5 Content Marketing Tips for the Healthcare Industry

We all know the healthcare industry as a diverse and cutting-edge network of providers, plans, patients, and government entities that work in tandem to provide a high quality of life for Americans. It’s also one of the largest industries in our nation, generating $1.668 trillion in 2016. Marketing tactics that have proven successful for other industries are now being adopted in healthcare, channeling the mindset, “If it works for them, it will work for us!” And they are right – it does work.

One of these proven tactics is content marketing. Content is a strong tool for marketing in 2017 because it drives traffic, increases overall brand awareness and costs 62% less than outbound marketing tactics. Below are a few ways in which healthcare organizations can harness content marketing to grow their networks.

Humanize your Company

A big struggle for healthcare companies is effectively connecting to people on a human level. Think about your organization’s website – what media is presented? Does it feature employees, doctors, nurses or other staff? Show visuals of the people that make up your organization to drive home the human connection between your organization and patients. By personalizing your digital content, you are meeting consumers at their level and stripping away the sterile, outsized perception many healthcare industry establishments have.

One way to personalize your marketing content is to tell the stories of your staff, developing a personal dialogue between you and patients. Create personal profiles for staff members, and feature them in marketing content like videos, blog posts, social media posts and photographs.

Added bonus: your staff will have an opportunity to share their stories and tell others why they work in healthcare!

Create Mobile Content  

Over 50% of users now favor mobile devices over desktop, so it’s important to develop content that can be consumed on a mobile device. Create posts that are in list format, or videos that are easy to follow while scrolling through a feed. This type of content is easy to read while on the move, and digestible on a smaller screen. GoMo Health offers a suite of products designed to engage with patients on their mobile device. Click here to learn more about them.

Write for your Audience, not your Industry

The healthcare industry is known to be factual, scientific, and clinical. However, your audience might not be any of those things, and they might not understand content curated with these characteristics. If you are appealing to an audience that doesn’t know about science, you won’t effectively engage with them by using only hard facts and clinical terminology. Instead, develop content that speaks to your audience. Find out what type of content they read, where they read it, and how they communicate, and meet them there.

Show your Industry Expertise

Identify questions that are frequently asked by your patients, and show your capabilities by offering the answers. Producing the answers to Frequently Asked Questions in content on your website will help drive organic traffic to the digital content. It will also help your patients by giving them the answers they need. And because 77 percent of people looking for health information on the Internet began their last session on a search engine, having the answers to frequently-searched questions will give your site major search ranking power.

Social Media: Not Just a Fad

It’s been quite a few years since social media platforms have exploded, and it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere soon. In fact, 41 percent of patients say social media would affect their choice of a specific doctor, hospital, or medical facility. Sharing content on sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube will drive awareness for your brand and push traffic to your website. Being active on social media will also give you the opportunity to see what others are saying about you, and even answer some questions that they might have. Make sure your posts and messages are HIPAA compliant, but use the medium to drive traffic to your website and connect on a deeper level with your audience.

Content marketing requires an investment of time and skill, but the organizations that do it well will reap the rewards. Content marketers have seen conversion rates that are almost six times greater than their competitors. Want to get started on your content marketing journey? Contact GoMo Health today to learn how to better engage with your audience.