Content marketing

how to use your dental blog content
February 2, 2017 Content marketing, Dental blog, Dental blogging, Dental marketing strategies, Dental SEO, Social Media No Comments

Are You Wasting Your Dental Blog Content with a One-and-Done Approach?

What happens when you invest your time and dollars? It’s natural to desire to protect and extend the reach of your investment.

Creating dental content is like that. Get the most value from a single piece of dental blog content whether it’s general information that leads to a patient or client decision, SEO, a click to an internal page on your website, or the development of a relationship that includes all the above and more.

A blog post is a blog post is a… (or is it?)

I often hear a consistent theme from clients. In particular, from those for whom I create blog content on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

“Why blog or…how do we get the most “mileage” from our blog content?”

Blog content isn’t an “end” in itself. Far from it.

It’s a good (and I believe essential) place to “dip your toe” into the dental content marketing waters. But you must see beyond the “build-it-and-they-will-come” mindset.

Believe me, the consistent creation of dental blog content will boost your brand. The blog page on your dental website can become a leverage point for your influence, expertise, SEO, and social media engagement.

Think leverage when you consider the impact of your dental practice or dental business blog. But think beyond it being a one-and-done content marketing strategy.

One of my blog clients gets what I’m saying here. I write an average of two posts a month for this large, two doctor, two location dental practice.

What they do post delivery has the potential to triple the impact of each blog post. Let’s unpack their simple approach and apply it your dental content marketing strategy.

How to maximize the impact of a single piece of dental blog content and leverage it into a profit producing resource.

Commit to consistently publishing blog content

This will require time and dollars. My recommendation is to outsource this to a skilled, qualified, experienced copywriter or content creator – preferably one who knows the dental industry culture.

Sound biased? I am (unapologetically).

The reason? Your time savings plus the writing perspective that’s less technical (industry-speak) and more conversational (how people skim, read, engage content).

Your content “bread-and-butter.”

  • Blog content answers basic questions.
  • Blog content provides practical solutions to problems.
  • Blog content is searchable and can potentially improve your page rankings.
  • Blog content is flexible

Let’s explore the idea of content flexibility.

Communicate with those who already trust you

There are numerous nuances to marketing. Two are common.

The most common is invasive or interruptive. Broadcast media, sales calls, direct mail, etc., fall into that category.

Another is permission based. Seth Godin rocked the marketing world a few years ago when he published his epic book, “Permission Marketing.”

People will grant you permission when they trust you as a source of valuable information. That’s putting it way more simply than Godin does but you hopefully get the point.

For example, your email list is a good, entry level example of this idea. Patients, clients, or interested individuals have given you “permission” to email them by trusting you with their email address.

Back to your blog content…

A single blog post is for public consumption. It has a url on your website, it can be searched and found based on the title or meta-data that’s keyword sensitive, and anyone can access it and share it at will – regardless of permission or trust.

Why stop there? Model what one of my client’s does.

First, publish the content on your website’s blog page.

Then…do one of two things…

Create an email with a compelling subject line and brief “teaser” lead with a clickable “Read more…” link embedded in the body of the email that directs the reader back to the original post on your website.

Or…

Create a separate email newsletter that includes the entire blog post (what my client does).

Send it to your list.

And there’s one more…

Connect with your “tribe” on social media

Others (your “tribe”) choose to follow in addition to the above or solely via your social media channel(s). For example, your dental practice or dental business Facebook Page.

Here’s the content marketing strategy flow my client follows:

Blog post to email to…social media (Facebook Page)

I write the post and create three Facebook posts that link back to that specific post and/or another post that is linked within the blog post.

They get traffic to the original post plus traffic to another post or service page on their website. And don’t underestimate the value of posting useful, relevant, solution-focused content on your social media channel(s).

The value of the social media connection is the ongoing ability to engage via comments, answer more questions, monitor feedback, etc.

And get this…every inquiry, question, feedback comment is a “seed” for future content.

Why?

It promotes social “listening” into what their questions, problems, or concerns are. Bingo!

Now you’re back at step one – blog content!

And you thought a blog post is a blog post is a blog post…!

It’s way more. But you gotta maximize your investment.

