How to Create a Profitable Library of Content for Your Patients

When it comes to building patient trust, showing them that you are the expert from the moment they visit your site is what will win them over.  If you provide them with valuable, useful information as they are considering the services you provide, they will not only trust you, but will be more likely to select you over the competition.

Here are some creative ways to create content for your patients that will increase profits and help your SEO, practice marketing, and your medical social media results.

Step-by-Step: Successful Content Creation

• Since video converts better than any other method of Internet media, make a short video.  Tell visitors about yourself, your education, board certifications, special certificates, awards, media appearances, and accolades you have earned.  Show them video footage or professionally-taken photos of your waiting room, exam rooms, O.R., a doctor-patient consultation in action, and staff interacting with patients (on the phone and in person).  Speak about your facilities, staff strengths, services you provide, and surgical center accreditation as the video footage is showing.  Make sure that you also make testimonial videos and before and after showcase videos for patients to look at.

• Have a menu item on your web site dedicated to Procedure Videos that go into detail about each of the procedures you perform.  Make a separate video for each procedure explaining what patients can expect, how long each procedure takes, and the healing times they can expect.  Videos are liked by Google even more than web pages, and they give videos top rankings.

• Dedicate another menu item on your web site for articles. This area should explain your procedures in steps, words, and visual illustrations.  Include a few before and after pictures for each procedure and a link to your complete gallery so they can explore everything.  Not only will your patients learn at their own pace, but the pictures will reinforce your expertise and the integrity of your work.  Be sure to put "alt text" in the picture properties so that Google can have some text behind the pictures by which to index them.  When potential patients search in "Google Images" for the plastic surgery, dermatology, or dental procedure they're looking for, Google will pick up the alt text in your images and place your picture at the top of the search results for local patients.  When they click on your picture from Google, it will take them right to your web site.  This is one of the best ways to get found in Google.

• Make absolutely sure that you have a prominent and professionally-presented photo gallery, divided by procedure type, for your patients to explore.  Patients are looking to see how good your work looks.  For breast augmentations, for example, some women look specifically for pictures of women with their same body shape.  This can help them to visualize what they might look like after undergoing that same procedure.
• Be sure to have a blog on your web site and update it 1-2 times a week with fresh content.  Some ideas for blog topics that get major attention from our experience are those that cover plastic surgery horror stories (look in the news), new advances in FDA-approved devices or products, celebrity stories having to do with skin treatments, brand-new smiles, or plastic surgery, and reviews about products you recommend and use on your own patients.  Make sure to promote your blog posts on all of your social media accounts and ask your staff to like, share, and comment on your posts to help spread the word.
• When it comes time to send out your bi-weekly email newsletter, be sure to share the most popular blogs from the last few weeks to keep the buzz going.  Make sure to include social media sharing buttons on your blog posts so patients and email subscribers can easily share your content.

Need Help Putting Everything in Motion?

The reason we recommend including videos, articles, blogs, and photos on your web site is because everyone learns in a different manner.  Your site needs to cater to each person’s individual learning style in order to provide them with what they need to help them make a well- informed decision.  By including a variety of delivering methods for the information on your site, your patients will be more likely to stay, explore, and take that next crucial step toward coming in for a consultation with you.

Contact us today by calling 951.665.8360 if you'd like help implementing these content-rich areas on your web site.  It's never too late!  Make changes now and start reaping the benefits of your profitable content by tomorrow.

Updated April 9, 2013