You've taken steps to make sure your practice is ready to be marketed, and you've thought through your marketing budget. What's a great next step in your marketing process? Developing a content strategy.

In the broadest sense of the term, content strategy is a way to build trust with potential patients. Focus on providing users with insights that can help them make a healthcare decision - without openly selling them a product or service. While education may not seem directly connected to a marketing strategy, effective educational content helps build awareness with new patients and deepen your relationship with existing patients. In other words, all phases of content marketing are ultimately about driving business to your practice over time.

While planning out your content strategy can feel daunting, remember that you don't have to do everything at once. In fact, you should focus on things that you or someone in your practice can keep up. Patients won't keep coming back to a site that hasn't been refreshed in a month or a social media account that doesn't have recent posts.

Here are five ways to build out your content strategy:

  • Blogs - Create easily digestible posts using procedure-based content (example: mommy makeover surgery), with high quality creative and photos that document your patients' stories. Posts should aim for more than 300 words to help your search engine performance.
  • Videos - Videos featuring individual providers always perform well - videos help patients feel more comfortable with a provider and create a positive pre-appointment experience. Let patients know a little bit about your practice, consider making short (two-three minute) videos that answer some of the most common questions you get from your patients. Maximize your time by addressing many FAQs in one sitting, then break it up to create a video series.
  • Social Media - Pick one or two platforms and build up posts that position you and your practice as the subject matter expert. The specific platform doesn't matter as much as choosing one that your practice can easily maintain.
  • Webinars - This is a great way to move potential patients from the awareness stage - knowing who you are and what your practice is about - to the next phase. Potential patients can provide their name and email to get a link to your webinar recording. Topics can cover commonly asked questions you receive, or what to expect with your most popular procedure. Just make sure this content is different from the videos you already have posted on your site.
  • Patient Reviews - Develop a process - an easy one - for your patients to leave reviews. Turn the glowing ones into content on your site and/or incorporate them into a video or social media post. We know that Americans use online research to make big decisions, make it easy for them to find out what sets your practice apart from the competition!

Developing a relationship with potential patients takes time. Partners like CMG Health Marketing can help guide you through the process. Reach out today to learn more.