Dr. Jeffrey Benabio

Each month, more than 4 billion hours of video are watched on YouTube. It’s not all for Justin Bieber (though much of it is). People across the globe are flocking to YouTube for medical information and advice. Why not take advantage of this interested audience and free service?

Videos can be made simply, using tools you already have, or they can be done professionally in a studio. Although there are some advantages to professionally produced videos, the beauty of YouTube and the user-generated content movement is that these frills are unnecessary. The most important factor is not the quality of the video, but rather, the quality of the content. Videos that capture your true personality and that deliver useful content to viewers will be successful, regardless of how they are produced.

Videos are powerful on many levels: They’re a platform to educate your patients and prospective patients and market your practice. They showcase you both as a person and a physician. And video content is 50 times more likely to appear on the first page of search engine results than text-only content.

Though you could go to your local camera or electronics store and spend a small fortune on video equipment, I suggest you start off with what you have on hand, such as your smart phone or webcam. Choose a well-lighted, quiet area in your office or at home, such as in front of a bookcase. Outline a script, read through it a few times so that it sounds natural, then videotape yourself and see how it looks.

You won’t be perfect on the first take, but that’s OK. The beauty of short 1- to 2-minute videos is that they’re easy to reshoot.

For your first video, I suggest doing an introduction. Your goal is to appear approachable, friendly, and trustworthy. Introduce yourself and share some personal information, such as where you grew up, where you went to school, your favorite sports teams, your hobbies – anything that provides an opportunity for viewers to connect with you on a personal level. Look straight at the camera, smile often, and speak clearly. Keep it under 90 seconds.

Then do another 90-second video welcoming patients to your practice. Mention your expertise, clinical interests, and anything else that makes your practice stand out.

You’ll find that generating content for videos isn’t difficult. Make videos of procedures that you’re expert in, post-op instructions that you repeat frequently, or cosmetic procedures that patients often inquire about.

Create a channel on a video-sharing site such as YouTube or Vimeo, and upload your videos one at a time. You can then embed those videos on your practice website or blog (see last month’s column on blogging).

Here are some of my best practices for making videos:

• Before you start, ask yourself, "Why would someone want to watch this video?"

• Make a single point in each video and stay focused.

• Choose a well-lighted, quiet area for recording. Place the light source in front of you. Back lighting can create shadows.

• Consider composition. You don’t have to be in the center of the frame. You can be off to one side, especially if you’re including something behind you in the shot, or if you are using props. But always look into the camera.

• Use props when relevant.

• Keep videos under 2 minutes.

• Have a script or an outline, but never read from it.

• Tell stories. Patients will remember them better than statistics.

• Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.

• Be conversational and smile.

• Watch each take so you can make appropriate changes.

• Don’t waste time trying to make a video "go viral."

• Share your videos on Twitter, Facebook, or other social sharing sites.

When you’re done, have someone from your office view the video critically. Are you looking into the camera or over the heads of the viewers? Are you smiling enough? Do you have too many vocal fillers like "um" and "pretty much?" Are you easily seen and heard? It is interesting and worthy of an audience?

Finally, share your video with me @dermdoc on Twitter. You can count on a retweet.

Dr. Benabio is in private practice in San Diego. Visit his consumer health blog; connect with him on Twitter @Dermdoc, and on Facebook.

Each month, more than 4 billion hours of video are watched on YouTube. It’s not all for Justin Bieber (though much of it is). People across the globe are flocking to YouTube for medical information and advice. Why not take advantage of this interested audience and free service?

Videos can be made simply, using tools you already have, or they can be done professionally in a studio. Although there are some advantages to professionally produced videos, the beauty of YouTube and the user-generated content movement is that these frills are unnecessary. The most important factor is not the quality of the video, but rather, the quality of the content. Videos that capture your true personality and that deliver useful content to viewers will be successful, regardless of how they are produced.

Videos are powerful on many levels: They’re a platform to educate your patients and prospective patients and market your practice. They showcase you both as a person and a physician. And video content is 50 times more likely to appear on the first page of search engine results than text-only content.

Though you could go to your local camera or electronics store and spend a small fortune on video equipment, I suggest you start off with what you have on hand, such as your smart phone or webcam. Choose a well-lighted, quiet area in your office or at home, such as in front of a bookcase. Outline a script, read through it a few times so that it sounds natural, then videotape yourself and see how it looks.

You won’t be perfect on the first take, but that’s OK. The beauty of short 1- to 2-minute videos is that they’re easy to reshoot.

For your first video, I suggest doing an introduction. Your goal is to appear approachable, friendly, and trustworthy. Introduce yourself and share some personal information, such as where you grew up, where you went to school, your favorite sports teams, your hobbies – anything that provides an opportunity for viewers to connect with you on a personal level. Look straight at the camera, smile often, and speak clearly. Keep it under 90 seconds.

