In a world flooded with health and wellness “experts” on Instagram and Facebook, you have a lot to offer as a real qualified professional. But, the problem is no one knows about you.
Your health and wellness business can’t thrive without a strong online presence (thanks Internet and Covid). You need a golden ticket in your online marketing strategy and that ticket is…
Video. According to Wzyowl, people watch approximately 18 hours of online video per week on average.
This post overviews why video will help your health and wellness marketing, how to use video, and how to make a quality video without selling your organs to cover expenses.
Why You Should Invest in Video Marketing
Check Out the Video Marketing Statistics
If you have a website and a social media account, you might think, “why do I need a video? I’m online; I’m visual”. You’re not wrong.
But, there are multiple reasons to use video in your marketing strategy, and even more compelling video marketing statistics. Biteable produced a state of video marketing in 2021 report with just about every statistic you could hope for on this topic.
These were two that stood out to me:
- “60% of businesses use video as a marketing tool.” There are times where you don’t want to jump on the band wagon. But, there are other times where people might be on to something. In this case, that 60% is on to something. And this percentage is only going to increase in the future, so make sure you’re part of that growing number.
- “74% of marketers reported that video gave a better return on investment than static imagery.” Although your Instagram feed is great, video can improve your return. Which means more conversions and more clients (and more money) for your health and wellness business.
Video Has a Wide(er) Reach
We live in a time of online content creation. Platforms like WordPress, Facebook, Instagram have given everyone (with Internet access) a platform.
Youtube has been fundamental in driving online video marketing. Upload your video to Youtube, share the link or embed your video, and BAM! Video is everywhere. It’s that simple.
Videos now live on websites, landing pages, and social media feeds. You might even see a video in an email marketing campaign. Try opening a few webpages or your social media. I bet you’ll see a video within 10 seconds.
What started as a platform for cat videos and funny skits has become the second most-visited site. If that’s not a glow up, I don’t know what is.
And because video is just about everywhere, they get a lot of eyes. When people see something they like online, what do they do? They share it.
According to Wyzowl, people are twice as likely to share video content than social media posts, blog posts or articles, product pages, and similar content.
So, not only are videos more likely to reach people, but they are more likely to be shared too. The case for video marketing is growing strong.
Videos Are Engaging
Give me a choice between reading a blog post or watching a video, I’ll choose video (in most cases).
YouTube didn’t become the second-most visited website by accident.
The TLDR is that video marketing is effective. It’s becoming an integral part of marketing strategy because it has a wide reach and it’s appealing. If you’re on board with video marketing, but you don’t know how to get started, this next section is for you.
How to Use Video in Your Health and Wellness Marketing
Not all videos are created equal. Nor will all videos give you the same return for your health and wellness business. Here are some staple videos you should use at any stage of your business.
Types of Videos (and when to use them)
1. Explainer Videos
Use these videos to sell your product or service. Explainer videos follow the classic “problem-solution” format, so they draw a clear, logical connection between a problem your audience has and their solution (you). A great explainer video script will highlight the benefits you offer to drive home the point that you are the ideal solution. Remember Dollar Shave Club’s viral explainer video? You want something like that.
Great explainer video scripts connect the dots between your product/solution and your target audience’s success. It also positions them as the hero of their own story, and let’s face it. Who can resist being the hero?
Check out my comprehensive guide on how to write a video script so you can have great explainer videos too.
The best places for explainer videos are on landing pages or your website, and share them on social media platforms like Facebook and IG for more exposure.
2. How To Videos
A “how-to” video is informative and the goal is teach someone how to do something in detail. This signals to your target audience that aren’t only after their money. You care about their success after they’ve opened their wallet.
This builds brand awareness for people who aren’t familiar with your brand, gives you more credibility as an expert (because you’re teaching), and helps your current clients or customers trust you more. All of these things are key in growing and maintaining a thriving business.
YouTube has become the “go-to” for “how-to”, so host these videos on Youtube and then embed them into your service or product page, or even a blog post.
Read my post about how to write a youtube script here.
3. Testimonials
Testimonials on your website make us (your potential client/customer) feel comfortable using your service. A teacher of mine in university used to warn us about being “customer number 1”. You want to know that other people tried and succeeded in using your product or service.
