Podcasts can be a great way for physicians to create relevant, engaging content for patients. Podcast content can be integrated into a variety of the physician’s existing marketing efforts, such as a website or social media. If you have a physician client who is articulate and willing to participate in creating content, a podcast may be a fresh, new way to create content that will entice patients into signing up for regular updates or email lists.
Podcasts can take a variety of forms, including both video and audio-only, and can have high production value or require little more than a microphone and digital recording device to get started. For physicians who are new Podcasting, there are three surefire topics that will yield content that is relevant to patients and even other doctors.
1. Questions and Answers
The easiest way for physicians to get started with Podcasting is to adopt a question and answer format. For example, the Ask Doctor Dawn Podcast answers general health questions and is available by subscription or download.
Physicians of every practice area regularly answer the same questions over and over again. Focusing on answering those questions that are specific to your practice will provide your patients with valuable information that they want.
2. Health News
Health is an ever-changing field that sees new discoveries all the time. When a topic is heavily reported in the news, however, it can leave patients with many questions regarding their own treatment. Discussing health news gives patients answers they need about the physician’s personal approach to developments in healthcare. It also allows physicians to address misconceptions or to debunk information that is inaccurate or misleading.
The Caveman Doctor Podcast, for example, focuses heavily on discussing health trends in the news. This blog integrates news-related items and the question and answer format. These two formats tie easily together because new stories are often the source of patient questions.
3. Specialty Areas
While podcasts can be a great tool for keeping patients engaged, they can also be a great way to engage other doctors and build a referral network. If a physician has special knowledge in an area, that knowledge may be useful to other physicians. For example, The Digital Doctor Podcast focuses on helping doctors utilize information technology tools to enhance their practice. If a physician is active as a teacher or is a leader in a prestigious association, for example, that knowledge can be leveraged to create credibility and trust in other physicians.
While starting a new podcast may seem daunting at first, most physicians will be surprised at how easy it is to find material for their broadcast. Using a physician’s wealth of experience and expertise is a great way to create valuable content for patients and to strengthen a physician’s referral network.