term. The presence of relevant videos communicates to the search engines that this website will provide a robust, worthwhile user experience.

Of course, adding video content to a website is not necessarily an effective solution in and of itself. Grainy, poorly lit and edited "homemade" videos can work against a website, undermining the professionalism that a practice is trying to project and coming across as amateurish. When Dr. Hodges purchased the Gold Video Package from Einstein Medical, we were able to provide her with video that:

Was professionally produced, directed, and edited
Was shot and integrated into her website in high-definition
Included a web story narrated by an experienced anchor
Compatible with a variety of browsers
Fully optimized for the search engines

Ultimately, the goal of adding video to a website should be to enhance the user experience and inspire the sort of confidence that is essential to converting prospective patients into actual patients.

The Result: A Richer, More Compelling Experience for Visitors

The overarching purpose of any medical website is to serve as a conduit between prospective patients who are looking for services and the trusted professionals who provide those services. Well-written, easy-to-read content helps to enable these connections and is absolutely essential to the success of a website. Professionally produced video clips, however, add a powerful human element to whatever message the website is trying to convey, associating a face, a voice, and genuine emotion with that message.

Cisco (2012)²

Fortunately for Dr. Hodges, she has been prepared for the steady increase in video traffic since launching her video website in 2011. "The results have been impressive," she says. "Patients come in feeling as though they already know me, which they do in a way. The videos do a great job of letting me express my message in my voice. It really makes a difference in the comfort level of my new patients, and it has allowed me to reach out to an audience that I might not have been able to reach before."

"[video] has allowed me to reach out to an audience that I might not have been able to reach before."

- Dr. Kellyn Hodges, HodgesOrtho.com

¹"Video Statistics: The Marketer’s Summary." Invodo. 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2013-08-12.
²"Cisco Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Methodology." Cisco. 2013-05-29. Retrieved 2013-08-16.

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