Blogging Tips for Health Practitioners

Before deciding whether to include a blog on your website, you may want to answer these questions first:

• Do you have a full website and do your pages contain all the relevant information your patients or clients need to be aware of?

• Do you enjoy writing and are you good at it?

• Do you have the time to blog on a consistent basis?

• If you don’t have the time to blog, can you afford to outsource the work to a competent writer?

• Do you need to be found on the Internet?

• Do you want to create a deep connection with your patients?

• Do you work in a competitive area and need to distinguish yourself from other practitioners in your field?

• Do you want to inform, educate, and become a trusted resource by becoming a well known expert?

Your Website

If you still don’t have a website, it’s time you got one. Not only are you losing business but you are depriving patients of the opportunity to vet your practice. If you have a website that is outdated, patients / clients will make the assumption your knowledge and practice are outdated as well.  

Your Blog

Assuming you have decided to incorporate a blog into your website, what should you do?

• Be consistent. Ideally post once a week and no less than once a month.

• You are familiar with your field but can you convey your knowledge to the lay reader? Studies show that most people, including PhD’s prefer to read at an 8^th grade level. Therefore, picture yourself speaking to one of your patients and avoid jargon.

• Choose topics you and your patients are interested in or are passionate about. If you are at a loss, conduct a few Google searches in your field and see what kinds of questions come up.

• People love stories. Tell them real life stories to illustrate your message, but be careful with details to maintain HIPAA compliance.

• Have someone who has strong English language skills read / edit your post.

• Use images, charts, questionnaires, and video content to enhance your posts. We’re living in a post literate society. While Baby Boomers and Generation X still like to read and will be seeking information, younger generations prefer to be entertained. The Silent Generation may also prefer to watch and listen if their eyesight isn’t what it once was.  

• Take the dates off your posts. You want your content to be evergreen, relevant, and not outdated.

• Update your older posts regularly with new information.

• Share your content on your social media pages. You can share the same post across all your social media accounts and you can reshare the same content up to six times in the same year. Not all of your followers are seeing your posts, and chances are they missed some Resharing gives them a chance to read that content.

Getting found on the Internet: What should you do to increase your visibility?

SEO

Google bots are getting smarter at assessing on page information. Therefore, search engine optimization happens on page and not simply due to a few keywords that are placed at the back end of the article. Once you’ve googled and chosen a topic of interest, check out the long tail keywords that are associated with this question.  For example instead of Googling the word Botox, people will input –How long does Botox last? Use these long tail keywords in your Headings. There are tools you can use to help you with writing and SEO, such as the Yoast SEO plugin. 

I will write a more comprehensive post on SEO in the future and detail the exact steps you can take to get great SEO results. SEO isn’t complicated but it is time consuming, so be prepared for to invest a few hours before you get the hang of it. Fortunately, by virtue of your respective field alone, many keywords and phrases will occur naturally in the course of your blog post.

Word Count

Google, confusing quality and quantity is looking for blog posts of 1000-1800 words. Be complaint if you need exposure. On the positive side, search engines can tell how popular your site is by the number of visits, how long people stay on your pages, and links your posts get. All those factors influence your ranking but well written, engaging content will always win.

Hate writing and enjoy speaking?  I have wonderful news for you.

Social media sites are heavily pushing video content over written content. That means your posts will be selected by their algorithms over written content.  Your videos don’t need to be shot by a videographer. In fact, people prefer authenticity, so get your phone out, review the video below, and start talking. Sure, you may be stiff at first, but you’ll get better with time.

Establishing trust

The main thing to remember is the following:

If people are looking for information or help on your website, they might be already be ill, in pain, or seriously concerned about their health. They might follow a word of mouth recommendation but even so they will want look you up. The Internet is here to stay and even 57% of people over sixty five have embraced it.

Many people will choose you by specialty and by location. However, if you are in an area where you are competing with others in your field, you can distinguish yourself by reaching out to them with informative posts.

Your posts show that you care. You care about taking the time to show up and help others.  You care about expanding their knowledge and easing their concerns. You care about being the best you can be.

You also have the perfect medium to show them who you are and to enhance their trust. People make emotional decisions all the time, but particularly when they are vulnerable. You want to be their guide and be worthy of the trust they place in you. 

Working with a blogger or an editor

If you choose to outsource your writing or write anything from a topic suggestion to an outline to a rough post, you will need to choose the right person for the job. What should you look for?

• The writer / editor has some comprehension of the topic.
• The writer/ editor can match your voice and personality.
• Do you like them and are they easy to work with? 
• Can they show you an example of their work?
• Can they work within your budget and time-frame?
• Are they an effective communicator?

Discuss your goals and their process, including research, with them and make sure you understand it thoroughly. Good writing isn’t easy to produce and usually you get what you pay for.