Efficient blogging – is that even a thing? Physicians understand the need for efficiency when dealing with patients. Treat ‘em and street ‘em is the philosophy that keeps a clinic or practice from screeching to a stop each day, but how can you apply that same standard to managing a blog?
Blogging falls on the administrative side of your practice, meaning it is easy to get lazy about it. Apply some patient management strategies to the process, and create a powerful physician marketing tool – not a time suck.
Ideation is a term bloggers and marketers use to describe creating content topics. Physicians have an advantage that is not available in most industries. The average business blogger sits at the keyboard typing in search queries using potential keywords to brainstorm for ideas. They might use keyword prompt tools like Quora or Ubersuggest to get trending topics for their blog posts.
Doctors, on the other hand, have a more valuable resource at their disposal – patients. A physician can get ideas for a blog from the cases available and the questions patients ask. Carry a notebook or voice recorder with you while seeing patients and build topic suggestions as you work. When it comes time to write, pull an idea from your notes.
Set aside one hour each day that is just for managing your blog. This gives you time to deal with all aspects of maintaining a blog and do some effective marketing. You might create posts one day; spend the next responding to comments and the one after that promoting the blog on your various social media sites.
Choose a time during the day when there will be no interruptions. For some people, that might mean getting up an hour earlier. For others, it means staying at the practice an hour after the staff has left. If you work on a schedule, blogging will be as habitual as exercising or updating charts.
This is a writer's trick that can work for physicians, too. If you have a hard time sitting down and focusing on your blog, set up a timer. Work for 10 straight minutes, then get up and stretch. Keep this going four or five times each day and the blog will practically write itself.
Doctors should approach blog posts the same way they do patient communication. Keep it brief, but informative. Word economy is a large part of successful blogging. Blog posts should be between 350 to 500 words. Anything longer is riddled with filler, but if it is too short and it lacks luster. Effective communication is something every good doctor must master whether working with a patient or creating a blog.
When it comes to blogging, don’t be afraid to get a consultation. If you are having problems keeping the blog up, outsource this task to a service that specializes in physician marketing. This way, all you do is read and approve the final draft.