Marketing with Internet Video

Clarian's success in serving patients relies heavily upon the quality of its nursing staff and continually recruiting the best and brightest is no minor task. With nurses in such high-demand, the space is competitive, and Clarian was looking for a "secret weapon" to help them connect with nurses on a more personal level.

Below is a chat conversation Cantaloupe recently had with Kelly Wright of Clarian Health's nursing communications.

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Cantaloupe :: So what is your role with Clarian Health?

Clarian :: I work with Nurse Recruitment and Nursing Communications

Cantaloupe :: What do you mean by Nursing Communications?

Clarian :: In addition to constantly looking for the best and brightest nurses, we also maintain communications throughout Clarian's nursing community. Clarian employs almost 5,000 of the most dedicated nurses in the business, and it is important to stay in touch with them, keep them informed, and ALWAYS remind them how important they are to the level of care Clarian delivers.

Cantaloupe :: What are some of the tools you use in recruiting new nurses and communicating to the nursing community?

Clarian :: Because we recruit nurses of all ages and experience levels, we have to utilize a wide variety of recruitment tools. Some traditional - like classified ads and Open Houses. And some not so traditional...

Clarian :: Like Cantaloupe!

Cantaloupe :: (Noting that I'm not paying you to say nice things about Cantaloupe) Why did you decide to try using internet video?

Clarian :: Clarian is truly a unique environment for nurses. Clarian treats the sickest of the sick in a very fast-paced environment. For this reason, it is important that we show potential nurses exactly what our environment is like. We decided to try internet video because we thought it would be a very personal and real way to show recruits what a "Day In The Life" of a Clarian nurse looks and feels like.

 

Cantaloupe :: How did you do that before video?

Clarian :: Through more traditional methods - brochures, a static web site, and in the ads we place. It was effective to a point, but we were looking for a way to connect on a much deeper level with nurses. And that's what video has enabled us to do.

Clarian :: It's MUCH more effective to SHOW someone an environment, than to simply tell them about it.

Clarian :: Think about it - would you respond more to a paragraph of copy describing what a job is like... or a video that actually lets you MEET someone who is currently doing that job... WHILE THEY'RE DOING IT?

Cantaloupe:: So tell us a little about the five videos you just did for nursing recruitment.

Clarian :: We started with five videos that showed a "Day In The Life" of five different Clarian nurses. We wanted the videos to show not only the personality of the nurses themselves, but also what it was like to walk a mile in their shoes (and we all know nursing shoes need to be comfortable!)

Cantaloupe :: What is the planning process like? How much do you try to script out exactly what is going to be in the videos?

Clarian :: We do NOT want the videos to be scripted. We want real-life action, and HONEST story-telling. If we scripted them, it would just be another blatant marketing piece, and we don't want that. But we DO plan around what we want the basic content to show. We plan what types of situations we want to show, and what kind of information we want the video to impart. Then we turn the videographer and producer loose and let them capture each nurse's story. It works well, because Cantaloupe's people are an objective "outside" point of view. Sometimes we're a little to close to the subject matter... Cantaloupe does a great job of helping us determine the best way to tell each nurse's story.

Cantaloupe :: You just signed up to do 10 more videos. What stories are you planning to do? More "day in the life of" or something different?

Clarian :: We are going to diversify a little bit in this second group of videos. Several will still be "day in the life" of nurses. But we also want to show other aspects of the Clarian Nursing experience - advanced educational opportunities, certain nurses who have been recognized for clinical excellence, etc. We're also going to do a video following a new nurse on her first few days in her pediatric nursing job. Anything that illustrates why Clarian is such a great place for nurses to advance their careers...

Clarian :: We also intend to do a video with Linda Q. Everett, the chief nursing executive, where she can talk directly to potential recruits and tell them about Clarian's philosophy when it comes to nurses...

Clarian :: Now THAT is personal!

Cantaloupe :: And how are potential recruits going to see these videos? Do you expect them to find them on your website? Do you promote your videos in any of the other marketing tools you mentioned before? (i.e. brochures, open houses, etc.)

Clarian :: In addition to an email distribution list, we also we feature them prominently on the web site - www.ACallToChange.org/Nursing. We promote our web site (and subsequently the videos) heavily. The videos fit perfectly into the web site environment - which is also created to show the Clarian Nursing Experience. We call it - "a chance to meet our HEROES."


Cantaloupe :: What about social networking sites? Are you using those in recruitment or communications, if so, how and do you have any plans to add video to them?

Clarian :: Good question - and YES, we have pages on Facebook, and yes we are incorporating the videos into these sites. Social networking is an excellent tool for this type of message.

Cantaloupe :: How are you tracking your video? What results have you seen?

Clarian :: We have been monitoring the click-thru rates and viewership numbers... and the results have been extremely good. We are VERY happy with the response we've been getting. Because recruiting nurses is so competitive, we have to find every advantage we can, and Cantaloupe is definitely one of our secret weapons! (Unless someone from another nurse recruiting team is reading this, in which case, it's been an abject failure and we wouldn't recommend you do it. ;)

Cantaloupe :: What's the biggest obstacle Clarian faces using video? Cost, time, anything?

Clarian :: There aren't many obstacles related to the videos... we do have some political isues, and require a few more approvals before a video can be posted, but it's really pretty hassle-free. And the cost is very reasonable for the effectiveness and results.