Healthcare Content Marketing: How It Works

Table of Contents 

• How to Build a Content Marketing Strategy for Healthcare
• Top Content Marketing Ideas for Healthcare
• Key Takeaways 
• Conclusion 
• FAQs

Content marketing strategies are helping businesses reach for the stars. Considering the advances in the digital world, everyone is aiming for a strong online presence. It not only makes way for skyrocketing revenues, but also helps in establishing an impeccable reputation. Here, we will be discussing what goes into healthcare content marketing. 

How to Build a Content Marketing Strategy for Healthcare

Our healthcare system has evolved, and medical professionals are doing everything in their capacity to offer quality services to their patients. Think doorstep deliveries and telemedicine services. However, there is still a wide gap that exists between the services and the takers of those services; the simple reason being lack of awareness and assurance. 

Healthcare professionals require more than just word-of-mouth to assure patients that they will be taken care of, without compromise. And it’s here that the role of a strong content strategy comes into play. Let’s see how we can achieve that. 

Infographics

This word is a combination of two words: “info”, which means information, and “graphics”, which means visual representation. Infographics in healthcare can be used to present large, complex information in a visually appealing manner, helping patients understand concepts with ease. It will leave them with a better understanding of how a disease occurs, can be treated, and even cured. Therefore, patients can comprehend matters about diseases that concern them and make better decisions.

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Customers’ voices

Customers’ voices have an immensely important role in creating quality services in the healthcare sector. Many patients come forward to share their experiences and recovery journeys: talking about the disease, how it impacted their everyday lives, and how they are coping with it. Listening to the people who have been there sparks a seed of confidence in anyone going through the same phase. Having patients voicing their opinions is an essential medical content marketing tip and the most robust method of staying relevant.

Interactive content

Interactions between doctors and patients help drive desired solutions quicker. Similarly, interactive content pieces, such as quizzes, polls, and surveys actively engage a passive listener and transform them into a doer. Most people will agree that interactive content is the holy grail of healthcare content marketing. 

Influencer content

Times have changed, thanks to COVID-19. Now, people want to be educated about the health problems they might have. On social media, doctors are donning the role of influencers and spreading awareness about the drawbacks of ignoring one’s health. Moreover, they are collaborating with influencers and building content that resonates with their target audience. This is an appealing healthcare content strategy. 

Content that creates awareness

Incorporating awareness-inducing content in your healthcare content strategy means you are establishing yourself as an expert, whilst educating your audience. This, in turn, smoothens the process of lead generation, making your promotion efforts successful. Consequently, your potential customers would like to join you in your efforts and become a part of your initiative, because it will be for a larger cause.

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Disease-specific or seasonal content

Let your patient know that you care about them by creating thought-provoking content on special days. You can also encourage them to take action and spread the word about an incurable disease and how to prevent it. In this way, you will be carving out a prominent niche for yourself. 

Relevant keywords

Using relevant hashtags and keywords in your content strategy can enhance healthcare content marketing. It ensures that your content reaches the targeted people and communities. Otherwise, how long will you shoot arrows in the wild? The wise thing to do is research the trendy hashtags in your sector and incorporate them in your posts, blogs, research papers, articles, etc. 

Event-centric content

Activities such as blood-donation drives, marathons for a cause, free check-ups, etc., can be leveraged to promote your organization. Posting about these activities on social media can accelerate the awareness process. Moreover, such activities also provide you with an opportunity to showcase quality service, which can have a long-lasting effect on the minds of your customers. 

Email marketing

21% of emails are opened in the first hour of delivery. And many marketers agree that email marketing is the most effective way of marketing. But wait till you look at the ROI of email marketing, which is a whopping 4200%. Now, wouldn’t you use it for promoting your healthcare content? It would be a game-changer in your marketing funnel. The simple reason why email marketing works best is that it offers a personal touch in the most professional manner. 

Healthcare content marketing needs to be in place in order to go beyond surface-level benefits. All the above points are important to nudge your healthcare content strategy in the right direction. Moreover, a good content marketing strategy is useful in forging meaningful relationships with customers, and simultaneously, ticking off all the right boxes for your healthcare brand.  

