Lights, camera, action!  Although Dr. Joseph Allen of St. Cloud, Minnesota is from a small town, his YouTube persona (Doctor Eye Health) is known globally. Last July, Dr. Allen set out to educate and change the eyecare industry through the power of video.  Since last year, Dr. Allen’s videos have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, so I guess it safe to crown him the guru of Youtube in the eyecare space.  This week, we had the opportunity to learn how Dr. Allen’s Youtube stardom was birthed.   Throughout the podcast, Dr. Allen touches on how to get started, how to answer questions online, and to market yourself on Youtube.

How to Get Started on Youtube as an Optometrist

To begin with, you need a Google account and name for your Youtube account. Dr. Allen recommends having the same name on your website and on all social platforms.  As far as equipment goes, in the beginning stages, keep it simple. If you own a smart phone, you can record your videos on your phone and still have great success. In regards to lighting, natural light is always the best and as an added bonus it is free.  As far as editing goes, there are several free movie editors.  If you are looking to invest in equipment, look at spending anywhere from $2,500 to $5,000.

How to Answer Questions Online

Be careful about giving medical advice.  Keep it generic and only define conditions, but never educate on how to treat a condition.  We should only look at online dialogue as triaging and not diagnosing or treating. Dr. Allen stresses the importance of sending these patients to an eyecare professional.  The American Optometric Association has guidelines to help assists.    

How to Market Yourself on YouTube

Dr. Allen believes in the power of momentum.  Being that YouTube is the second largest search engine and having content that people are searching for really helps with ranking.  Also, Dr. Allen attributes a lot of his success to the suggestion box in YouTube.  The key is having an appealing feature image on the video. It will garner more attention to one’s content.  In addition to the aforementioned, utilizing social media platforms to promote one’s YouTube content.  Lastly, business cards are helpful.

If you are interested in learning more, check out Doctor Eye Health Videos below and subscribe to his YouTube page.