A business blog is an incredible marketing tool for a small business, and that includes dental practices. You want to bring in new patients so you can grow your practice and generate more revenue. A blog is a great way to do that. I can prove it.
Check out these stats:
• Companies that increase blogging from three to five times a month to six to eight times a month almost double their leads.
• Companies with over 200 blog articles generate more than five times the leads than those with 10 or fewer.
• The average company will see a 45% growth in traffic when it increases its total number of blog articles from 11 to 20 to 21 to 50 articles.
A business blog improves your lead generation ability because not only is it great for search engine optimization (SEO), but it will build trust. Every blog post you publish becomes its own webpage, so with each post you build your online presence and grow your Internet footprint. The bigger your footprint, the more content Google has to refer to online searchers. That means more people (potential new patients) are finding your blog. When you create high quality content for your blog, the prospects you attract are nurtured and turned into leads, because your content causes them to trust you and your practice.
Now that you know how much of an impact a blog can be for your marketing, you need to figure out some topics. Many of my clients claim their biggest roadblock for starting a blog is figuring out what to write about.
The most valuable blog content is educational and patient-centered
For your blog to generate results for your dental practice, you need your content to attract the interest of quality prospective patients — those who are already searching the Internet for information about dental issues. You can attract these potential patients by providing them with the information they’re looking for. Posts that are self-promotional aren’t as valuable from a marketing standpoint, because prospective patients aren’t interested in reading an advertisement. You need to show your practice’s quality by helping them with their questions about dental care.
Here are three examples...
1) 3 Warning Signs of Impacted Wisdom Teeth
Wisdom teeth are something most people have to deal with at some point. There are people searching online right now for information on recognizing a problem with their wisdom teeth. Maybe they’re already experiencing symptoms and trying to identify the problem. If you create a blog post that explains the symptoms that occur from impacted wisdom teeth, those quality prospects can find your post, see that you know what you’re talking about, and call to make an appointment.
2) The Ultimate Toothpaste Guide
There are literally dozens of toothpaste variations, and this can be confusing for untrained consumers. A post that breaks them all down, explains the differences, how each one benefits users, and what types of teeth need which variation would be a great post to attract prospective patients who want to improve their dental hygiene. When they read your post, they build trust with your practice and may be encouraged to make their next cleaning appointment with your practice.
3) TMJ Problems and How You Can Prevent Them
TMJ problems are rising due to high stress levels in the world today. More people are experiencing these problems, so more people are interested in reading about how to prevent them. When you give free preventive information like this, your prospective patients see you as a professional who is generous with his or her knowledge. It makes your practice seem very patient-centered, and shows that you prioritize the health and well being of your patients, instead of just making money from them. Ironically, this mentality actually wins you more patients, and does end up increasing your revenue!
If you don’t have a blog for your dental practice, you’re missing out on some big marketing opportunities. Use these examples to spark your brainstorming session. Come up with some other topics that your prospective patients want to learn about. Educating them on the issues that are important to them makes your practice very attractive.
Don’t forget — you can get three more great blogging ideas by checking out our free report, Business Blog Post Ideas for Creating Desirable Content.
It’s time to get started. Happy blogging!
Joy Gendusa is the founder and CEO of PostcardMania, a marketing firm that specializes in direct mail, email, and website development. She used postcards to grow PostcardMania from almost nothing — just a computer — to a $20 million enterprise in less than a decade. Download her free 95-Step Total Marketing Checklist today, or find her on Google+.
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