Many veterinarians think about using video on their social channels to reach and engage more pet owners. Yet many stop short of producing a video because they don’t know what kind of video to create or they don’t feel like they have enough time.
If this sounds familiar, the clinic walkthrough video is one of the simplest and quickest videos to make, and here are a few facts to inspire and encourage you to produce one soon:
Video Drives Social Engagement
- According to a 2018 report by BuzzSumo, video posts on Facebook generate 59% more engagement than other post types.
Video Keeps Businesses Foremost in the Minds of People
- According to the Online Publishers Association, 80% of internet users recalled a video they’d watched in the past 30 days, and 22% had visited the website mentioned in the video.
Video Is Underutilized
- According to Buffer, less than 1% of Facebook posts each week are videos. Of the remaining 99%, 80% are links and 19% are photos. Said another way, video represents a huge opportunity for any practice to increase engagement and attract more pet owners because there are relatively few practice videos competing for attention.
While there are many different styles of veterinary videos, from informational and how-to videos to the kind of humorous videos produced by vets like Dr. Andy Roark, the clinic walkthrough video remains a recurring favorite among practices for three big reason:
- Clinic walkthrough videos are quick to shoot, and you can produce them for next to nothing. All you really need is a good-quality camera phone, a basic video editing app, and good natural sunlight for a clear, crisp image.
- Clinic walkthrough videos are informal, meaning they require minimal scripting. You’re largely just talking about what you already know, and “scripts” don’t really need to be more than a short list of notes to keep your overall video on track.
- Clinic walkthrough videos make it easy for pet owners to walk through your door because they’re the same as an open house. By speaking to the camera as if you’re showing a visitor around, you literally walk prospective clients through a customer journey that’s warm, welcoming, and appealing.
The clinic walkthrough video boils down to five simple statements (or parts):
- This is who I am.
- This is what I do.
- Please join me as I show you around.
- Here’s our clinic and what we do here.
- Thank you for coming. Hope to see you soon.
This Is Who I Am (The Welcome)
In everyday life when new people visit our homes or places of work, we begin by saying hello and welcoming them. When someone watches a clinic walkthrough video for the first time, it’s the same type of visit. So, begin by saying hello. Tell the visitor your name and welcome them to your clinic. When people feel welcome somewhere, they tend to develop an affinity for that place.
Make sure to start your video while standing in front of your clinic. An establishing exterior shot both enables a welcoming feeling of familiarity when a pet owner arrives in real life and sets up a later shot where you walk viewers through the front door.
This Is What I Do (Establish Trust)
Pet parents want to take their pets to veterinarians they can trust. So, before any doubt has a chance to germinate in the minds of visitors, immediately tell visitors your credentials as part of your introduction, and spell them out. You don’t need to read your résumé, but in a few short sentences, you should succinctly let pet owners know that you’re someone whom they can trust with their pets.
Example: “I’m Dr. [your name here]. I’m a graduate of [insert veterinary college/university name here], and for the past [number of years you’ve been practicing], I’ve been helping pets and serving pet owners in [insert city, town, or village name].
Whichever way you choose to script your opening, keep it brief, be yourself, smile, and let your personality shine. Credentials are important to pet owners, but at the end of the day, emotion tends to win over logic when people make decisions, meaning pet owners are ultimately going to choose to bring their pets to your practice based on how comfortable they feel about you.
Please Join Me as I Show You Around (The Invitation)
This part is simple. You open the front door of your clinic and show your visitor in.
Here’s Our Clinic and What We Do Here (The Walkthrough)
The central focus of the walkthrough is transparency, an essential ingredient for creating and maintaining pet-owner trust. The walkthrough is not a sales pitch on why pet owners should choose your clinic. As a reflection of the classic writing adage “show, don’t tell,” you’re not attempting to tell or persuade pet owners why they should choose your clinic. You’re showing them all the reasons why and, in the process, making it easier for pet owners to decide that they want to become clients.
Start your walkthrough at your reception area. Explain what pet owners can expect at check-in and show off any reception-area attractions. Examples: bulletin boards for pet adoption, pet products or accessories for sale, a children’s play area, etc.
From the reception area, continue walking viewers through the various rooms in your clinic to explain what happens there while taking opportunities to familiarize viewers with staff: A few examples:
- “This is our exam room, and this is one of our vet technicians.”
- “This is our in-clinic pharmacy where we can prescribe and send home pet medication.”
- “This is where we do dental cleanings and special dental procedures.
Also show viewers some of the equipment in your clinic and quickly explain how it’s used. Examples:
- “This is our autoclave, which we use to disinfect and sterilize medical tools.”
- “This is our laundry, where we wash workwear, blankets, and anything that comes into contact with animals to maintain clean and sanitary operations.”
- “This is our client-education system ClientEd, where we can provide you with free pet health care handouts to take home following pet treatments or procedures.”
Make sure to include at least one shot of you working with or holding a pet. When you do, it helps show viewers that they can trust you with their pet.
Thank You for Coming. Hope to See You Soon (Conclusion)
Thank viewers for visiting your clinic and invite them back in person. As part of your closing, include your clinic’s contact information (address, phone number, etc.)
If you’re uploading your video to YouTube, make sure to also include your clinic’s contact information in the description, plus links to your clinic’s social channels.
When posting your walkthrough video to your Facebook page, make sure to pin the post to the top of your page’s timeline. That way when new visitors find your page, your walkthrough video will always be there to welcome them and offer a tour of your clinic.
Also, make sure to display your walkthrough video on the homepage of your clinic website. Your homepage is the first experience that new pet owners have with your clinic, and it’s important to make a memorable first impression to engage visitors.
If you have a LifeLearn WebDVM website, placing a walkthrough video on your homepage is simple. All WebDVM websites include the ability to display and play videos from external sites like YouTube.
The easiest way to see how the walkthrough video goes is to watch how other veterinarians have done them. You can find many on YouTube, but to save you time, here are three of our favorites:
Watch Eastown Vet Clinic Hospital Tour
Watch Legacy Village Vet Clinic
