If you have a web site and no video, you are missing one of the best opportunities available on the Internet. Today it is all about video. You can take a deadly dull website and bring it alive with just a few short videos.

Do you have a few pages of instructions for patients to prepare them for an upcoming procedure? Consider using a video explaining the same material except you are delivering the message. This does two things; it is clearer for the patient and it creates more trust because the patient feels he knows you a little better. Videos like this are an eyeball-to-eyeball experience and second only to actually being there.

Many websites include testimonial sections but most of those are written. It is a known fact that people much prefer video to having to read something.

We often hear people say they only use word-of-mouth advertising. However, when we look closer we find that word of mouth advertising doesn't always work. In fact, it is such a small percentage of successful advertising that it hardly shows on the radar. The reason is simple; people who want to use word of mouth don't want to put any money into it and so by not promoting word of mouth advertising, it doesn't happen very often. Look at it yourself. Let's say you have dinner at a new restaurant and really enjoy the experience. You have been there. You have had that experience. How many people did you tell about the restaurant? How many did you tell a week later? It's just something we don't do.

Now, how would you like to have your patients telling people about how much they like and respect you, your staff and how satisfied they are with the care they received? How would you like having those people doing eyeball to eyeball with other people twenty four hours a day - every day?

To that end, we have developed a program that will work for you and is not expensive. Let's use tracking of a virus to show you how this works.

As you know, a virus begins with an agent of infection that moves out and becomes a contagion; the contagion spreads and we eventually have an epidemic. And that is why we call this program an endemic epidemic because this program will create an epidemic for you.

Step one is to select your target. You may have one or many, depending on the nature of your practice. If you were a bookseller you would have a lot of different targets: children's books teenager books, adult books, books on different subjects. If your practice is limited to one particular area, that's one target. If not, it will have more than one target.

After you have found your target(s), you have to design an agent of infection. This will be your website coupled with email, as a secondary agent. Next comes the virus. This is very important because it is the part that sells. The virus must be very positive and very contagious. An example would be a dentist who specializes in dentures. Is he selling teeth? No, he is selling a smile, the ability to chew again. Maybe it's just about making you feel good about yourself. You don't sell soap, you sell cleanliness. Now, we have to get the virus ready to go. So, what is the virus? Your patients and their enthusiasm.

The question arises, how do we deliver the virus? This is really simple; we get your patients, the ones who will volunteer to do this, to come in and just talk to us on camera about why they like you as their physician. We talk with the patient for a few moments to get them warmed up and then ask them one simple question: why do you prefer this doctor for your healthcare? Then, we shut up and let them talk. The interesting thing we have learned, having done a little over 1200 of these, is that this method we use produces a testimonial that is so believable. We do not script these testimonials nor do we practice. We warm them up with light conversation and let them talk right off the top of their heads. Interestingly too, is that the average person will only talk about 45 to 60 seconds, which is perfect timing to hold a person's attention.

When we have finished, we process the video and send HTML code to your webmaster so it can be imbedded on your website. We also send you links to your videos so you can send them out to prospective patients, current patients and anyone else you wish to see them.

To increase the epidemic and speed the virus along, ask patients and friends to email the testimonials to friends close by. Since we are dealing with video links, it is really simple to email any video.

At this point, to create contagion, we begin to drive people to your website using blogs, social media and email. If someone inquires about your practice, send a testimonial along with any other information you normally send.

Gene LaNier is a native of North Carolina and a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He continued his education with postgraduate studies at New York University and the University of Central Florida.

He is listed in Who's Who in Public Relations, Sixth Edition, 1992. He was named one of the "world's top public relations professionals" in the book, The Pro Challenge, 1994. He is accredited by the Public Relations Society of America.

He is currently CEO of My Marketing Group, Inc., a virtual company with affiliates in India, New Zealand, Hong Kong, North America, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and Romania. Visit www.mmgfla.com