Why Your Practice Should Have a Blog
Like financial planning, having a diverse marketing portfolio is strategic for short and long term growth. I’m sure this sounds familiar to you.
In a survey, 60% of marketers ranked content marketing as either ‘very important’ or ‘extremely important’ to their overall strategy. Likewise, 60% of B2C businesses are focused on content marketing. Here’s your chance to control how you interact with your target market.
Benefits of a Blog That You Don't Want to Miss out On
If you want to get in front of more patients and increase the likelihood of retaining the ones you do have, then you should consider adding blogging to your medical marketing strategy.
Blogs have been ranked as the #2 form of media used in content strategies, trailing slightly behind video. Patients are online, looking for information. If you can be their source of that information, you've caught their attention and your strategy has already begun working for you.
77% of internet users read blogs. Blogs are a tremendous opportunity to provide information, increase traffic to your website and build a relationship. Building a marketing strategy that is centered around delivering value to your consumer is the best way to stand out from your competition and build long term loyalty. 55% of marketers surveyed said blog content creation is their top marketing strategy.
Why It Matters to You
Blogs improve SEO and web traffic
Having a blog improves your website SEO strategy by:
increasing keyword and long-tail keyword integration
adding quality content
having internal links
increasing website stickiness
Google measures these parameters for their ranking algorithm which determines your site searchability. When your website has robust and relevant content, Google indexes more of your pages, increasing how visible you are in the search results. All of these factors increase your web traffic and as a result, increase patient leads.
According to Hubspot, a website has become the #1 channel for marketing a business. Maximize your website’s potential.
The SEO domino effect starts here. By Increasing web traffic you attract more prospective patients and buyers. If you are providing detailed, patient-centered content you increase the amount of time — dwell time, each person remains on your site. Google ranks you on that. Your content is so good that people click through to your other pages. Google ranks you on that too. You are improving your overall search engine results [SERP] rank all while fulfilling your main initiative of providing value to your patient through your content marketing strategy.
Blogs are a value add to your patients and followers
You are about to buy a new car and have two options to choose from. Do you take the one with hand-crank windows, manual locks, and no video screen for the kids? You could survive with that one but without some of the creature comforts, cold mornings would be colder without heated seats. Hot days would be sweltering without auto start. And carrying groceries to your car would feel more annoying because your hatch doesn’t open automatically as you’re on approach.
The point is this: bare necessities work but they don’t stand out. They don’t give you the warm and cozies. They don’t make you feel like you are getting concierge service and you certainly don’t feel like you are riding in style.
The bells and whistles are the value adds. They hold weight in the decision-making process.
So in a world where a patient has a choice, do what you can to be that choice.
Blogs improve your patient’s perception of you, your practice and improve your connection
We know patients are looking for information on conditions, treatments, and tips online. If you can be their source, the go-to place for reliable information, you build trust with that individual. You create a safe and trustworthy environment for information exchange.
Choosing a provider, especially a Dermatologist, is very personal. Many dermatology concerns are visible and can’t be easily hidden from public view like deep wrinkles, rashes, lesions, growths, and more. Patients have to share their insecurities about the way they look and feel. They need to build a level of comfort with a provider who’s going to make visible and sometimes irreversible changes to their body. They can’t do that with just anyone. If they can create a connection and get to know their provider on a deeper level, it eases their uncertainties.
Blogs allow you to do this. It’s a forum to discuss your practice, your specialties, your treatments, your skill level, what makes you tick, and the products you love. Blogs can be a direct reflection of the brand you are building.
Blogs help you gain medical authority
Blogs also allow you to establish medical authority with your peers and patients. While publishing research is a professional, commendable, scholarly accomplishment, it is different from writing blog articles. It’s unlikely your patients are reading your scientific publications. They are consuming information on the internet where they can retrieve it quickly, understand it and relate to it.
If you are passionate about certain conditions, treatments or techniques, a blog is a perfect place to share your knowledge. You can address trending healthcare topics and make an impact on how people absorb the latest fad trends. You can dispel the myths floating in the social sphere. You can create Q&As where you provide a “what the doctor thinks” response to common and sometimes tough-to-discuss concerns.
How blogs strengthen other content marketing strategies
INTERNAL LINKS
Blogs allow you to increase internal links which boosts your website’s authority and SEO. Internal links help your patient gather more information as they navigate your site. They dwell on your site longer and get to know you better.
EMAIL LISTS
Growing your email list out of opt-ins in your blog articles can shape email segmentation for future communication with your patients. You can find out exactly where their interests lie and what topics will keep them coming back for more.
NEWSLETTER
When your blog content is relevant to them allow them to opt in to receive future newsletters or updates on events and specials. You continue to understand your audience and what drives their buying decisions.
PRODUCT AND TREATMENT
Blogs have the power to increase product and treatment sales. Readers benefit from thorough discussions of what to expect. A blog article has the power to mitigate and address common concerns. You could even start adding affiliate links if you wanted to personally recommend products you love.
SOCIAL SHARING
Blogs can be used to get social exposure. It’s another form of content to promote social sharing with the hopes of increasing website traffic and brand recognition. If you want to stand out from the competition, you must be doing this.
VIDEO
Blogs can be turned into videos, giving you another form of content marketing To reach prospective patients.
Blogging is an organic growth strategy. It takes time to produce positive results, but when it does, the effect is exponential. Time spent debating the merits of this strategy is time wasted.
If you’re ready to launch your blog but need help getting it off the ground, , contact me. I can help with all facets of topic planning, content creation, and implementation. Sign up for my email list where we talk all things Digital Marketing For Derm.