When you’re working on a fun video to post to your dental practice’s Facebook page, your team might stop and ask “Wait, how again is this going to help us grow the practice?” Here are some real, tangible ways it will!
It’s fine to admit it: sometimes it’s hard to explain to your coworkers or practice management exactly how posting a lip-sync video or team member interview will bring in new patients or boost retention. If you work with people who don’t already have that deep-rooted understanding of the value of social media, it can be difficult to get them to participate in anything even slightly out of the ordinary.
However, you’ve still got some rock-solid reasons you can bring up when talking about why your dental practice should get into creating social video. And these reasons have been wonderfully illustrated recently by our good friends and clients at Patricia A. London, DDS, who recently had one of their videos get 40 MILLION views and worldwide coverage!
Let’s break down a few of the ways their video contributed to their practice growth in substantial, measurable ways.
- A Viral Video is Worth Thousands of Dollars in Equivalent Ad Reach
A key concept in online advertising is the cost per thousand, often abbreviated as CPM (the “M” represents the Roman numeral for 1000). CPM is a term used to denote the price of 1,000 advertisement impressions on one page. For example, if a website publisher charges $2.00 CPM, that means an advertiser must pay $2.00 for every 1,000 people to whom the ad is displayed.
Researchers tracking the cost of advertising on various sites have estimated that the CPM on Facebook was around $11.17 in 2017. So, in the case of Patricia A. London’s video that reached around 40 million people, an ad would need approximately $446,800 to be seen by a similar size audience through paid reach!
- Engaging Videos Give You Top-of-Mind Awareness With Current and Potential Patients
A fun, shareable video from your practice can put your name and team in front of hundreds of thousands of people, including your current patients and ideal potential patients in your community. Video content is especially effective at helping people get to know you personally — and people like to do business with people they know.
Plus, creating short, simple videos with your team is just fun! It’s a great way to strengthen unity and practice culture.
- High-Quality Video Content Creates Additional Opportunities to Reach More People
News media and other outlets are constantly monitoring social media for viral content they can feature — especially videos. Many of our clients’ video posts have been picked up by local news, dental blogs, and in the case of Patricia A. London, DDS, even Steve Harvey!
One of the most powerful elements of viral videos is that they continue to circulate and recirculate online, often for weeks. Unlike traditional mass advertising, viral videos gain momentum as they are shared by people within their trusted social networks. And when patients share your content with family and friends, they introduce your practice to the people most likely to become new patients.
About the Author
Jackson Hadley is a marketing strategist with My Social Practice, which provides a complete social media marketing solution for dental, orthodontic and optometric practices. A public relations specialist, Jackson combines the advertising and trust-building aspects of social media to help businesses connect authentically with their communities.
