How Can Content Marketing Increase Healthcare Brand Loyalty?

In a pandemic, the healthcare industry stands still as a helping hand to many, whether virtually or in person. Meanwhile, the hospital industry started considering adapting to the digital world. With 95% of organizations using it, many started seeing strong results in patient acquisition and the importance of content marketing in healthcare.

Regardless of the goal, one evident change is that high-quality content improves brand loyalty. In this blog post, we’ll walk you through how strategic content creation works.

The Importance of Content Marketing in Healthcare

In the healthcare industry, it takes trust, reliability, and empathy. Many patients start their healthcare journey by finding and comparing institutions, usually through a search. In this context, content marketing helps healthcare institutions to build these aspects by delivering the information and answering common health-related questions.

To understand it, consider it as an approach to advertising healthcare services with the power of words. No matter if it’s a blog post, educational videos, a research paper, or a case study, every content is an opportunity to connect with patients.

The Role of Keywords

About 65% of patients search online before connecting with a doctor. At the core of content marketing, an ideal alignment of keywords is the foundational strategy. A keyword could be a word or phrase that plays a significant role in the content.

Search engines like Google or Microsoft Edge use keywords to determine which results should appear in SERPs. The search results direct people looking for healthcare services to the well-drafted written piece.

Long-tail Versus Broad Keywords

Generally, there are 2 common types of keywords, i.e., broad and long-tail. Broad keywords are short words and phrases that can be applied to almost all healthcare facilities. Long-tail keywords are just the opposite. They are longer words or phrases that are more specific to an organization or location.

Here is an example for both:

➔ Broad: Physiotherapy, Chiropractor, Slipped Disc, etc.

➔ Long-tail: Best Physiotherapy in Greater Kailash 2, an experienced Manhattan heart surgeon, the best chiropractor in Delhi, or a massage therapist near me.

The strategic usage of both types of keywords can contribute to increased visibility and rank higher in search results.

Personalization Reflects on Patient Engagement

Content marketing doesn’t always have to be promotional and conversion-driven. Apparently, it can also solve problems or provide information to the patients. The best part is that content marketing allows organizations to connect with patients on a personal level, via newsletter, blogs, articles, or social media updates.

Wondering how to do it? Let us illustrate you with an example:

To establish a relationship with patients, institutions can come up with content that addresses specific health concerns or offers tips. For example, “How to find an affordable chiropractor in South Delhi” or “A complete guide on cervical pain”.

Types of Content Marketing to be Used in Healthcare

Here are the most effective content types for brand locality in healthcare:

➔ Blog Posts: Blogs include answers to common patient questions, health tips, and debunking myths. These are highly consumed, as 83.6% of patients prefer reading blogs, which serve as a main source of recommendations. Plus, 31% of marketers use it to boost brand awareness.

For example, a like on a topic, “5 Easy Exercises for Back Pain Relief,” builds trust and positions the brand as a helpful expert.

➔ E-books: They include well-researched or in-depth guides to educate patients. The tricky part about it is that it shouldn’t be salesy. Instead, e-books are straightforward, backed by research.

➔ Case Studies: These are one of the cheapest and least time-consuming forms of content to make. Why? Because these are written based on real patient experiences that you already have. For example, it can show how a patient recovered from a knee injury.

➔ Emails: We are all aware of email marketing; it’s an old approach. With this marketing strategy, healthcare institutions can stay in touch with their patients. For example, it includes appointment reminders, newsletters, personalized health plans, inauguration of new clinic, pending vaccinations, etc.

Do You Know? 🤔:

A recent study found that the average open rate for healthcare-related email campaigns is 41%.

➔ Podcasts: Since people don’t have enough time to read 300 or 400 pages of research papers to know their condition and diagnosis, podcasts are ideal as it is easily accessible in audio or video formats. In podcasts, certified doctors can discuss topics like injury prevention, posture correction, or patient experiences.

➔ User-Generated Content: Here, users take charge of creating content, share their stories, testimonials, or before-and-after photos. This way, the patients can have the opportunity to become a face for big institutions. For example, they can share their experience with a new chiropractor in South Delhi.

Industry Statistics

To get in contact with more patients, content marketers have started optimizing their channels to drive more appointment calls. Given that, have a look at how content marketing in healthcare is shaping patient experience, based on insights:

➔ As compared to non-search, search drives 3x more visitors to hospital sites.

➔ 94% of patients consider reviewing online reviews to evaluate healthcare service providers.

➔ 88% of healthcare appointments are made via phone.

➔ There is a huge revenue potential when organizations start optimizing their marketing game to get more calls, as the caller retention rate is 28% higher when compared to the web lead retention rate.

➔ 50% of healthcare marketers believe that an opportunity to improve the marketing strategy is within content.

➔ 70% of healthcare marketing executives mentioned their organization has strategic content marketing in place.

Final Words

Content marketing in the healthcare industry isn’t just about generating leads; it is more dedicated to delivering knowledge and attracting patients to enjoy consultation from top doctors or practitioners. Given that, by marketing valuable, localized, and empathetic content, healthcare service providers can grow digitally at a faster pace.

When patients feel supported, educated, understood, and heard, they are more likely to remain loyal to a certain practice or service, ultimately contributing to brand loyalty.