And a video testimonial takes it one step further because we can see a real live person and hear the authenticity of their words. Plus, a viewer is likely to think, “if your product or service is good enough for this person, it must be good enough for me too.”
That’s powerful.
Put your testimonial videos front and center on your website’s homepage and service page. Put them anywhere you plan to sell. Then share them through social media platforms too to increase your brand awareness.
4. Vlogs
You’re probably creating content for your blog. Turn that content into a vlog (working smarter not harder 😏). Not only are you getting more milage out of your content, you’re also increasing on page time.
Wistia looked at their analytics from 2013-2016 and found on page time was 2.6 times higher for pages with video. Basically people spent more time on these pages and posts compared to video-less pages.
In a world where everyone is trying to rank their website high in Google searches, on page time can impact your rankings (in a good way).
Sharing is Caring…So Share your Videos
You can make a brilliant video…
but if no one sees it, you might as well throw that brilliance away. Promoting your video content is crucial to a successful video marketing strategy. That means being where your target audience is.
If they use Facebook, be there. Instagram? Be there. Linkedin? Be there too. And make it easy for them to share your content too.
All of this sounds great, but you might be thinking, “can I afford to make a video?”
Making a Video That Doesn’t Cost a (Small) Fortune
You don’t need the budget of a feature-length film. On the low end of the budget scale, you can make a video for $300 or less. You do trade time for cost though. And on the other end, companies spend upward of $50,000 on a video. A modest budget would be around $500-1000 for a 60-second video.
It is possible to make a video without bleeding your bank dry if get clear on your:
- Purpose
- Expectations
- Where you need to invest your efforts/financial resources
Know Why You’re Making a Video
Not knowing the goal of your video is the one of the biggest mistakes your health and wellness video can make. The fastest way to waste money is to go into video production without knowing what you’re doing and why.
The purpose of your video drives everything from planning to promotion, so know why you’re making this video. Not every video style is suitable for all video types; for example, don’t use animation for a testimonial video because the point of a testimonial is to show a living person trusted your business enough to pay for it.
An animated video could be appropriate for an explainer video or even a how-to video (like onboarding videos) though.
Manage Your Expectations
This one is important. Be realistic about time, cost and results.
Video production takes time. If you’re doing your scripting and video production by yourself, give yourself more time than you think you need.
I spend a minimum of 7 hours making a first draft of a 1-minute Vyond animated video. Editing live footage takes at least an hour per minute depending on what I need to do.
That’s just production and editing; you have to factor in research and scripting too.
Regarding costs, you can keep them low, but don’t skim on quality for price. No matter how much you save, you lose more when you compromise on quality. Dollar Shave Club made their viral explainer video for around $4500, which is a bargain compared to how much they got in return.
Your budget and expectations on the final product need to be proportional. Don’t expect to get a custom animation video with a $300 budget.
Know What You Need to Invest Time and Money Into
When people think video, their first instinct is to look for a video production agency. Then, they see the starting price of $1000/minute and abandon all hope.
You don’t need to spend a small fortune to get a powerful video. If you’re going the DIY route, you can make a great live-footage video with your cellphone, a tripod, three lights and a USB or lapel microphone. Learn some basic editing skill sin iMovie or Premiere Pro and you’re good to go.
If you want an animated video, look at tools like Vyond Studio or Powtoon. Subscriptions are around $700 a year or less.
The DIY route is time consuming and at some point, you’ll want to outsource your video production so you can focus on the rest of your business.
You can continue to shoot your live footage videos yourself and then hire a video editor (budget about $75-85 per hour of work) to work their magic. For budget-friendly animation options (like Vyond), you a outsource production to a freelancer (like me).
The real secret to a successful video is in the script because it carries your verbal and visual message. Scriptwriting for marketing videos is deceptively easy because it combines copywriting, scriptwriting and storytelling principles at the same time. I spent 3 years writing scripts before I realised how mediocre they were.
For the same reason you may outsource your copywriting, you would also your scriptwriting.
Takeaway
Video can give your marketing strategy it needs to grow your business into a thriving health and wellness business. A lot of companies already use video and the number is going to keep growing. A mix of explainer, how-tos, testimonial videos and vlogs should be staples in your video marketing strategy. And creating them doesn’t have to break the bank.
