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Step 1: Develop a Script
Step 2: Select a Videographer
Step 3: Capture the Video
Step 4: Edit and Upload
Why Make an iHealth Video?
- Market to New Insured Patients: Providing video on your iHealth web site is essential to growing your practice and attracting new patients. Viewing a video gives consumers a sense of what your practice has to offer, and a video in your own words is a superior marketing tool than just text. Research shows that when selecting a physician, consumers often make a decision in a matter of seconds - video can help to add meaningful content and context to your site.
- Educate and Retain Established Patients: 85% of consumers want their doctors to have an online presence. With this easy and powerful service you can educate your patients about your practice, treatment methodologies, follow-up care, etc. It can also be used to explain how patients should use other online services that drive practice revenue and practice efficiency.
What Makes Good Video?
- Make sure the video fits your personality.
- A good video is one that gets keeps the patient's interest. It is typically short - no more than 30-90 seconds - and projects the philosophy and atmosphere of your practice and services.
- Patients love knowing a little about who you are, what is special about your practice, and what they can expect in a visit. Introduce your staff, show footage of your office, or provide a demonstration of your specialty procedures.
- Instructional videos that cover how you communicate regarding certain conditions, pre/post procedures, or treatments can also be very effective to both the practice and your patients.
- About me (or my group)
- About my practice
- What to expect when patients visit
- Other unique aspects of my practice
Step 2: Select a Videographer Again, your video does not have to be professionally produced. You will want to check local resources, friends, family and local videographers to get a sense of the cost. In general you can complete a low cost video for about $500 (depending on the maket) or you could spend up to $1500. More expensive does not always mean better, and many factors can affect cost including equipment. On average, costs range from $200-1,000+ depending on time, location, quality and availability of video resources.
- Least Expensive: around $200-500
Most affordable, quick, do it yourself (DIY). If you already have a practice video, you are ready to go. To create a new one and keep the budget low, find a family member of friend with a digital video camera, or even a wedding videographer off-season. Expect to complete only a few takes and recognize that not all minor mistakes can be corrected. The video will allow for less footage of you, the office and staff, and limited time with the camera crew and editing. - Mid-range $500-1000
Affordable, higher quality, professional support, offers more editing and flexibility. Expect the opportunity for additional takes and the ability to eliminate most minor mistakes. Some "B-roll footage" (footage of the lobby, exam room, staff interaction) can be collected to provide more engaging visuals for your video. - High-end Videographer: $1500+
Most expensive, highest quality, professional start-to-finish. A professional videographer experienced in corporate video production will typically require 1/2-full day of video scheduling, allowing for several "takes" and 1/2 day of editing that can remove almost all minor errors. Expect professional quality graphics and editing, as well as the potential services of a separate camera person and a sound person.
To keep things affordable, check with family members and friends who may be amateur videographers. You can even record yourself if you have digital video equipment. For professional services, there are many online resources available that can be found on major search engines. Here are 3 resources you may choose to review:
- www.videographer.com
- www.crewconnection.com
- www.craigslist.com (check in the "services" category)
Step 3: Capture the Video When the date for your scheduled taping arrives, the videographer can help you select the best setting(s). More than one setting (ie. front office, exam room) will add to the time and cost, but make the video more valuable for your patients.
- In general, an office setting - in the exam room, in front of diplomas, awards or office equipment - presents a professional image. Remember to film in a location that has visual appeal for the viewer. For example videos with different locations, click here.
- Good lighting and well-controlled sound are critical to creating professional video. Minimize background noise by turning off phones and loud machinery during recording. Outside noise can often be picked up by sensitive camera microphones and elimination may require additional takes.
- A general welcome message should be edited to about 60-90 seconds. Often this involves several minutes of taping and editing. Instructional videos for your patients can be longer and you will want to balance the amount of material with length, and any technical presentation.
- For an instructional video, it is best for you to presume you are explaining to a single patient as you would in an exam room. Remember that a video that is 2-4 minutes in length is more likely to be viewed in its entirety than one that is more than 5 minutes long. For video examples, click here.
- What to wear: Wear comfortable clothing that projects a positive, professional image to your patients. Solid-color shirts and ties work best, white patterns and black can create color-balance challenges for cameras. Remove clutter from the background, pens from your shirt pocket, and any badges or reflective jewelry. If you wear glasses regularly, wear them during recording, but do not wear sunglasses or shaded glasses Of course, turn off cell phones and always feel free to ask the cameraman how you look.
- Makeup: Although not mandatory, makeup can help reduce camera-glare and reflection.
- Where to look: If you are recording a welcome or instructional video, look directly into the camera lens. You can also consider creating an interview-type video, in which case you can position someone next to the camera to ask you the questions from your script. While their questions will be edited out, your professional responses will give the video a somewhat formal, professional tone.
- What to say:* Be yourself. Relax and speak clearly. Imagine you are talking to a patient or a friend. Standard conversational speech is best, but try not to speak too quickly or too slowly. When people slow their pace unnaturally they can often lose some of the animation and excitement that makes a video interesting. Speaking too quickly makes it difficult for the audience to focus on what you are saying. Normal conversational speech. Always enunciate and speak clearly. Rehearse to refine a pace that is both informative and engaging.
- How to say it: Throw away the Script. That's right - you developed it as an aid and now you can toss it. If helpful, have an assistant provide cue cards to refresh your memory for each section, but in general the final video will look much better if you improvise the answers that should already be well-rehearsed. Overall, try to have fun, and imagine yourself as engaging and animated. People like to watch others who seem to really enjoy what they are talking bout.
*Technical note: while recording, after the camera begins recording pause for a few seconds before providing your answers.
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Edit: If you choose to video yourself, many computers (both PC and Mac) include basic video editing software. Otherwise, a videographer will handle your post-production editing needs. Expect to pay no more than one hour of editing for a welcome tape and two hours for a longer instructional tape, and always negotiate this fixed price or hourly price in advance.
Upload to Your Site: Once edited, you can share your video with all of your current and future patients via your iHealth practice site!
- Create your video
- Upload it to YouTube
- Create a custom viewer
- Paste a link in the appropriate section of your site pages
For assistance with the upload process at no additional charge, please contact us at info@medem.com or call iHealth Client Services at 1-877-926-3336 between 7am-5pm PT.
The process for uploading video to your web site is very simple:
For additional suggestions on creating and editing video, visit: Technical Support
For questions about iHealth Video, please contact us at info@medem.com or call 1-877-926-3336 between 7am-5pm PT.