Today, with health at the epicenter of everything around us, it is natural for us to be concerned about a sudden skin allergy or abnormal hair loss. In situations like these, we often turn to Google or other search engines to find the remedies or seek answers.
Statistics from Google state that approximately 70,000 people worldwide prefer Google to research health-related terms every minute. So, as a healthcare provider, it is crucial to focus on creating accurate, trustworthy and relevant content. In addition, as an expert in this field, you would want to ensure that you have the solutions for the pain points, reflecting in your content strategy.
The million-dollar question is, "how can you use content to attract or retain customers in this competitive world?" The answer would be through practical, out-of-the-box strategies. For example, personalized content marketing strategies for the healthcare industry help you connect and engage with your visitors and convert them into long-term customers.
Like good medicine, good content also depends on trust and results. So, here is the ultimate guide for healthcare content marketing to produce tangible results.
Why is content marketing essential for healthcare?
A volley of medical terms could often lead to nausea. To be more specific, is your content easy to digest? Can your readers find their answers by reading your content?
Are you shaking your head?
In such a case, how do you connect and engage with them? What is the point of spending all that time, money, and effort on writing content that has failed to connect with your audience?
Healthcare content marketing helps you produce content that increases your customer engagement and retention. However, it depends on a robust digital marketing strategy that will increase brand awareness and organic traffic to your website.
With an increasing demand for healthcare content marketing, here are some tricks and tips that you can use for your business.
Five excellent healthcare content marketing tips
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Do you know your audience! Whether it's your patients or customers, who are they, or where are they from?
The first step is to build a buyer persona. This will give a clear knowledge of your target audience i.e their pain points, likes, dislikes, and behavior. Once you are clear, it will become easy to develop relevant content that makes a difference to them.
With this information, you can find out why they are interested in your product or service and create content based on their stage within the buyer's journey. For example, if Rakesh has a sudden skin allergy and is trying to figure out the problem. Does your website have content that addresses his pain point? Akash knows which type of skin allergy he is dealing with but does not know how to treat it. Is your content providing specific and reliable information about the same? On the other hand, Shameet knows how to deal with his skin allergy problem but is unsure about the treatment. Does your content specify why your treatment is best to solve his problem?
By creating stage-focussed content, you can convince your audience to make the right decisions and move forward to the next stage. Since no one wakes up in the morning and decides to buy something. Instead, they go through a path of research before making a decision.
In addition, appropriate keyword research can give you the words people are using to search when they need your service, making it easy to attract potential customers.
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Keep it real! Use user-generated content to engage with your potential customers and get quality leads.
In the healthcare world, it's all about creating relevant and authentic content that gains the trust of your potential customers. But, how to do that? User-generated content has shown promising results in developing brand loyalty. Allowing patients to share their stories builds positive opinions of potential customers towards your brand and increases conversions.
Also, user-generated content builds brand awareness, engagement factor, and reputation of your brand. Potential customers are more likely to respond to content directly from a patient than from the brand trying to sell.
So, if you aim to target people with a skin allergy or abnormal hair loss, you can post a three-line review or a five-minute testimonial of your patients, telling a story. These stories can provide Rakesh, Akash, and Shameet with a sense of community and help them feel that they are not alone. Also, once they know that a healthcare solution can help their situation, it's not surprising that they would want to share their story and inspire others. So, user-generated content creates a circle of trust that naturally attracts brand fans and advocates.
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Boost your headlines for greater visibility
As per renowned copywriter David Ogilvy, 2 out of 10 people who see headlines click through the post. Yes, it's true. Attractive and interesting headlines get a visitor to open your article and read the first sentence. And then they read the entire article.
While immunity boosters are becoming popular around the world, headline boosters can help your content become more visible. Within the headlines, you can talk about the benefits that your brand offers and provoke curiosity. But, be careful that you don't give all the information away.
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Write conversational style pieces to develop interest
There are many articles and papers that appeal to healthcare professionals on the internet, but they are too technical for a non-professional reader. Your potential customers may not be used to this kind of writing. Therefore, you must ensure that your content doesn't sound like a thesis, especially when solving their health problems. It must be more conversational that answers questions of your audience and engages them.
But, how to write in a conversational style? The best way is to simplify the communication, explain ambiguous terms, and humanize your brand with the audience by showcasing inspiring healthcare stories. Also, you need to write in an active voice and make the reader feel that you are writing for him or her personally.
An example would be:
"Dermatitis is another word for skin allergy that occurs when the skin comes into direct contact with an allergen. The outcome of this is a red, itchy rash that can also lead to blisters or bumps. The rash comes out whenever the skin comes in contact with the allergen; basically, the substance attacking the immune system. The delay in treatment eventually results in a rash."
When written in conversational style
"Skin allergy (Dermatitis) occurs when the skin comes into direct contact with an allergen, and the substance attacks your immune system. The delay in treatment results in a rash that eventually leads to blisters or bumps. "
The above paragraph is easy and attractive to read when it's less complicated.
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Video is King
When it is about promoting healthcare products or services, what type of content comes to your mind? Blogs and articles. Well, that's not the only type of content. It is vital to explore different types of content like videos to engage with your audience.
Over the years, video marketing has been gaining prominence by healthcare professionals and practitioners as a major part of their digital marketing strategy. And why not? Video is a powerful tool to give your potential customers a peek behind the scenes and develop a trust relationship.
Think about it? Isn't it effective to get a doctor or expert in front of the camera and let them talk on how-to's, FAQs, educational pieces, etc., and promote it on social media?
Here are some successful healthcare content marketing examples.
Mayo Clinic
Blogs are the best way for brands to demonstrate thought leadership within their industry. And, Mayo clinic does it beautifully. The hospital staff writes their blog library, and that's why it stands out from the crowd. All the information features their experiences in managing issues during practice. Being ahead in the curve, their user-generated content has a separate microsite with clear guidelines that makes sharing seamless. So, patients and staff can quickly write about their experience with Mayo clinic and share it across social media.
Arkansas Children's Hospital
When it comes to promoting healthcare companies, social media marketing plays a significant role. And Arkansas Children's Hospital. Along with regular blog posts, they run effective video campaigns across its media channels where they share stories. These pieces motivate parents and children who are suffering from the condition.
Over the years, content for healthcare companies has evolved and made tremendous advancements since the time pamphlets were issued at your doctor's clinic. Hence, it would be best to have a healthcare content marketing agency guide you in the right direction.
How can Vajra Global help you?
At Vajra Global Consulting Services, we strive for perfection through expertise, experience, and excellence. Our relevant and result-driven content builds businesses rather than just links. We help brands understand their audience expectations and translate this understanding into insightful words.
As a healthcare content marketing agency, we strive to deliver creative and insightful content to brands to enable them to attract and retain customers through enriched content experiences. Our goal is to empower brands to connect with the right audience with the right choice of words. Our personalized content marketing services are engineered to accomplish your business goals.
If you are still confused and don't know where to start, get in touch with us. We use a robust content approach to rekindle curiosity.