Content Marketing for Healthcare Professionals

A recent study by Google found that over 65% of people turn to the Internet to answer questions and concerns about their health. Surprisingly this figure is much higher than those who actually consulted their physician at only 53%. These numbers demonstrate that there is a huge opportunity for practitioners to establish a relationship with prospective patients online – aiding confidence in the path to conversion.

Establishing that relationship and building consumer trust is paramount to establishing a long-term client base in all industries and healthcare is no exception. An excellent way to help this process is via content marketing – a strategy that revolves around the provision of information about products and services linked to the business itself. Content Marketing can be delivered in the form of a blog, eNewsletter, podcast, online video, social media or even a series of eBooks.

Here are five points to consider when creating content for your brand.

1. Know Your Audience

If you are an experienced healthcare provider you know what the Frequently Asked Questions are for your specialist field. Use this experience and knowledge to provide answers online for your audience, using simple terms and clear explanations for when you need to get technical. Sharing your knowledge openly in this format helps to build trust and starts to create a relationship between your brand and audience.

2. Consider Outsourcing

As time is a precious commodity in the healthcare industry and content writing can be fairly time-consuming, outsourcing to professional content writer is definitely worth considering. They will conduct research and write articles on your behalf saving you time that can be better spent dealing with patients and growing your business. If you do choose to outsource your content writing it is wise to do the final edit yourself in order to guarantee the quality and accuracy of your content online.

3. Selective Distribution

Seeing your name come up multiple times in a search is always positive -increasing your online real estate and improving your online reputation. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about seeing the same content multiple times. In fact, Google will penalise content that is not unique pushing it further down the organic search listings. You should be selective about how you distribute your information and create enough content to supply all of your online platforms.

4. Create Industry Specific Content That Patients Will Use

Bridge the gap between digital and physical by creating something that your audience can print out and keep. For example a dietician could create a healthy food pyramid poster; an optometrist an eye testing chart and a general practice could produce a list of numbers to call in an emergency. Make sure you always incorporate your brand and contact details so that people contact you with ease.

5. Have A Strategy

Before you create your content take a moment to plan your strategy. Either specialise in and solve a narrow problem with your information (eg orthodontics in teens, counselling for single men, nutrition for seniors or have a more general approach). A broad content mix should include prevention, general wellness, standard practices and up-and-coming innovations.

For more advice and tips on how to improve your content marketing and increase your exposure within your industry call one of Digital Strategy Specialists on 1300 859 600.

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