Why Your Online Presence Is Losing You Patients… And What to Do About It
Summary:
The doctors winning new patients right now aren't necessarily better than you — they're just more visible
Patients form an impression of your practice online in about 60 seconds, often before they ever need a doctor
77% of people look for visual content before choosing a provider
Inconsistent or absent video content is one of the most common reasons private practices plateau
A strategic, consistent video presence builds trust at scale — and keeps working long after the camera turns off
Let me ask you something that might sting a little.
Think about a competitor in your market. Maybe it's a big health system that's been around forever. Maybe it's a newer practice that opened up a few miles away.
You know the one.
Now honestly… are they better than you?
Do they provide better care?
Do they spend more time with patients?
Do their patients get better outcomes?
My guess is no.
My guess is you're every bit as good… probably better.
Why are patients choosing other doctors over me?
Here's the uncomfortable truth. It's not because they're better doctors. It's because they're more visible.
That's it. That's the whole thing.
Patients can't evaluate your clinical skills before they book an appointment. They can't sit in on your consultations or review your decision-making process. They have no idea what makes you exceptional in the exam room.
What they can do is Google you.
They can land on your website.
They can scroll your social media.
They can watch a video… or not find one. And in about 60 seconds, they form an impression.
They decide whether you feel like someone they want to trust with their health.
What do patients look for before booking a doctor appointment?
Here's what research tells us: 77 percent of people look for visual content before choosing a provider.
Not credentials.
Not location.
Not even reviews.
Visual content!
They want to see you, hear you, get a feel for who you are before they ever pick up the phone or book online.
What’s wrong with my practice’s online presence?
Now here's where it gets frustrating.
That big health system? They figured this out years ago.
They've been investing in video content and digital presence for a long time. They're showing up in searches. They look polished. They look confident. They look like the obvious choice.
And all the while, you're in your office doing the actual work… taking your time with patients… staying current on the latest treatments… building a practice you're genuinely proud of.
But none of that shows up online.
I've seen this before. A really talented physician… incredible with patients… and their online presence looks like it was built in 2009 and never touched again.
Stock photos at the website, check.
A generic bio, check.
No video. No personality. Nothing that says, "This is who I am and why I'm the right doctor for you,” check.
That's not a quality problem. That's a visibility problem.
And the good news is… visibility is fixable.
What does a good online presence look like for a doctor?
The answer isn’t, “Let’s produce a video.” It’s establishing a consistent video presence.
Here's where a lot of practices go wrong.
They get excited about video… produce one About Us clip… post it to their website… and wait.
And then six months later, nothing has really changed and they write off video as another marketing tactic that "didn't work.”
Think about it this way. If you prescribed a patient a treatment plan and they followed it once… then stopped… you wouldn't expect results.
You'd probably sit them down and explain that consistency is the whole point. That the medication needs to build up. That the physical therapy works because of repetition over time, not a single session.
Video marketing works exactly the same way.
One video isn't a strategy. It's a starting point.
When a practice is consistently showing up with video content…
answering common patient questions
showing the faces behind the front desk
explaining procedures in plain language
sharing what the practice actually stands for
… something different happens.
That practice starts to feel familiar.
Approachable.
Safe.
And that's not an accident. That's a strategy.
Why is my private practice losing patients to bigger health systems?
The health systems and larger clinics you're competing with figured this out a long time ago.
They're not producing one video a year. They have content teams. They're posting regularly. They're showing up in searches, in social feeds, on YouTube.
Every piece of content is another touchpoint… another chance to build a little more trust with someone who might need a doctor next month.
The good news?
You don't need a content team to do this. You need a plan… and a partner who knows how to execute it without consuming your life.
A consistent video strategy doesn't have to be complicated.
It might be a short video each month introducing a service you offer.
It might be a quick clip answering the question you get asked most in your office.
It might be a patient story that shows, in their own words, what care at your practice actually feels like.
None of those things require a Hollywood budget or hours of prep. What they require is showing up… regularly… in the places your future patients are already spending time.
That's how the visibility gap closes.
Not with one perfect video, but with a steady stream of content that keeps reminding your market that you're there, you're real, and you're worth trusting.
Over time, the math gets really interesting. Every video you produce keeps working for you long after you've moved on. It sits on your website. It lives on YouTube. It gets shared. It answers questions at 11pm when your front desk is closed. It's the kind of marketing that compounds… and that's exactly what a growing practice needs.
The most visible practice wins.
The practices that are growing right now aren't necessarily delivering better care than you. They're just doing a better job of communicating why patients should choose them before those patients ever need a doctor.
That's the shift that matters.
Trust doesn't start when someone walks through your door. It starts when they find you online.
It starts when they see your face, hear your voice, and get a glimpse of how you approach patient care.
And when they finally do need a doctor, they're not comparing you to your competition.
They already know you.
They already trust you.
So here's the question worth sitting with.
You've worked incredibly hard to become one of the best doctors in your market. You've earned that. But does your online presence reflect it? Does it tell your story the way it deserves to be told?
If the answer is no… or even "I'm not sure"… that's worth paying attention to.
Because every day that gap exists, patients who deserve your care are choosing someone else. Not because they found a better doctor. Just because they found a more visible one.