Top Content Marketing Ideas for Healthcare

Here are five definitive ways in which you can up your healthcare content marketing game. 

Use video content wherever possible

As per a Microsoft study, the attention span of an individual has decreased to eight seconds,  which is less than that of a goldfish. Now, in order to get your target audience interested in your products/services, you need to play your winning game (or at least manage to get their attention) in those 9 seconds only. 

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Because of its highly interactive nature, investing in video content can reap the desired results, and in less time. Moreover, Google prefers video content, aiding in increasing your search engine rankings as well. 

Focus on your area of expertise

People trust professionals who have first-hand knowledge about their work. These professionals would have written countless blogs or theses on their subject of expertise and can confidently talk about it. Another great way to promote such niche content is by creating podcasts on technical matters, in which you can address all the relevant sub-topics that concern the main topic. Also, talking elaborately about the subjects you deal with shows that you are a powerhouse of knowledge, which is essential in establishing trust and faith in the healthcare sector. 

Podcasts are convenient for both the speaker and listener. Since we are talking about healthcare content marketing, podcasts present the opportunity to use one content piece in different forms. For example, you may have written a blog on arthritis, which you can repurpose into a podcast. Many people prefer podcasts, because they generally find audio more accessible and interesting. 

Leverage guest blogging for a win-win situation

Guest blogging gives you an opportunity to diversify your subject, whilst simultaneously building a pool of high-authority backlinks to your page. For instance, you are an expert in neuroscience, and you want a guest post on Huntington’s disease and muscular dystrophy. You can secure a guest blog from a website that specializes in these topics. 

By inviting guest blogs, you can access the guest blogger’s readership and attract more traffic to your website. In return, your guest will receive exposure by posting on your website. Therefore, it would be a win-win situation for both. Guest blogging is powerful in boosting SEO rankings by making way for organic reach and building backlinks. 

Build a health blog

A blog is a great way to build an archive of healthcare practices. It displays your sensitivity towards your subject, and how well you are communicating it to your targeted audience. Moreover, from the SEO point of view, blogs have proven to be authentic, reliable, and great for lead generation. 

Secondly, a blog allows you to manage and measure your success and popularity. It helps you keep track of your content’s performance. As a result, you will constantly take measures to improve your statistics. 

Also, as discussed earlier, you can repurpose your blogs into podcasts. However, understandably, blogs take a lot of research and time. Therefore, your main problem will be to master consistency. Once you do that, other tasks will become easier. 

Create a responsive web design

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To function seamlessly in the online world, responsive web design (RWD) is your oxygen. Be it any industry, RWD is indispensable when it comes to a powerful healthcare content marketing strategy. You have to ensure the same level of ease, compatibility, and quality in surfing, no matter what device the user is accessing your website on. 

The dimensions of your website should adapt to changing screen sizes. By ensuring this, you would have successfully taken the first step towards customer-satisfaction. In addition, make sure your website is fast-loading and mobile-friendly. 

Key Takeaways

• In the healthcare sector, you have to be more careful in building your content strategy. All information needs to be authentic and verified by experts. 
• Once you have determined your target audience, you can begin working on a content strategy roadmap based on your buyers’ journey.
• Healthcare content marketing may not be a cost-effective process. Therefore, before diving into it, assure that your ROI would be bigger than the investment. 
• Determine the right sources to bridge the gap between your organization and targeted customers. 
• In the healthcare sector, interactive content and consumer feedback would work best to build a strong brand persona. 

Conclusion

With the rise in digital marketing, every industry is keen on forging interpersonal relationships with their customers. The healthcare sector is no exception; however, healthcare content marketing is not yet as prominent a field. That should be enough of a reason to become a pioneer in the field. The above healthcare content marketing strategies will nudge you in the right direction. Some tips may not fit in your plan, but there is always another way. 

Healthcare professionals need to be quick problem-solvers, in addition to being problem-identifiers. With the right content marketing tools and methods, you can become a prominent name in the healthcare industry. 

FAQs