At the recent 2014 epharma conference there were plenty of discussions around digital marketing, social media, mobile technology, and video. Companies want to understand how to optimize video as a communication channel, and if it's actually an effective tool.
Video offers the opportunity to educate, sometimes interactively, through tutorials and testimonials. In the life science space, video is used to communicate valuable healthcare information and a sense of caring to patients, HCPs, and employees. Video allows life sciences organizations to communicate compassion and caring, while remaining compliant. Because video content is patient and HCP facing, it’s important to note that content should be useful, compliant, and backed up with facts and sources.
There are several companies doing this well. Pfizer's YouTube channel contains useful and informative content. Their videos consist of TV appearances from "The Doctors", product and illness awareness, and background on their drug development process. Merck leverages evergreen video content, case study testimonials, and content around trending topics like Big Data. During a 10 day period, Merck saw a 3.4% increase in YouTube followers, and Pfizer a 5.1% increase.
Janssen’s YouTube videos consist of strong case studies, product explanations, and explanations of the company approach and philosophy. Mylan leverages the story, as told by its users. Their message of “Our Mylan is your Mylan” resonates. And they leverage the story globally. There are testimonials available in a myriad of languages. By leveraging video content across various communication channels, Mylan recognized a 42.5% increase in YouTube followers in just 10 days.
As stated before, while video provides a fantastic opportunity to engage, you also need to convert. Organize and categorize your videos by audience, topic, and journey stage. Your videos should be easy to navigate and guide the viewer through a story. Make sure to incorporate a secondary call to action. These can be additional content offers like patient and physician portals, blog posts, eBooks, or other videos. Consider incorporating forms for eDetailing or sample requests into the secondary call to action. Test where the secondary call to action is placed. Placement of CTAs at the beginning, middle, and end of the video will convert differently, as will the length of the form. You should also measure the engagement of your videos. With tools like Vidyard, you can measure engagement beyond "views" and begin to understand the behavior of the individual.
Remember to think beyond the click. Don’t lose the viewer once the video is complete. Use that first step in engagement to further the conversation, either in person or through redefined automated campaigns. Convert video engagement, analyze the audience behavior, and use this insight to deliver continued education.