Build Referral-Generating Relationships With Content

By Steve Klinghoffer

Regardless of the nature of your health care practice, you may have heard the terms "relationship-based marketing" or "content marketing" recently. In marketing circles, they have become today's buzzwords. Because I have helped businesses market themselves with editorial content for almost three decades, I know content marketing to be tried and true-not a fad. When I first entered this business as a young attorney-turned-entrepreneur, we called it newsletter marketing; today, we might also refer to it as Internet, e-mail or social media marketing. Regardless of what you call it, today's marketing comes down to the idea that content is king.

Marketing has always been about relationships, but traditional advertising has changed. For today's marketers, the single best way to maintain relationships with patients and referring health care providers is through content marketing. The people you work with-and want to work with-are skeptical of marketing, especially from a health care provider. They're not looking to be sold. They're looking for a professional with a solid reputation.

By providing valuable content, you can meet the needs of patients and referring health care providers and build relationships with them. Whether it's a blog, eNewsletter, printed newsletter or social media, a content marketing strategy can build powerful relationships and generate results.

Here are four tips to make your content marketing work for your health care practice:

1. It's about them, NOT you.
The focus of traditional advertising was always "me, me, me." But the truth is, your patients and referral sources care much less about you than they do about what you can do for them. That's what makes content marketing so powerful. A dentist, for example, can develop content related to the latest breakthroughs in treatment options and provide links to these with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media.

By informing your audience, you'll demonstrate that you are the expert they should trust with their health, not the one simply trying to sell them a service.

2. Provide value.
Remember that it's about them, and your content marketing will best meet the needs of your readers. Ask yourself, will my patients or referring health care providers care about this? Why should this matter to them? These questions will help you keep the focus on information they will value. And they'll remember you for it.

3. Persist.
Sometimes, if they don't see instant results, health care practices can become discouraged with their content marketing strategy. You often won't know the full long-range impact of your blogs, newsletters or social media posts. But remember that quality content is doing something very powerful: It consistently reinforces the idea that you're the expert in your field, whether it be pediatric dentistry, orthodontics or physical therapy. It also keeps you top-of-mind with your audience.