Inbound marketers have been struggling with the question of length for years. Should we focus on making the kind of short, “snackable” content that makes sense in the fast-moving world of busy lives and social media? Or are longer pieces that pack in more information better? The answer, as in so many marketing questions, is that it depends on what’s right for your business and audience. For healthcare marketers, making focused, thorough long-form content a part of your marketing efforts can be worth the extra time it requires for a few key reasons, especially when it helps establish your brand's expertise and is part of a comprehensive content marketing strategy.
Understanding the Healthcare Industry
The healthcare industry is a labyrinth of regulations and standards, making it one of the most complex fields to navigate. Healthcare providers, medical schools, and organizations must adhere to stringent guidelines, such as HIPAA and FDA regulations, to ensure compliance and safeguard patient privacy. This regulatory environment, coupled with intense scrutiny and competition, underscores the necessity for healthcare providers to establish their brand’s expertise and authority. Effective content marketing strategies are crucial in this endeavor, as they help build trust and credibility. By producing specialized healthcare content that addresses the unique challenges and nuances of the industry, providers can better connect with their audience and stand out in a crowded market.
Specialized healthcare is complicated.
That’s not a controversial statement. The many years that doctors are expected to spend studying and training before we entrust them with the role speaks to the massive amounts of complicated knowledge they have to learn about how the body works. And new research is always cropping up to complicate things further.
The fast-paced news cycle means that new research inevitably gets oversimplified or exaggerated in reporting, leaving people either confused or convinced they know something that isn’t accurate. When it comes to a subject as big and important as health, the information your audience needs most isn’t usually the kind that makes for exciting headlines and easy summaries — it’s the stuff that merits in-depth coverage. Creating relevant content tailored to your target audience is essential. This ensures that the messaging aligns with the unique needs and characteristics of specific patient groups, enhancing communication and understanding among various audiences.
Everyone’s healthcare needs are different.
Healthcare content that covers general advice and concerns is common. How many blog posts and articles have you seen that discuss the general health advice everyone already knows: drink lots of water, exercise, eat your veggies? There’s nothing wrong with those articles, but most of the patients at your hospital are coming in with more specific concerns.
They don’t necessarily need to know they should exercise more (though it is good advice); they need to know how to deal with the particular health concern they’re facing at that moment. Specialized content creation that does a deep dive into answering the questions a person with a broken leg, pregnancy, or skin cancer diagnosis needs to know will be more relevant and meaningful to those patients in that moment than any more generalized health advice. A robust content strategy tailored to these specific needs ensures that the content is not only engaging but also compliant with industry regulations, ultimately fostering trust and improving patient outcomes.
Focused healthcare content marketing means more meaningful relationships with a smaller number of visitors.
Healthcare marketers can choose to play a numbers game and get as much content out there that reaches as many people as possible. That can pay off, but your competition is fierce if you go that route. By homing in on more specific audiences and crafting the content that’s hyper-relevant to their needs, the number of people who find your content useful will decline, but their relationship to it (and your brand by extension) will be more meaningful.
Doctors and other staff members can help with this; they see firsthand the types of questions and concerns people have when dealing with specific health issues. Use that knowledge to craft focused customer personas that guide the content you create. Incorporating specialized content creation services can ensure that the content produced is tailored to the healthcare industry, enhancing patient connection and building trust. Additionally, employing a multi-channel distribution strategy will help ensure that your content reaches patients across various platforms, improving overall patient interaction and loyalty.
The Role of SEO in Healthcare Content Creation
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a cornerstone of successful healthcare content creation. For healthcare providers, leveraging SEO techniques is essential to enhance online visibility and attract more patients. By strategically incorporating relevant keywords and phrases into their content, optimizing meta tags and descriptions, and building high-quality backlinks, providers can significantly improve their search engine rankings. A robust SEO strategy not only drives more traffic to their website but also helps establish their brand’s expertise and authority in the healthcare field. This increased visibility and credibility make it more likely for patients to trust and choose their services, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes and business growth.
Long-form content performs well with search engine optimization (with readers and Google).
While shorter content still has an important role to play in many inbound marketing plans, long-form has been gaining many advocates in the marketing world who have found that it’s good for SEO, it’s well-received by readers, it’s a good way to build a reputation as an authority, and it benefits from thorough keyword research to improve search results.
While the rise of social media seemed to suggest people wanted fast and short content, analytics have continued to show people will stay on a site and read long articles (but only if they’re good, of course). And Google likes long-form content, too. According to a recent analysis of the top-ranked sites for 20,000 different keywords, content of more than 2,000 words tends to dominate those top spots.
Compliance Considerations for Healthcare Content Marketing
Navigating the regulatory landscape of healthcare content marketing requires meticulous attention to compliance. Healthcare providers must ensure that their content adheres to strict regulations, including HIPAA and FDA guidelines, to protect patient privacy and avoid false or misleading claims. Accuracy and truthfulness are paramount, as any deviation can lead to significant legal repercussions. Additionally, content must comply with industry-specific regulations related to pharmaceutical marketing and medical device promotion. Partnering with a specialized content marketing agency experienced in the healthcare industry can be invaluable. These agencies can help providers navigate complex regulations, ensuring that all content is compliant and effectively communicates the intended message without compromising legal standards.
Long content provides many opportunities for repurposing.
As you would expect, longer content takes longer to produce. That’s the bad news — you will have to allot more time and money to creating it. The good news is you can easily end up with more content than just the original long-form piece. Consider ways the content can be tweaked, broken up or reformatted into new content.
Re-purposing your long-form content means the labor you put into creating it goes much further. You can use some of the research and information you’ve already collected for webinars, blog posts, podcasts — anything you can think of that your audience might be interested in.
Creating high-quality, in-depth, focused content isn’t easy. If you’re going to put the time and work in, it’s important to spend some time planning to ensure you get the most out of it. Consider your audience, create a plan for distribution and promotion, and think before you start about ways you might repurpose it when it’s done. Incorporating a data driven strategy and specialized digital marketing techniques, including SEO and social media management, can ensure the content you work hard to produce reaches the right people and pays off for your healthcare institution.
The Future of Healthcare Content Marketing
The future of healthcare content marketing is poised to be transformed by emerging trends and technologies. Innovations such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and personalized medicine are set to redefine how healthcare providers engage with their audience. Patients are increasingly seeking content that is not only informative but also personalized and engaging, addressing their specific health concerns. The integration of data analytics and AI-powered tools will enable providers to create more targeted and effective content marketing campaigns. As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, staying ahead of these trends is crucial. Investing in specialized content marketing services will help healthcare providers establish their brand’s expertise and authority, ensuring they remain competitive in a rapidly changing landscape.
