Have you tried using Facebook Live Video to communicate with your patients?
If not – you might like to give it a go, because right now it’s a pretty hot medium that I’m seeing quite a few doctors use with great benefits.
10 Reasons You Should Use Facebook Live Video
There are lots of reasons to use Facebook Live. Here are the main ones that come to mind out of my own experience.
1. It helps your patients to get to know you better
One of the biggest benefits of using live video as part of your social media strategy is that it allows patients to get to know you in a deeper way and helps them to understand who you really are.
I received this email last Friday night after doing an ‘Ask me Anything’ live video on my page where I sat in my office for an hour and a half taking questions:
“Thanks for your Q&A session today and for answering my questions. I’ve only been a patient for two months but tonight for the first time realized a few things. First, Chiropractic is about much more than back pain and headaches. I’m not sure how I missed this! Secondly, your expertise in all things health is second to none in the medical community. I hope you do more of them.”
I’ve had this kind of feedback quite a bit – live video gives people a glimpse at who you really are and can really humanise a brand.
2. It can lead to higher Engagement
Facebook Live is by nature an engaging type medium if you allow it to be. One of the things I’ve noticed about it is that the people who interact live with me often start appearing in the comments section of other Facebook posts, blog posts and on Twitter in the days after a live interaction.
I guess there’s something about having had a conversation with someone that triggers an ongoing engagement.
3. It can lead to increased new patient leads and sales
I’ve not really done too much selling in my Facebook Lives to this point, but despite this I know that even passing mentions of products that I sell has generated sales.
4. It will help you generate ideas for future content
Every time I open up for Q&A on a Facebook Live video I get asked questions that stimulate all kinds of content ideas.
For example – a post I wrote about the top injuries common to new crossfit athletes came about because of a question I was asked on FB Live. Similarly many of my recent podcasts have started as questions from or hearing the needs of viewers of videos.
I guess this is partly the flip side to point #1 above – Facebook Live allows you to get to know your readers and their needs a lot better too.
Of course the more you know about your patients the better position you’re in to help serve them.
5. You’ll create content you could repurpose
Once you create a FB video you can repurpose your content across multiple mediums. You’ll also see the actual video replay of Facebook Live is rather easy to embed into blog posts on your website.
This is gold – being able to create a piece of content that not only serves those joining live, not only those who watch the replay on Facebook but being able to embed it onto your blog and even to download the video to then put onto Youtube opens up all kinds of possibilities.
6. Facebook is prioritizing and promoting live video right now.
Facebook is promoting FB Live videos right now into news feeds. When you go live that chances are that anyone on Facebook at that moment will see it at the top of their newsfeed.
Add to this that even in the last week Facebook have made live video even more findable with their new Live Maps that promotes Live videos happening around the world. This makes our live videos even more findable by people beyond those who like our Facebook pages which is one of the advantages that Periscope used to hold over Facebook.
Facebook is also investing heavily into this space so you can bet that they’ll continue to work to make sure these videos are seen – particularly in the short term. So now is a very good time to jump on.
7. This could have flow on impact with the rest of your reach
Facebook page owners will know that when they get good engagement on one particular Facebook update that this can help your next updates to get better reach. This is one of many factors in Facebook’s algorithm and so there could be some flow on impacts from using FB live in helping the rest of your updates get seen a little more.
8. It’s new so its standing out
Many patients comment that they’ve not seen a FB Live before and as a result I think that in many doctors that use this new technology will really cut through, stand out and get curiosity engagements from those who are following your pages.
This won’t last but at least in the short term if you have a Facebook page with an audience who perhaps is not tech savvy early adopters – you might find FB Live gets some good cut through and you might be seen as something of an innovator in your community for using it.
9. Helps you to test new ideas and get immediate feedback
I remember one of the things I loved about Twitter in the early days of starting to use that was that it enabled me to test ideas and get quick feedback from my readers. I would test blog post ideas, ask people for feedback, test product ideas and a lot more.
Twitter is good for this – but live video takes it to a whole new level.
If you can get a few people live on a video and feeling comfortable to interact with you then FB live puts you into a close to real time (there is a small lag) conversation with readers.
You’ll not only get ideas like I mentioned above but you can test new ideas with it.
10. Private Live Videos – in a Group
I have found that many doctors own and operate Facebook Groups and/or Events. Facebook Live video can now be broadcast into Groups and Event pages.
I’m really excited by this possibility as it means you can do private videos to closed groups – creating content and conversations that are a bit more intimate and exclusive.
I’ve seen a number of doctors doing this already. One is doing daily tips every morning with his group and getting an amazing response. Another is running a mastermind type experience in a group and members are given opportunity to jump into the Live hottest and talk about what they’ve learned during the week. Another is running week long challenges in a group and delivering some of those challenges via live video.
The possibilities are endless!
Have you tried Facebook Live Video yet? If so – what do you see as the main benefits? I’d love to get your opinion in comments below.
-Dr. Beau Pierce