[vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Lately, I’ve been leaning on my concierge physician clients to get busy on their blogs. It’s like I need a cattle prod. But, in fairness, I remember my first blog efforts. There was nobody to prod me, I didn’t know what to write, how long, and there wasn’t all this hoohah about search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing. I just wrote stuff.
But now the world is very different! With so concierge physician practices competing for the attention of the market in their catchment area, and being bombarded by advertising everywhere they go— whether it’s through TV, email, or social media — the consumers you are targeting and the patient/members you hope to retain have gotten better and better at filtering out messages that aren’t relevant to their needs or interests. So here is the recipe for the secret sauce:
When you blog, Is the content so useful that your audience would thank you?
Patients choose a primary care physician differently than they do a specialist. The do business with brands they know, like, and trust. Somehow, someone got to them and earned their trust enough to get them to make an appointment and become a patient.
As a concierge physician, your new practice will thrive if you market it and promote it properly. To do that online, you must create and publish content that helps people become patients and patients become members.
Would your network’s network thank you as well?
When you deliver something of value, (healthful recipes, flu season tips, pharmacy discount codes, etc.) your readers will not only open your emails and visit your website, and pay attention to you on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but they’ll share with their network and circle of influence. This is where you’ll have the opportunity to reach your next concierge members.
If your network is personally thankful for the content you create, they’ll be more likely to share it. And, because your network’s network likely has plenty in common with the people who are members of your concierge practice, visit your website, and attend your events, there’s a good chance they’ll want to do become members at your practice too.
Overcoming your content challenges
If you’re feeling discouraged about the results you’ve seen from your own content marketing efforts…don’t. You’re far from alone. There’s a lot that goes into building a following – effort, an editorial calendar, planning, posting strategies, linking strategies and more. There are many of us who can help you just in our firm alone. The content is the tough part, and that has to come from you – in your voice, and on topics you know your patients will find interesting.
Here are a few pointers to remember:
- Keep writing and posting. Look for ways to improve your content every single day.
- Listen to your patients and think about the type of challenges you can help them overcome. Healthy eating, more exercise, preventive screenings.
- Worry less about how to drive sales from every post on Facebook, tweet, or email you send out.
Tell a bigger story than your brand
Three truths about blogging:
- Your practice is more than the memberships you sell, the medical services you provide, and the marketing campaigns you put in place.
- Your story has always (and will always) be about people.
- When you create content for people, rather than creating self-serving content, you’ll have more opportunities to grow customer relationships, more opportunities to drive repeat business, and more opportunities to reach new audiences.
[/vc_column_text][vc_call_to_action title=”Need a little inspiration and coaching” button_title=”Talk with an Expert” button_link=”http://meetme.so/mariatodd”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
