With competition in the healthcare field intensifying, it is crucial for practices to come up with new and more sophisticated marketing strategies to help reach their audience. One of the best ways for healthcare practices to do this is to use content marketing to their advantage. According to Pew Research Center, 72% of Internet users have looked online for health information, and 77% of these people began their last health related session by using a search engine.
What is Medical Content Marketing?
If you want to show up high on Google’s search results for certain keywords and long tail keywords, you need a page dedicated to the topic on your website to direct users to. Content marketing involves creating a strategy of writing and sharing accurate information to help your SEO efforts and attract new patients to your website.
Many aspects of traditional marketing strategies no longer are effective on today’s consumers. Traditional practices focus more on pushing marketing materials on its audience. While that may have been a highly effective tactic years ago, search engines, social media, and the Internet have made this strategy ineffective. Content marketing can reshape your medical practice because instead of pushing marketing on your patients, it pulls them in with interesting and relevant content. You’re not throwing facts out and hoping they stick, instead you’re giving individualized answers to the way people are searching their medical questions.
How Will Content Marketing Help My Medical Practice?
Customized content can help potential patients trust your practice before they even begin to contact you. According to Roper Public Affairs, 68% of consumers say they prefer custom content because it is tailored to their needs and interests. The majority of consumers are okay with knowing that companies are selling something if the custom content they provide is valuable. In addition, 69% of consumers believe that they know more about the company after reading custom content, and 61% of consumers feel better about the company.
Providing potential patients with custom content allows them to have a better understanding of the services you provide, and what they can expect if they schedule a consultation with your practice. It’s important to keep in mind that the content written needs to be written with the average person in mind. To truly connect with potential patients, avoid medical jargon that is not typically understood by your average patient. How do you explain a medical condition to them while they are in your office? Keep that in mind when writing your content.
Benefits of Medical Content Marketing
According to Software Advice, 77% of patients who responded to their survey use online reviews as their first step to choosing a new doctor. If potential patients like the reviews they see, chances are they are going to visit the practice’s website next to find out more information about the doctor and his/her practice. By combining positive reviews and custom content, there are few reasons why a potential patient would choose a different physician. Other benefits of content marketing include:
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Boosts Organic Search Results
The more patient-centric content you create about different services and medical conditions you treat, the higher you will show up on the SERP (Search Engine Results Page). In addition, the more often you update your website with new and informative content, the more Google and other search engines will favor your website over your competitors who are not updating as much.
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Allows for a Personal Connection with Potential Patients
Staying active on social media has been proven an effective way to grow your list of patients. But, if you keep sharing the same articles or pages on your website, your content will be stale and patients will turn to your competitors to find out new information about a condition they may have. With a strong medical content marketing strategy in place, you will always have new pieces of content to share with your audience on social media.
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Establishes Your Practice as a Leader Amongst Competition
The more accurate and engaging content you can push to your patients, the more they can rely on you as their sole source for the latest field news and updates. Instead of relying on search engines or WebMD to answer their questions, your website will be the first place they look for answers to their medical conditions. This, in turn, will help bring more people through your practice’s doors.
How to Create a Content Marketing Plan for Your Medical Practice
If your medical practice needs assistance in creating an effective content marketing plan, contact the experts at Today’s Business. Because we have years of experience in a wide variety of healthcare specialties, we can help increase the number of new patients who visit your practice.