Whatever the size of your practice, you’re certainly curious to learn how to boost appointments. In fact, in order to stay relevant, even locally focused enterprises must expand. Additionally, those marketing initiatives are becoming more digital. You should meet people where they are, as the expression goes. This was unavoidable given the popular nature of social media and web usage.
This transition to “digital first” has made content marketing crucial. We simply cannot live digitally without content since it is the money of digital marketing. In fact, content has grown to be so important in marketing that a new generation of content entrepreneurs has emerged, whose companies are entirely based on content. This phenomenon, which spans a range of practices from affiliate marketing to subscription services, is comparable to the media entrepreneurs of the past.
What does this entail for owners of local practices like yourself? Simply put, it’s imperative that we develop the skills necessary to utilize content marketing. You can better grasp why content marketing is so crucial by understanding its advantages. Additionally, you’ll gain a sense of the advantages your practice should be pursuing.
11 Benefits of Content Marketing
While content marketing is critical to digital success, these perks stand out as being particularly important and helpful for any firm. Although a couple of these may not be essential to your practice’s digital strategy, the majority of these are applicable to all industries. A sound digital strategy will also prioritize some of these advantages over others.
The Benefits of Visibility
Brand awareness is where the sales funnel starts at the top. Even the smallest practice may aid in brand discovery with a well-executed content strategy. A bigger involvement in industry debates will also be possible thanks to your brand’s enhanced visibility. This is true even for practices that primarily cater to the local community, especially given that there is typically competition in this niche as well.
- Improves recognition and brand awareness
By distributing material into venues where people are seeking for and consuming content, content marketing increases your practice’s visibility. Without a question, more people will come to know you over time. Let’s take the example of a boutique retailer. The majority of people in your market are aware of the major players. But they’ll be more likely to check out your choice if they see your content, for instance, on Facebook.
- Enables you to decide what your prospect searches for in their narrative.
It’s crucial to have control over the story that surrounds your brand. Digital marketing can help by getting your material found above that of your rivals. They’ll then understand that you are an authority in the field you work in. When lack of experience isn’t a big deal, you have a unique chance to convince others that you are the person they should be listening to.
- Helps you make more and deeper connections with other people.
Your content gives Internet users more ways to connect with you online and helps them get to know you better. It also makes them want to read more of your work. This can look different depending on the type of content you choose, the forum, and your industry. A hobby shop would be a good example of this. Most people who have a hobby will need help at some point with materials or methods. If the shop shows how good they are at what they do, it could become a destination.
- It makes people trust you more and helps you get more fans who are loyal to you.
Another good thing about content marketing is that it helps build trust. People will find ways to trust you and become your fans the more content you have. After all, who is going to trust a practice whose website has nothing on it? Patients can’t tell how much you know about your subject without coming to your clinic. And if they can go somewhere else, they probably will. Also, wouldn’t you rather have people who like what you write? Their ideas are very important.
- Make your brand seem more trustworthy and authoritative
The more consistently you write about your practice’s area of expertise over time, the more people will think of you as an expert. This will help you build your credibility with both people and search engines. People are more likely to look for your content to find answers to questions that matter to them. And as more people visit your site, Google and other search engines will raise your rank.
- Generates referrals.
If a patient, visitor, or fan likes a piece of content, they can just share the link and tell other people about it. The same goes for people who link to your content if they think it’s useful. If you have content, you may be able to get these kinds of content referrals. When people share the content you’ve made, there’s a chance that people will buy your services.
This sharing is one of the most important benefits of content marketing for B2C brands, but for B2B companies, it’s even more important. One reason for this is that most B2B decision makers do a lot of research before getting in touch with sales staff. Most of the time, these buyers want to know right away if a service is right for their practice.
The Advantages of Tactical Marketing
Overall, there are many more benefits to content marketing than just being seen. It’s one thing to get your name out there, but it’s something else to make your brand known for something important. To do this, your content and other efforts need to be shared in the right way, which requires strategic marketing. In general, though, the research shows that good marketing = content marketing.
- Improves SEO.
SEO is one of the best reasons to use content marketing, especially on your own website. Studies have shown that practice websites with blogs have 434 percent more pages indexed by search engines than practice websites without blogs.
This is the case for a few different reasons. One thing is that these sites have more chances to use keywords. You can only get so far with service or service descriptions. Even if you put keywords in them, there won’t be much room. This could cause people to use too many keywords, which doesn’t work. Also, Google and most other search engines tend to like long-form content.
- More traffic to a website.
Content marketing can also bring more people to your website. You should never make bad content because it hurts your reputation, but you also shouldn’t ignore how important content is. Here, I’m mostly talking about longer pieces of writing that bring people to your site. Even though ads are important, people need a reason to stay on your site or come there on their own to find information.
There is no doubt that this method works. If a practice publishes 16 or more blog posts every month, it could get almost three and a half times as much traffic as competitors who only publish four or fewer blog posts. How come it works? Simply put, your website becomes more than just a place to find basic information. It becomes a place to go. This gives you the best chance to leave a good impression on patients.
- More prospects.
So, here’s the deal. People love to learn about a service or practice before they buy it. Samples and other methods can help, but they aren’t perfect. On the other hand, content marketing gives people something useful that they can access anywhere, at any time. Even if it’s just a good laugh (like the jokes about the pandemic last year), these impressions matter.
Some content can be a lead magnet. B2B brands often give whitepapers or seminar access. Get a free chapter of my latest book on my website. Your patients can try something for the price of a lead. Content marketing generates three times more leads than other strategies.
- Helps educate your patients to improve conversions and generate more appointments.
Would you rather buy a dud or a (near) sure thing? Most individuals value the ability to investigate options and choose the one that best meets their needs. This is true for B2C marketing, especially in high-priced or difficult-to-choose categories like electronics, personal care, and autos. Some folks can’t find the correct skincare services.
B2B brands use content marketing extensively. Practices have even larger stakes than certain consumer goods. Therefore, high-quality content marketing is most effective. The average B2B spends 29% of their expenditure on content marketing.
Doubtful? Content marketing attracts leads. These have a 14% conversion rate against 1.7% for outbound leads. Content marketing’s high conversion rate is one of its biggest features, especially when compared to outbound lead generation.
- Supports social media.
Content provides you with something to talk about on social media, increasing engagement and following. Commenting, sharing, or criticizing your material increases its online visibility. As your follower count rises, influencers and other essential connections are more likely to notice your brand.
The Financial Benefits
Content is like any other practice investment. Content marketing gives financial benefits that improve the bottom line.
So… if you are a private practice healthcare owner and you are looking to grow and scale your practice or generate more new patients for the practice – we are here for you! Drop a comment below if you have questions or if you’d like to set up a call with us go here: https://chat.practiceinsidersedge.com/PIE-Triage-Call