“I don’t wanna just throw a bunch of data on the page and call it good. The stats are important — they’re impressive, you know, but the data isn’t who we are. Who we are is our people.”
A colleague and I were brainstorming with a client, discussing how we best articulate their team’s performance over the past year. I was listening intently, and probably nodding somewhat vigorously — not to appear amiable, but because I was absolutely agreeing with everything that I was hearing.
The thing about creating a strong content strategy for healthcare, no matter if you’re a practice or in tech, recruiting, or otherwise is great storytelling.
That client conversation I was describing earlier was so inspiring because it honed in on one simple idea: we are more than what we produce. Data can be very impressive, but the story surrounding the stats is often the thing we’ll emotionally connect with the most.
- Who are the people at the center of your business’s story?
- What matters to them?
- How do your products or services or support enrich their lives?
Stay mindful of these questions while you’re creating content. Tell personal stories. (Your personal stories. Unless you have permission, of course.) Yes, focus on the outcomes, but don’t be afraid to plumb the depths of your process if there’s value that can be expressed. Be vulnerable where it’s appropriate. Be human.
Carefully weave all of these elements together, and you’ll have created something that is compelling, emotionally resonant, and, believe it or not, effective in growing your business.
Storytelling in Healthcare Marketing
- Why Storytelling Matters in Healthcare Branding & Patient Engagement
- How to Use Patient Stories to Build Trust and Humanize Your Brand
- The Science Behind Emotional Storytelling and Patient Decision-Making
- Case Studies: Successful Storytelling Strategies in Healthcare Marketing
- Video Marketing in Healthcare: Bringing Patient Stories to Life
How to Create People-Centered Content That Converts
There’s no silver bullet in marketing. We all know that. But it should be repeated. That said, there are absolutely best practices when you’re developing a content strategy for healthcare organizations that we follow.
Understand Your Audience
We’re overwhelmed by choice. This is especially true when we’re researching things online. Page after page of Google search results, all essentially telling us the same thing.
While this can feel intimidating when you’re marketing your business, it actually presents a huge opportunity for you to stand out. An incredibly basic but powerful way to stand out is to express your understanding of your audience in your content.
- Who are the people who use your products or services?
- What common problems are you solving for your audience?
- Why do they choose you over your competitors?
- Are there commonalities your audience possesses that will help develop your messaging?
Intake forms, surveys (in the business or via email), and market research firms are just some of the ways that you can get a clear understanding of your audience. And don’t forget to do internal research! Your team’s collective insight on your client base will also help you better understand who you serve and how you create content that actually speaks to them.
The Power of Personalization in Healthcare Content Marketing
Once you have a clearer understanding of your audience, you can start dividing them into even more specific categories, using factors like age, gender, marital status, geography, education, occupation, and income level to create client archetypes.
Of course, people are complex. No group is a monolith. What I think the important lesson here is to have a person in mind when you’re creating content.
For several years of my career, I wrote ad copy that was designed to sell hearing aids. Knowing what I did about the people who most needed hearing aids (and who most resisted doing anything about their hearing health), I would often think of my dad when I was writing those ads.
It transformed what I was doing. I wasn’t constructing an ad. I was offering an emotional appeal.
When you take the person out of the equation, and only focus on the data, you’re removing some intangible element that connects all, and the work suffers for it.
Personalization resonates. We feel it when something is designed with our interests or needs in mind.
Add real-life details to your content. Create a marketing release form and use client testimonials. Use photography and video of real people communicating their real experiences. Create case studies. Feature your team. Highlight your business’s culture. People will naturally gravitate towards the businesses that they most identify with. We’re all kind of tribal in that way, whether or not we care to admit it.
Best Practices for Writing Engaging, Informative Healthcare Content
- Know your audience — Have a clear picture of who your content is for and create it for them, not you!
- Lean into your brand’s personality — Every business has a personality, including yours! It’s what brings your marketing to life. Don’t shy away from it.
- Write to your medium — Landing pages, blogs, emails, and social media all have different purposes. Write accordingly.
- Make it useful — You’re not publishing just to rank. You’re publishing to promote, connect, and convert. Publishing relevant, useful content will help you do all four.
- Make it original — Why repeat what everyone else is doing? You’re in control of this medium. What’s your take?
- Remember the visuals — Photos, video, and graphics all add to the appeal of your content, and so does your formatting. Break up your content into easily scannable sections and create SEO-minded headings.
- Calls to action are essential — You’ve told your story. Great. Now what? Tell people what comes next. Click. Sign up. Learn more. Call today. Take action!
Formada: Content Strategy For Healthcare That Works!
I could go on and on about how to create the best content strategy for healthcare businesses (and I’m sure I will continue to do so in the near future), but now I want to ask you these questions:
Is your current content driving your business forward? Is your website contributing to your growth? And is your blog helping you rank higher in search results to reach more customers?
My hope is that your answer to these questions is yes, but if it’s not, or if you want your content to do more for your business, then I want you to contact us today. We create custom, effective content strategies for healthcare professionals just like you. Don’t delay. Contact us now to learn more!