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dental content that produces results
January 26, 2017 Content marketing, Dental blog, Dental blogging, Dental Copywriting, Dental marketing strategies No Comments

The “Lingering Effect” and How It Turns “Lookers” Into “Buyers” Using Your Dental Content

I’m not a real estate expert. I own a house and know a few real estate agents, that’s as close as I get.

I’ve observed something about the real estate process lately. And it has some value to the process of creating dental marketing copy and content.

The house across the street from ours is on the market. The “FOR SALE” sign went up a few days after the last occupants moved out and the flow of lookers has been steady.

There are the “Slow Drive-by’s”. They’re the ones checking the area, the property appearance, and other points of interest on their house-hunting list.

There are the “Ubers” as I call them (those who arrive chauffeured by a Realtor). These folks have taken their house hunt a step further by making this one of several stops on the “let-me-show-you-some-options-in-your-price-range” tour.

And then there are the “Lingerers” – those who arrive with a Realtor and linger on site. These individuals form an emotional attachment to the property, they begin to picture their evenings on the patio, meals being prepared in the kitchen, dinners around the dining table, what their furniture will look like throughout, etc.

The difference between the “Slow Drive-by’s”, the “Ubers,” and the “Lingerers” – an emotional connection.

The effectiveness of your dental content marketing strategy depends on your ability to (over time) create the “lingering effect.”

How to Increase the Time Your Audience Invests Consuming Your Dental Content

1-Create something worth “checking out”

The “slow drive-by’s” simply checking out property might not ultimately buy. But they’re willing to invest their time and fuel to see what’s available.

Your dental marketing copy and content ultimately has one goal. It’s availability is to build a relationship.

The operative word is “build.”

Your patients and clients are accustomed to consuming massive amounts of content. Sure, not all of it (or probably not much at all) has anything to do with dentistry.

The only way you’ll be worth a “drive-by” is if you answer their questions or provide solutions to their problems.

Make sure your dental copy and content is valuable as a problem-solution/question-answer resource.

2-Create a sense of partnership

Realtors no doubt prefer to “chauffeur” their clients on their house hunting tour. Why?

They can “control” the relationship. They drive, they provide the list, and they can then provide the necessary information throughout the buyer-journey.

Become a “chauffeur” of sorts through your dental copy and content. You KNOW what your patients and clients do not KNOW.

You must also know the unique connection of  your services to their individual emotional and physical desires. This requires listening and leveraging what you hear into content that meets them where they are.

“Drive” them step by step to a decision. Not all at once though…

Remember effective content marketing is a journey toward a deeper relationship that ultimately results in them investing in your services or expertise.

A blog post, podcast, social media content, email, or direct mail create a relational thread that eventually compels trusted buy-in.

3-Create a lingering connection

Realtors must love those who linger on a property. This tells them that an emotional connection is being made.

The longer your readers stay on your website, follow the links within your blog posts, follow your social media channels, and click the links on your emails the greater opportunity you have to create a lingering connection with them.

Keep them in-the-house as often as possible and as long as possible.

Content that delivers value causes your reader to begin including you in their “story.”

In real estate a “SOLD” sign says the process worked. Your dental content marketing is a process too.

“SOLD” is the result of moving “drive-by’s” to “partners” to “lingerers” and ultimately “buyers.”

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dental marketing that cuts through the noise
January 12, 2017 Content marketing, Dental Copywriting, Digital marketing No Comments

Does Your Dental Marketing Copy and Content Cut Through the Noise?

I credit Brian Clark and his Copyblogger article. He prompted my thinking about an essential element of compelling copy and content including what use in your dental marketing.

Writing is hard. Reading more so.

How’s that?

You (and your readers) must identify with a compelling reason to take action. In essence, that’s scheduling, using your service, or making a purchase.

Basically it’s the primary response your dental content and dental copy intends to prompt in your reader.

Is it compelling?

What makes content creation difficult is not the writing itself. It’s the identifiable benefits that are hidden behind the features that pose the challenge.

Features are easy.

That’s a theme I’ve covered before. There’s no shortage of feature-intensive dental content.

It’s easy to focus on the newest, greatest, latest, state-of-the-are, cutting-edge this or that. Right?

No doubt you’re proud of whatever it is that you’ve recently acquired or offer as a service. But adding an emphasis on the “thing” without compelling your audience with what the “thing” can do for them makes for a weak, lazy marketing message.

“Why didn’t I think of that…?”

