Blog Content. It's often a struggle to come up with something relevant to post. And, it's important to think about your digital marketing strategies and how you will target consumers who are at different points in your sales funnel.
For example, the people at the first stage look for information via a search engine, click on a piece of content (i.e. a blog post), and arrive on a page for your medical practice. People who have visited your practice before may visit the page to verify contact information or to read about a current health issue. Your medical practice needs content for both types of readers.
If they arrive to see you only have five posts from the previous year on the blog, then you aren't speaking to these readers or doing much in terms of inbound marketing. We believe that inbound marketing is a purposeful activity that occurs throughout the year, and it only works if you devote time to preparing good content.
What You Can Do to Find Your Voice
At some point, you either developed a set of marketing concepts and a brand voice with people in your practice or you hired an external agency to do it. These concepts and the voice with which your staff writes blog content should evolve each year to fit your current practice and the needs of your readers and potential readers. This is the same as how you update the waiting room each season to welcome patients.
You wouldn't put spring chicks and eggs out in baskets on the front counter in the month of December. Would you? This is just common sense when it comes to marketing a business. That being said, your company must find its voice for every post that goes on the blog. If your goal is to update readers about the next flu season, do it in a way that shares facts and speaks to locals. If you want to introduce the new office manager, then you want a blog post to be conversational and to highlight why she is an asset to the practice. Each blog post must speak to the target audience while sharing something important about your brand.
Blog Content: An Example
One reason blog content falls short of its audience is that it doesn't follow a style that works for similar medical groups. If you want ideas for how to develop better blog content, it's important to look at what competitors are doing. See what they're doing right and what they're doing wrong. Chris Simpson explained that when you write sales copy, consider conveying a sense of urgency. In your medical practice, you can create some blog posts to be sales-oriented. For example, write a blog post that offers a $25 discount to an existing patient for her next visit when she refers a friend or a family member and that person sets an appointment. Or, write copy that conveys a sense of urgency to your older patients who you believe should get a flu shot.
We want your medical practice to achieve more success in converting inbound leads into customers. In a medical practice, the focus is less on sales. It's more about encouraging people to set their first appointment. This can be difficult because patients may be really happy with their current physician. However, your medical office might be closer to their home or listed as a provider on their new insurance plan.
You want to give them blog content that encourages them to learn more about your practice. If they come in for a visit, then your staff can win them over. It's about getting them in the door through inbound marketing, which is very cost-effective. For more details about inbound marketing and creating a strategy for your business, please contact us today.
