You know you need to do some marketing to grow your practice: social media, emails, newsletters, articles, videos – something.
But here is the problem …
Most Nurse Practitioner business owners don’t have time to keep up with constant online demands.
And that’s why, between patients, documentation, dealing with staff, and running the business side of the practice, marketing often gets pushed to the bottom of the list.
But finding new patients and maintaining visibility in the community are a must… if you want to stay in business.
So here is the good news…
Marketing doesn’t have to mean endless posting or hiring expensive agencies. One of the most practical and sustainable approaches is content marketing.
When done correctly, content marketing allows you to educate, gain trust, and attract new patients without spending hours every week on plain promotion.
What is Content Marketing?
In his book, “Epic Content Marketing,” Joe Pulizzi gives the following definition:
”Content marketing is the marketing and business process for creating and distributing content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.”
Content marketing is considered pull marketing, whereas traditional marketing belongs to push marketing.
Here is what that means…
Traditional marketing tends to be louder, announcing to the world: “Come see us and buy our product, ” whereas content marketing takes a subtler approach.
Content marketing is focused on sharing helpful information and answering questions that customers or patients, in the case of your practice, are already asking.
The strategy is to provide information, education, and guidance, thereby positioning the business as a trusted resource.
The ultimate goal is to attract people to the practice and become patients by providing educational and informational content.
Examples of Content Marketing
Common examples of content marketing include:
- Publishing articles on your website
- Sending educational emails to patients on your list
- Posting to social media addressing common health topics
- Creating videos answering frequently asked questions
- Publishing frequently asked questions (FAQs) on the website
All are opportunities to answer the questions people search for online, before scheduling an appointment:
- Why am I always tired?
- How can I lower my blood pressure naturally?
- What are the symptoms of menopause?
- Do I really need vitamin supplements?
The practice that provides clear answers to these questions becomes a trusted resource. And when people need care, they are far more likely to contact the practice that has already helped them than to reach out to one they don’t know.
Why Content Marketing Works Well for NPs
Content marketing is a natural fit with the way NPs were educated and practice medicine; educators by training, working holistically.
For example, much of what happens during an appointment involves explaining conditions and helping patients understand available options.
Think of content marketing as extending that educational role beyond the exam room.
Imagine someone in your community searching online for help with fatigue.
The person comes across an article published by your practice that explains possible causes, when to seek medical evaluation, and which tests may be helpful.
By the time that person schedules an appointment, they already have some level of comfort and trust with your office.
This ability to build credibility, familiarity, and trust is one of the most powerful aspects of content marketing.
The Biggest Mistake Practices Make
When most NPs (and other clinicians) first hear about content marketing, they assume it requires a huge amount of work.
They’re afraid of having to:
- post on social media every day
- create professional videos
- maintain multiple online platforms
- produce constant new material
For most small practices, that’s unrealistic. While marketing efforts start strong, the workload quickly becomes overwhelming and falls by the wayside.
Luckily, though, constant online activity is not required for content marketing. What is required, however, is a simple and consistent system.
A Practical Strategy for A Busy Practice
Your approach to content marketing might involve just a few basic activities each month.
Perhaps you’ll start by posting one or two helpful articles on your website.
Each article should address a question you frequently get asked by patients. These articles don’t need to be overly detailed, complicated, or very long… even 700 or 800 words can cover a topic sufficiently.
Topic examples might include:
- “The benefits of getting vaccinated.”
- “When Is Fatigue More Than Just Being Tired?”
- “Three Reasons Your Blood Pressure May Still Be High.”
- “What Every Woman Should Know About Menopause.”
Keep your writing simple to make it easy to read. Give your article plenty of white space and break it up with subheads so it’s easy to scan.
Take this article as an example. It has plenty of white space, subheads, and uses simple language, making it easy to consume.
Once your article is written, you can reuse the information in several ways.
- You could send an email to your patient list introducing the topic and linking to the article. This keeps your practice in front of patients and reminds them that you are a valuable resource for their health concerns.
- Next, you might create a few social media posts using key points from the article. The posts might get the attention of new patients and be seen by current patients.
A single article can easily produce several weeks of content, supporting multiple communication channels without creating additional work.
Finding Fresh Content Topics
At this point, you might be worried about coming up with new ideas.
However, it’s unlikely you’d run out of things to write about, since every day in your clinic provides you with fresh ideas.
- Capture the common questions patients ask during visits.
- Note the questions asked about specific health concerns.
- Collect the questions your front desk staff hears repeatedly.
- Compile a list of questions related to insurance.
For example, if several patients ask about vitamin D deficiency, that’s a strong signal that the topic deserves an article.
If patients are confused about hormone therapy or weight management, those questions become perfect candidates for educational posts.
Create a list of frequently asked questions and keep adding to it. Over time, that list becomes your editorial calendar.
Alternatively, you could use AI to help you come up with an extensive list of topics to write about and generate the outlines.
Focus on Helpfulness, Not Perfection
Don’t worry about creating content that’s perfectly written or highly technical.
Anything published must be correct, of course; however, it’s more important that it be helpful rather than written in medical jargon.
Patients are not looking for academic journal articles. They are looking for clear explanations about their health and for answers to their questions.
An article that answers a common question using simple language is far more valuable than one written using hard-to-understand and often confusing medical jargon.
Think of your writing as extending the conversation you have with a patient during an appointment. When talking with patients, you try to keep things simple and avoid using language that most people outside the medical field don’t understand.
Start Small and Stay Consistent
Focusing on content marketing or adding it to your marketing mix does not require a marketing department or a large budget. All it takes is creating useful information and sharing it regularly with patients.
For NP business owners, the most effective approach is simple:
- Write one or more helpful articles each month.
- Share it with patients by email.
- Print the articles for your waiting room reading material.
- Reuse the key points on social media or other channels.
- Reuse your content when giving community talks.
Over time, that simple approach will gradually build a strong online presence, reinforce your reputation as a trusted clinician, and help the right patients find your practice. And… it will improve your website’s visibility in the search engines.
In the end, content marketing is not about constant promotion. It is about education, building trust, and connection.
And for a busy practice, that may be the most natural form of marketing of all.
Already using Content Marketing in your practice? How often do you publish, and do you reuse your content?
Let us know in the comment section below…
By Johanna Hofmann, MBA, MAc., EAMP; regular contributor to the NPBusiness blog and author of “Smart Business Planning for Clinicians.”