Clark highlights the value of true benefits with a reference to direct response copywriter, Clayton Makepeace.

“…(He) asserts that fake benefits will kill sales copy, so you have to be on the lookout for them in your writing. He uses this headline as a an example: 

Balance Blood Sugar Levels Naturally!

That sounds pretty beneficial, doesn’t it? In reality, there’s not a single real benefit in the headline.

True benefits

Makepeace advises to apply his patented ‘forehead slap’ test to see if your copy truly contains a benefit for the reader. 

Here’s how Makepeace identifies the real benefit in that headline:

‘Nobody really wants to balance their blood sugar levels. But anyone in his or her right mind DOES want to avoid the misery of blindness…cold, numb, painful limbs…amputation…and premature death that go along with diabetes.’”

See the difference?

Make a connection where your reader “feels” something – the risk and effects of diabetes. This hits them where your reader (in this instance) lives.

Get “emotional” about it

Your copy shouldn’t be emotional for the sake of it. That leaves your reader numb and unable to do much about it.

Tap into emotions that compel a response.

Think what?, why?, how?

What is your product, service, etc., and what does it do? This is the feature level.

Why is this important, useful, etc., in the first place? Now you’re thinking at the edge of benefits.

Now…

How does your product or service actually connect with your patient’s/client’s desires? Here’s where you think emotionally and make it about the real benefits they’ll receive from whatever you’re promoting.

Nothing “fringe” about the benefits

Ultimately benefits are personal to everyone who interacts with your promotional copy. They make up their mind and take action simply because you ask them to but…in response to being compelled at an emotional rather than solely rational level (where a high percentage of marketing copy and content fails).

“What’s in it for me?” is the ultimate question your copy and content must answer. Get your reader, listener, viewer to ask that question and it’s only a matter of time before you can lead them to a responsive answer.

And that’s the goal for much of your marketing copy and content – ACTION!

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eye to eye dental marketing
January 5, 2017 Content marketing, Dental blogging, Dental Business, Dental Copywriting, Dental Industry, Dental marketing strategies No Comments

How to Meet Your Audience Eye-to-Eye in Your Dental Marketing Content

Sometimes the strain is too much. In my case it was the strain I consistently felt in my neck.

A practical Christmas gift solved that problem. And it prompted me to think about a principle that can keep your dental content and dental marketing from being well…a pain-the-neck.

I’m at my desk for the majority of each work day. My stand-up desk, though efficient and good for my overall health, even so created ongoing tension in my neck and shoulders.

Looking down at my MacBook Pro all day left me sore at day’s end.

I browsed for a more ergonomic solution. And viola!

The Rain mStand.

This gorgeous piece of aluminum looks sweet on my desk top. More important, it provides the lift I need  to bring my MacBook Pro to eye-level.

Mom hooked me up with one for Christmas. I’m stoked about it.

Everything’s at eye-level now. Neck-strain gone!

Got me to thinking about marketing-strain.

What’s that you ask?

Consider it any promotion, copy, or piece of content that fails to meet your reader, client, patient, or customer at eye-level.

Eye-to-eye or “die!”

Might seem extreme. But in a world of “hey-look-at-us-and-how-great-we-are” marketing it removes the pain.

Marketing that’s so feature heavy and bloated with industry-speak that it weighs your core message down isn’t compelling.

There’s a better way.

How to Create Dental Marketing Copy and Dental Marketing Content That Meets People at Eye-Level

1-Get personal

Your dental marketing strategy has one purpose, ultimately. It’s to consistently meet your patient/client at their personal “pain-points.”

To clarify, not all patients/clients are at a pain threshold all the time. Much of the time they’re simply looking for a solution to a problem.

This demands that you personalize your strategies.

Speak to each as an individual rather than a collective group. For example, use the word “you.”

This trains you to think in terms of a single person. You’ll naturally write, promote, market as if you’re speaking to them alone.

More important, they’ll feel it too.

2-Stop “selling”

Might seem strange to hear that said in a discussion of marketing. True, “selling” is the outcome of your dental marketing.

Though you perhaps don’t like to think of what you do as “selling” it’s the reality of marketing.

But…

It’s important to understand that the concept of “selling” is much different than the approach that feels and sounds “salesy.” Before you dismiss this point as a matter of semantics, think about it.

