Video content—it might seem like an after-thought when it comes to marketing your hospital or clinic to consumers. But it's no longer an option—video is virtually required when it comes to promoting your services. More than that, it performs better and yields even bigger results than standard, plain-text content.

Here are some of the ways video can benefit your clinic marketing.

High SOCIAL Engagement

Video continues to be the highest-engagement style of content on the web—particularly in your social channels. It outperforms plain-text or image-based content across the board, which is mostly spurred by your millennial audience. Make sure to employ video in your social calendars, including brief, 30-seconds-or-less pieces that can be quickly devoured without the need for sound (catering to scrollers) and is engaging to your target audiences. (Then double-back with remarketing ads targeting repeat visitors and repeat engagers.)

Improved Website Traffic

Not only will video amp up your efforts on social, but it will also have a great effect on your website traffic. A recent study from Google found that hospital websites see as much as a 119 percent increase in site traffic thanks to associated YouTube videos. Utilize your physicians and staff to offer up quick-hit advice via video, and start building some search cachet on your hospital or clinic's YouTube channel. It will continue to drive traffic in the long-term.

Better Patient Knowledge

Potential patients who head to your website to book an appointment or learn more about your services will probably skim your page copy but won't necessarily walk into your waiting room with much upfront knowledge on required paperwork or other barriers to entry. Consider placing explainer videos on your "Schedule an Appointment" page, for example, that outlines some of the basic steps a patient can take prior to coming to the clinic that will help speed up the process. These sorts of "pre-introductions" can make your processes smoother and improve user experience when your consumers get in front of you.

'Video' is a Trigger Word

Communication with patients and potential patients rests pretty heavily on email when it comes to hospital and clinic marketing. But when it is so notoriously difficult to convince consumers to open your emails, every little bit of assistance counts. Video, though, is a strong proposition for a consumer—in fact, email marketers who use the word "video" in the subject line see as much as a 25 percent increase in open rates. Highly consumable content such as video is very valuable to your communication strategy—start creating and promoting video content to see increased interest in what you have to say.

Sources: Google, BeaconLive