Dotdash Meredith is a powerhouse publisher with numerous titles in its arsenal, from People to Food & Wine to Verywell Health. 

However, even with its extensive reach and know-how in the healthcare space, the digital media and print publisher is looking to expand its offerings via fresh video content.

Both its Health and Verywell Health titles recognize the power of visual storytelling, so both brands have significantly expanded their respective investments in branded video content to better connect with consumers and providers alike. 

The company has launched a wave of new, medically-vetted expert and patient-centered video campaigns that are catching on with audiences.

“Previously, we knew video was important, but we didn’t give it the full resources and time and energy that it needed until this quarter,” says Sara Michael, group general manager of health at Dotdash Meredith.

She says the company’s health brands wanted to get into video content because that is currently among the most engaging media formats and serves as a good companion to traditional media channels.

“We know that’s where most readers and consumers of media are: expecting video and looking at video, so we wanted to meet them where they are with the best content,” Michael says, adding that video also complements articles and editorial packages. 

The company also heard from its partners and advertisers that they are interested in video as well, so they knew it was an area they wanted to invest in.

Verywell Health currently has four series, two new for 2025.

Outside the Exam Room offers experts focused on helping patients learn how to take care of themselves or others outside of the treatment room and in their day-to-day life.

Your Visit features experts walking through what to expect at a doctor’s appointment to better understand conditions and treatment options.

What You Don’t Know About highlights experts providing in-depth, easy to follow explanations of certain conditions, while A Day in the Life follows patients living with chronic conditions, highlighting their day-to-day struggles and triumphs.

Dotdash Meredith’s Health currently has two shows.

The first is Beyond, which has longform patient interviews where they share their stories along with advice they have for others, with topics so far ranging from obesity to psoriasis.

The second is What I Wish I Knew, where patients share lived experiences about what they wish they had known about their condition.

Both brands have also added trending/latest video sections to their homepages so they’re easy to find. 

Michael says Health and Verywell Health choose what topics to cover through video by observing conditions that are trending in health and may interest readers – like obesity, GLP1s and endometriosis. 

“These tend to be topics that are complex, that need more of that personal connection, that face of the condition or more explanation through the video,” says Michael. 

Through close relationships with its revenue and marketing teams, the editorial team learns what’s of interest to the market and programs off of those insights.

Striking the right tone

Michael stresses that the video format follows the brands’ same editorial rigor, standards, integrity and tone as the rest of its content – it’s just kind of a different way of presenting the information. 

A few of the video franchises have patient voices and first-person experiences, which Michael says are among the top offerings since they allow readers to be able to hear from someone else with their condition and bring those learnings home.

The other piece of the video content layers in expert voices as well an expert perspective that has always been important in the written content.

“It’s not too clinical – we’re bringing in our experts that know our voice, our brand and know what the audience is looking for – so they’re able to explain these complex topics in a reasonable, easy to understand and empathetic way,” Michael says. 

One of those experts is Dotdash Meredith’s chief medical officer, Dr. Sohaib Imitaz, who is in some of the videos and strikes a tone that’s appropriate for each topic.

Readers are finding their way to the videos through embeds in articles, in editorial packages, or within article pages on the topic. 

The team tried to understand what gaps in understanding readers had and find something unique that fit an accessible, empathetic tone. 

Michael says that, so far, it has been a success for the organization and adds that Dotdash Meredith will continue building up its video library based on what the experts and readers want to hear about.

“This was just a big shift in the content mix we feel strongly about and it’s something we’re committed to doing more of in the future,” she says.