“People (you included) don’t like the idea of being sold.”

It’s more a matter of connecting their personal desires, emotions, problems to a solution. That connection is where the real value of “selling” takes place.

You create a “fan” over time by how you engage them with your solutions. If you sound, write, promote like a 15 second tv commercial you’ll do nothing more than numb your market.

Tap into your patient’s/client’s emotional buying motives. It’s reflected in a classic marketing formula according to Theodore “Ted” Levitt:

“People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole.”

And that, my friends, leads to a third and final idea…

3-Solve problems

The “drill” (according to Levitt) isn’t the ultimate, desired solution. The “hole” is!

In our feature-intensive marketing language it’s easy to forget the problem-solution-benefit equation. That is, how your services/products are described or packaged isn’t as valuable to your patient/client as the solution-benefit it provides.

Know your “audience” and you’ll speak to their pain. Listen to chair side conversations, consultant feedback, online reviews, search data, social media data and conversations, etc.

Mine conversations for problems that your unique services/products can solve. Create content that highlights how the problem/pain is solved.

Your dental marketing value will increase within your niche when you give your patients/clients consistent reason to trust your expertise.

Get eye-level. Your pain and theirs will disappear.

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dental blog ideas
June 23, 2016 Content marketing, Dental blog, Dental blogging No Comments

3 Simple Techniques for Maintaining a Steady Stream of Ideas for Your Dental Blog

It’s simple erosion yet the rest of my yard looks great! The lack of lush, green grass in a small portion of my backyard provides a useful principle for how to maintain a steady flow of content on your dental blog.

I’m no lawn expert but I’m aware that grass has difficulty growing once soil erosion sets in. The erosion began a few years ago. Our labrador, Mandy, got it started with her routine “wallow” beneath the shade of our tree.

Overtime the erosion created a washed-out place. Lack of guttering to catch the water and the shade of our now massive maple tree are the main causes now.

Perhaps the biggest problem you face with your dental blog

Informative, search-relevant topic ideas are what sustain your dental blog and most content streams. Without a steady flow of ideas your content strategy will suffer.

You’ll be irrelevant to your growing audience of readers. And you’ll risk losing them because you have nothing that compels them to increase their time on your page.

There’s another fundamental issue. It’s like my guttering problem.

I can stop the erosion if I have a place to catch the water. Like that, ideas must be collected or your dental blog will erode.

A limitless source of ideas

It’s a common problem. It’s also a reason you’ll be tempted to give up on your blog.

You want and need a source of ideas.

Think of ideas like “seeds.”

You plant them in an easy to access place (more on that in a moment). You water them and one day they “green-up” into something useful to your readers.

As a dental professional this all begins with your patients or clients. They are your limitless source of ideas.

Would you allow your patients or clients to write your blog?

However you feel about your current and potential patients/clients, they are your audience. What if you made them part of your content team?

I’m not implying that you should give them access to your WordPress password, allow them to log into your blog, and start writing.

Rather, I’m recommending the you allow them to write your blog from the idea side.

You have a wealth of blog topic ideas within the sound of their voice.

Are you listening?

And listening in this instance has more to do with what’s not being said as much as what IS being said.

Questions are the key. Ask and you shall receive.

How your dental blog can give you expert status

1-“Savor” the questions you’re asked or that you hear

You’re accustomed to dispensing services. Your information comes at a premium.

Most often it’s distributed face to face, chair-side, or another way that requires your physical presence. Nothing wrong with that but it lacks scalability.

These days making your information stream available and easy to access increases your value to patients/clients. They (like you) will search for what they want to know and somewhat expect a quick, useful answer – one that compels action.

This requires having your “radar” fine-tuned.

Are you picking up on the signals that your audience is sending?

They’re consistently informing you through their questions about their problems. Become efficient at “saving” the data you receive in the form of patient/client questions.

Avoid dismissing them as simple inquiries.

Do a deeper dive beneath the surface and listen for motives, fears, and other emotions that could be prompting their question(s).

Next…

2-“Seed” the information you obtain into potential content

I said “potential.” The reason: not all questions “grow” into an evergreen blog post or other content form.

But most will!

Have a place to greenhouse those “seeds.” I use and highly recommend Evernote.

