People do business with those that they “know, like and trust”. It is the same for patients seeking care from physicians. While you may not be able to know everyone in the community before that first encounter, prospective patients feel that they do know you, trust and like you.
How can that be?
Simple…through the internet. You are active online, aren’t you? Oops…did I hit a sensitive nerve for you?
Content marketing provides an avenue for people to connect with you, get acquainted and chat with you.
According to the Content Marketing Institute, an online resource for information on all things content marketing is defined the following way:
“Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”
Content marketing is a way to attract new patients to grow your practice and keep your current ones, not only wanting to return but also referring their friends and family to you as well by raving about you and your practice.
What Content Marketing Does For You
If getting new patients is not enough, it also enables you to:
- Listen- find out what the needs and interests are of patients in the community. Rather than simply promoting yourself, find out what patients are really interested in. You can be that person for them. Learning about your target market gives you an advantage over your colleagues and competition in the field.
- Be a thought leader- Share ideas with your fans and provide solutions for them to problems they are struggling with. These thoughts you share, will be shared with others. Going “viral” is a dream come true for most people. It spotlights you and strengthens your brand.
- Drive traffic- engaging your viewers not only builds awareness and increases search engine rankings, it brings traffic to you and your website. This is free as opposed to advertising and spending a lot in your budget.
Publishing information that is relevant to the public and interesting has the power to engage patients. It is crucial to keep in mind however, that the relevant and interesting content should be that which is in line with your services and skills. Choose topics that you are an expert in. This will influence their decision to select you as their physician and help encourage referrals from them as well.
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