Bridging the gap between your practice and your patients with blogging!

There are a number of tools you can use to show patients what your practice is all about. For example, you can post fun photos on your Facebook page or you can post an interactive story on Instagram. But let’s focus on your most powerful tool – your blog!

If you’re not blogging, it’s time to get started!

Here are four benefits of  maintaining an updated, consistent blog:

• SEO: When writing a new blog you are updating your website with unique content which in turn helps your Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Search engines crawl your website to see how frequently your website is updated, so having fresh content is paramount.
• The People’s Champ: Blogging about what’s going on around the community is a great way to have potential patients connect with your brand. It shows that you are involved and care about the lives of your patients beyond your office.
• Social Butterfly: A great thing about a blog is that you do not have to just leave it on your website. You can share your blog post link through Facebook, put the URL in your Instagram bio, or even send it out via Twitter. This is a great way to highlight your content across multiple platforms.
• While You’re in the Neighborhood: When a potential patient is checking out your blog, they are spending time on your website. They are a simple mouse click away from that appointment request button. Your blog could be the key factor in helping convert a potential patient!

Admittedly, one of the hardest parts about blogging is deciding what topics to write about. As a doctor, you have the knowledge to help educate patients about procedures, your practice and ultimately, you! Your blog is a great outlet for showing the world why you are the best at what you do.

To get you started, here are three simple and easy topics you can build off of:   

• Staff Spotlight: Your staff is the backbone of your practice; the blog is a great place to highlight what makes them so great! Ask them about their hobbies, pets, children, or favorite TV shows. Let your patients get to know who exactly they are interacting with at your practice.
• Continuing Education: When you go to a tradeshow such as ADA, AAO or PNDC, feel free to write about what you learned. You can even have some fun with it and tell them about the break you had to make to take a photo of a cloud you saw that looked like a dinosaur. It’s your blog, have some fun!
• Community: If you do something for the community like a patient appreciation event or sponsoring a Little League team, a blog post is a great way to keep the public updated. The blog is also where you can give every last detail about your community involvement.

Blogging is a crucial way to share with patients and potential patients about how great your practice is. And believe it or not, it can be a lot of fun! If you are using our Sesame Social product, reach out to the Sesame Social team. They are well versed in the latest tips and trends to make your blog a must read.

—Scott George, Marketing Coordinator, Sesame Communications