You might have heard that blogging is good for your brand. The truth is, 82 percent of marketers who blog see positive ROI for their content marketing-driven efforts. But you are just not sure if investing in a blog for your healthcare organization is the best move. If you have a lot of questions, that’s okay. But looking at a few questions and answers will help you find out if blogging for healthcare organizations is worth it or not.
Ask yourself if blogs are really effective in healthcare. In 2014, Cleveland Clinic was highlighted as one of the top hospitals in the nation in aligning with patient needs with online capabilities. Manager of Digital Engagement Amanda Todorovich says that the organization’s Health Hub blog is home and anchor of all of the content we are pushing out to a customer audience.
Blogging seems to work for one of the most recognizable hospitals in the US but does it work for B2B healthcare organizations? Invacare, a manufacturer of medical equipment for the home as well as long-term markets, launched a new website in 2012 for a certain audience. “Do More With Oxygen” was built with COPD sufferers in mind and functions as a community where COPD patients, their caregivers and their respiratory or physicians could find blog posts, tip sheets and eBooks with relevant, updated information regarding living with COPD. Among the primary characteristics of the community was its dependence on educational instead of product-centric content.
In just eight months, the website got a traffic of more than 54,000. Together with downloadable guides and eBooks resulted in more than 1,200 raw leads.
How will you know if your audience will read your blogs?
During a December 2012 study, Philip Healthcare found that one in 10 Americans believe online health information saved their lives, stating that, they might be already dead or severely incapacitated without any information they found online. In addition, a Pew Internet study found 80 percent of Internet users have looked online for information. This translates to 59 percent of all adults.
As for B2B buyers, Google has already done the research for you through a survey with 700 hospital administrators. The shopping process is always changing for B2B buyers, including doctors and hospital administrators. They now complete more than half of the purchase cycle before even contacting a sales rep. They are gathering information, comparing options and doing so without your input.
Whether a patient or someone making purchase decisions for a hospital, consumers use digital content to narrow down options, make a list of questions and take a closer look at the services or products. If your brand is not producing content for your audiences, they might simply skip over you in the process of selecting a vendor.
How will you know what your audience wants to read?
A successful marketing program starts with knowing your buyers inside and out. You need to know who they are, what job functions they do every day, where they spend their time online, what their professional properties are and what decision criteria they use before they make a purchase. The easiest way to create an editorial calendar your audience is going to devour is to simply ask customers what kind of content they want as well expect.
How do I inspire my staff to develop big ideas?
According to Todorovich, staff members are lining up to take part in Cleveland Clinic’s content marketing efforts. The trick and the absolute key to the level of success has been sharing the data across the enterprise. Showing the success and showing them the time they spend with the organization to contribute to content is worth it. The organization shows that there is a return there that they are reaching people and the they are getting engagement. There are few additional reasons that your team members should consider contributing to your content strategy.
The first reason is getting work published creates visibility for the company and the author. Being seen as a published thought leader gets you noticed both in and out of the company. An online portfolio is being developed automatically. Published articles could lead to speaking engagements, being quoted in news stories and other relevant career opportunities.