Then do another 90-second video welcoming patients to your practice. Mention your expertise, clinical interests, and anything else that makes your practice stand out.

You’ll find that generating content for videos isn’t difficult. Make videos of procedures that you’re expert in, post-op instructions that you repeat frequently, or cosmetic procedures that patients often inquire about.

Create a channel on a video-sharing site such as YouTube or Vimeo, and upload your videos one at a time. You can then embed those videos on your practice website or blog (see last month’s column on blogging).

Here are some of my best practices for making videos:

• Before you start, ask yourself, "Why would someone want to watch this video?"

• Make a single point in each video and stay focused.

• Choose a well-lighted, quiet area for recording. Place the light source in front of you. Back lighting can create shadows.

• Consider composition. You don’t have to be in the center of the frame. You can be off to one side, especially if you’re including something behind you in the shot, or if you are using props. But always look into the camera.

• Use props when relevant.

• Keep videos under 2 minutes.

• Have a script or an outline, but never read from it.

• Tell stories. Patients will remember them better than statistics.

• Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.

• Be conversational and smile.

• Watch each take so you can make appropriate changes.

• Don’t waste time trying to make a video "go viral."

• Share your videos on Twitter, Facebook, or other social sharing sites.

When you’re done, have someone from your office view the video critically. Are you looking into the camera or over the heads of the viewers? Are you smiling enough? Do you have too many vocal fillers like "um" and "pretty much?" Are you easily seen and heard? It is interesting and worthy of an audience?

Finally, share your video with me @dermdoc on Twitter. You can count on a retweet.

Dr. Benabio is in private practice in San Diego. Visit his consumer health blog; connect with him on Twitter @Dermdoc, and on Facebook.

Each month, more than 4 billion hours of video are watched on YouTube. It’s not all for Justin Bieber (though much of it is). People across the globe are flocking to YouTube for medical information and advice. Why not take advantage of this interested audience and free service?

Videos can be made simply, using tools you already have, or they can be done professionally in a studio. Although there are some advantages to professionally produced videos, the beauty of YouTube and the user-generated content movement is that these frills are unnecessary. The most important factor is not the quality of the video, but rather, the quality of the content. Videos that capture your true personality and that deliver useful content to viewers will be successful, regardless of how they are produced.

Videos are powerful on many levels: They’re a platform to educate your patients and prospective patients and market your practice. They showcase you both as a person and a physician. And video content is 50 times more likely to appear on the first page of search engine results than text-only content.

Though you could go to your local camera or electronics store and spend a small fortune on video equipment, I suggest you start off with what you have on hand, such as your smart phone or webcam. Choose a well-lighted, quiet area in your office or at home, such as in front of a bookcase. Outline a script, read through it a few times so that it sounds natural, then videotape yourself and see how it looks.

You won’t be perfect on the first take, but that’s OK. The beauty of short 1- to 2-minute videos is that they’re easy to reshoot.

For your first video, I suggest doing an introduction. Your goal is to appear approachable, friendly, and trustworthy. Introduce yourself and share some personal information, such as where you grew up, where you went to school, your favorite sports teams, your hobbies – anything that provides an opportunity for viewers to connect with you on a personal level. Look straight at the camera, smile often, and speak clearly. Keep it under 90 seconds.

Then do another 90-second video welcoming patients to your practice. Mention your expertise, clinical interests, and anything else that makes your practice stand out.

You’ll find that generating content for videos isn’t difficult. Make videos of procedures that you’re expert in, post-op instructions that you repeat frequently, or cosmetic procedures that patients often inquire about.

Create a channel on a video-sharing site such as YouTube or Vimeo, and upload your videos one at a time. You can then embed those videos on your practice website or blog (see last month’s column on blogging).

Here are some of my best practices for making videos:

• Before you start, ask yourself, "Why would someone want to watch this video?"

• Make a single point in each video and stay focused.

• Choose a well-lighted, quiet area for recording. Place the light source in front of you. Back lighting can create shadows.

• Consider composition. You don’t have to be in the center of the frame. You can be off to one side, especially if you’re including something behind you in the shot, or if you are using props. But always look into the camera.

• Use props when relevant.

• Keep videos under 2 minutes.

• Have a script or an outline, but never read from it.

• Tell stories. Patients will remember them better than statistics.

• Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.

• Be conversational and smile.

• Watch each take so you can make appropriate changes.

• Don’t waste time trying to make a video "go viral."

• Share your videos on Twitter, Facebook, or other social sharing sites.

When you’re done, have someone from your office view the video critically. Are you looking into the camera or over the heads of the viewers? Are you smiling enough? Do you have too many vocal fillers like "um" and "pretty much?" Are you easily seen and heard? It is interesting and worthy of an audience?

Finally, share your video with me @dermdoc on Twitter. You can count on a retweet.

Dr. Benabio is in private practice in San Diego. Visit his consumer health blog; connect with him on Twitter @Dermdoc, and on Facebook.