Placing second only to Facebook, Youtube is one of the biggest social media platforms on the internet. About 5 billion videos are watched on YouTube each day, covering every topic you could imagine, including optometry.

If you’re seeking to drive more traffic to your business or build valuable relationships with your patients, a youtube channel is a perfect option that requires very little effort to get started.

Here are my tips on starting a YouTube channel as an optometrist to set yourself up for the best chance of success:

Create Your YouTube Account and Profile

I recommend you have one video to post at the same time as you create your business’ Youtube account. Be prepared with information to write within your profile and have a high-quality, recognizable image to use as your profile picture. Your logo is just fine. Youtube will walk you through the steps of completing your page, but be sure not to skip any steps as an incomplete page can look unprofessional.

Be Consistent with your message

If your business is on other social platforms, keep consistent by using the same username across all channels. Your patients and prospective ones will more easily be able to find you and it will ensure every channel shows up on search engine result pages (SERPs) such as Google.

Relate To Your Audience!

Upload relevant videos that will engage your audience, such as eyeglass maintenance tutorials and reviews, and be sure to include appropriate hashtags and keywords that will increase your chance to pop up in Google and Youtube search results.  If you’re having a difficult time coming up with video ideas, do some research and look at your competition and what other industries are doing – and then figure out how you can do it better.

Share with your network

Share your videos on your other social media accounts with your Youtube link not as a separate upload. This will ensure your views increase on Youtube and attract followers to subscribe to your Youtube account.  If your audience engages, such as leaves a comment, on your videos, always answer back. Even negative comments need to be followed up with professional, positive responses that continue to build your authenticity and authority within the optometry industry. 

Here is another big tip!  Follow other businesses, including optometrists and others within your industry. Odds are they’ll follow you back and you’ll be able to begin building a following and a network of like-minded people.

I wish you good luck! Feel free to follow my own Youtube channel and reach out with any questions you may have along the way.