Haven’t heard of content marketing? Even if you don’t recognize the term, you already know what it is. Content marketing is involves creating and sharing valuable, relevant information to get exposure and capture customers. Blogging is a form of content marketing. Newsletters and social media are too.

What does this have to do with your medical practice? Well, if content marketing isn’t part of your practice marketing strategy, you’re missing out on a huge, relatively inexpensive way to grow your practice.

Ok, considering I have content marketing in my title, you could say I’m a little biased when talking about its significance. That’s why I’m sharing this useful infographic from the folks at Coffee Break Medical Marketing (a fantastic marketing resource for medical practices). The stats speak for themselves.  The vast majority of Americans seek their health information online. Plus, we know people often find and choose new doctors online. That means if you’re producing valuable, medical content online, you’re much more likely to garner attention and authority for your name and your practice — and get new patients.

And it’s not just about getting your name in front of people. As the infographic below shows, most people are actually more likely buy something from a company (or in this case, sign up with your practice) after reading their custom content. They just “feel better” about the company after reading that content.

The idea behind content marketing is that sharing intelligent content that improves people’s lives will earn you their trust and, in the end, their loyalty as customers. And it works. That’s why huge companies like Microsoft and P&G are doing it.

On top of all of this, patients are increasingly seeking a more personal connection with their doctors, and raising their expectations of how they should be able to interact with them. Sharing helpful articles (whether your own or from others) on social channels is one content marketing strategy for creatively engaging potential patients and connecting in a way that fits into their daily lives.

Ready to add content marketing to your medical practice marketing strategy? Besides the resources available on our blog, be sure to check out Coffee Break Medical Marketing.