Healthcare has an abundance of amazing stories with villainous diseases, hero doctors and nurses, courageous patients and miraculous moments of triumph — all the crucial elements of good storytelling.

Good stories make for effective marketing, and when told in video form and featuring the patients and doctors involved, it’s powerful storytelling at its finest.

Healthcare marketing video is a particular specialty of AMPERAGE Marketing & Fundraising. Here’s why we regularly recommend video — patient stories, in particular — to our healthcare clients.

Why video works

Research data make a compelling case for video storytelling. Interestingly, some 311.3 million people in the United States have smartphones and 311.8 million are active Internet users.

Video potentially reaches all of them, and it transcends language barriers. A well-told visual story can be understood by almost anyone when it connects with people on an emotional level.

And the audiences you’d like to reach are already video fans. Almost 70% of U.S. users of mobile devices watch online videos.

In addition, video can boost your brand reputation and increase credibility. When asked what type of content they prefer from a brand, more than 50% said video.

Why video patient stories work

Behavioral science teaches us that many features of a good video story make it an effective marketing tool because those same features are important to making an emotional connection:

• It’s visual.
• It’s storytelling.
• And in the case of patient stories, it serves as social proof for the expertise and quality of care provided by a healthcare organization.

There’s also something called the Identifiable Victim Effect, meaning people are more likely to feel empathy when a story focuses on one person.

That’s not to say that good video stories cannot have multiple voices. When everyone featured in the video has a role in the patient’s story, it’s compelling and keeps the viewer’s interest.

The key to making this work:

• Have a relevant story to tell, one with a “villain” (e.g., disease) and a “hero” (e.g., doctor) and tension (e.g., unknown diagnosis or outcome) to be resolved.
• Tell real stories. Be authentically you and share the compelling stories of your real patients and caregivers, featuring their voices whenever possible.
• Embrace emotion. A good story needs an emotional hook — like 10-year-old Lance who saved his mother’s life, the Allen family losing their farm and livelihood to COVID-19 or Tia saving Ben’s life by donating a kidney.
• Avoid a strong sales pitch. This is healthcare marketing, not retail. Although the brand will reap the benefits, the focus is on the human story.

Talk to AMPERAGE healthcare marketing experts in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin about adding patient video stories to your marketing toolbox. And for more tips and insights, sign up for our newsletter.