To build your online reputation through content marketing you need content, content and more content. But not just any content. Unless you produce well-written articles and posts that address and solve your audience’s problems and concerns, you’re wasting time and money.
There are several ways to keep your content fresh and promote it both online and offline:
- White papers/E-booklets/Special reports: What are the key problems your clients/patients want solved? The answer to that question can provide a direction for a five to ten page free white paper, report or e-booklet that takes either a narrative or workbook approach. Whether you are marketing to healthcare practices or facilities or to patients directly, this tool shows your audience your unique insights and understanding of their issues with well-researched information that addresses common complaints or concerns. It is a great opportunity for building an online audience as well as your mailing list (offer it for free and request their email address in return.) Once you’ve created this type of lead magnet, you can get leverage from it by using sections of it to create blog posts, data sheets, newsletters, and articles.
- A blog: Publishing a blog is like having your own column in a newspaper or magazine, only that magazine lives on your own website. Blog posts can be as simple as a health tip of the day/week or as complex as an in-depth review of an innovative medical technique or technology. Blogging requires frequency and should only be started if you can commit to producing a new post at least once a month. It is a great way to ensure you have new content on your website. It also gives you material that can be repurposed for use on other social media pages, such as LinkedIn and Facebook. Each time you post a new article to your blog, you can promote it—and encourage staff and friends to share it—online.
- Guest blogging: Sometimes a more effective way to build authority and reputation is to write articles for an online publication that serves the audience you want to reach. There are many healthcare and health IT publications and blogs online that would be happy to have your expert perspective on the healthcare topics most important to you. Many will give you a byline that leads back to your website. This requires research to discover the best venues to publish in and the best time year to submit articles. Or, you can work with a ghost writer, such as me, who can capture your thoughts in words.
- Pages on your website: Rather than publish a blog, you can periodically add new pages or content to your website in the form of case studies, testimonials, reports, and patient education articles. This content can also be shared on social media to link visitors back to your site.
- E-Newsletters: Once you have a sizable mailing list (which you can create by asking patients to sign up for it and/or by offering a special report or article on your website in return for email addresses), you can keep in touch with your audience through periodic e-newsletters. These can feature updates about your business, industry news, thought leadership articles, patient education and general news.
- Videos: YouTube is one of the major search engines patients and other healthcare clients use to get health and industry information. Creating your own videos and posting them to your own YouTube channel and your website can be an effective way to build audience and SEO for your website.
Social media allows you to exchange ideas and form relationships with your target audience. Posting unique and interesting content instead of blasting promotional messages to users will help build and establish your business’ reputation.