Wherever you plant your content “seeds” for future harvest – Evernote, a paper notebook, Google Doc file, etc., – don’t edit them…yet. Let them take root as other related questions will come along and one day a useful piece of content will emerge.

3-Share the information in an easily accessible format.

Most questions you’re asked can be “seeded” into sub-topics. For example, I blog regularly for an implant specialist.

To date I’ve written over 70 blog posts for him. Ninety-eight percent are related to questions about dental implants.

There’s no way to do this unless you sub-topic that content “seed” (dental implant questions). This is among the main reasons I encourage you to not put all your webpage “energy” into lengthy “Services” pages.

You compel more interest (traffic) via an informative blog page where you’ve “chunked” a broader topic (like dental implants, etc.) into sub-topics that answer your audience’s questions.

Ultimately, it’s about compelling interest in your services. A compelled reader who has easy access to informative, useful content is more likely to take the next step.

And that’s good for “business.” Agreed?

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content marketing curiosity
April 14, 2016 Content marketing, Dental blogging No Comments

How Consistent Curiosity Can Drive Your Dental Content Marketing Strategy

I consume content in a variety of places. What I learn from a favorite children’s character might surprise you and provide you a valuable strategy for your dental content.

Curious George is a fave of our grandson. So naturally he’s among mine too.

Curiosity works

Being consistently curious can lead you to be more resourceful. In fact, that’s usually the outcome for Curious George.

Insatiable curiosity will compel you to look for clues. And those clues form a trail that could lead to a profitable or beneficial breakthrough.

The clues you follow are the essence of your ability to listen to your patients or clients. Picking up on their clues creates a stockpile of content sources.

End dental content marketing frustration

What to write, blog, post, or chat about is an endless challenge. There are, of course, a variety of strategies for the “what-do-I-blog-about-next?” dilemma.

I’ll focus on a fundamental idea in this post.

I was having this discussion recently with a dental client I blog for. We exchanged ideas on effective strategies for being intuitive about their reader’s questions.

The better part of our conversation had to do with turning those questions into blog/article content.

The thing about questions

The questions your readers ask are a vital resource stream for your content. Questions are a window into the needs, wants, and desires of your patients and clients.

Problems masquerade as questions. Answer them with useful solutions and you’ll form potentially profitable connections.

How to Listen and Leverage Your Patient’s or Client’s FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) Into Intentional Dental Content that Delivers Solutions

1-Re-engineer your FAQ page

A well written FAQ page can highlight your services (and related keywords), reveal your awareness of common issues, and promote your expertise. You can also gain significant traction by exporting your solutions to other content streams.

On a blog/article page you have more canvas to work with. You can tap into your patient/client emotions more effectively, provide more benefits, and legitimately invite a call-to-action.

Plus, your blog posts are recognized as more authoritative. This increases your influence and expertise in the eyes of your reader.

Dissect your FAQ page. Look for topics you can expand into blog posts, articles, podcasts, social media, etc.

2-Retrain your social listening skills

There are valuable conversations occurring around you. Their value has to do with your willingness and ability to monitor them.

It’s not creepy at all. Why?

Today’s social media is an open conversation about random and sometimes beneficial information.

Listen to what your patients/clients are talking about on social media. What are their fears, concerns, and problems? Listen and leverage your content in the direction of their search for answers and solutions.

Appoint “brand ambassadors.” Free up select team members to extend their “radar” and listen to patient/client dialogue. Follow social media and key in on trending #hashtags that are relevant to your industry. Listen more intuitively during chair-side conversations about treatment and treatment plan questions. Do this for starters and think “how can we turn this into useful content” while you’re listening or reviewing your discoveries.

3-Recycle feedback

You’ve heard it said (though now a bit cliche) that “feedback is the breakfast of champions.” Don’t know who said that or why but it’s worth reflection.

Track and monitor your support and feedback channels. What’s being said between the lines on your patient/client surveys? How are you being perceived via your online reviews? These channels speak volumes about where your audience is and how you are (or are not) reaching them with your content.

Look over the fence into your “neighbor’s backyard.” That is, scan your competitor’s reviews, testimonials, and social media channels (Facebook page, Instagram, etc.). Find content topic “seeds” you can use on your “channels.”

Curiosity opens your eyes to opportunities you might not have considered. Up your curious nature and “monkey-around” a bit – the payoff could be high.

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