By now, you’re probably well aware of the benefits of blogging and understand the role it plays in grabbing the attention of new patients. That doesn’t mean to say that you find it easy. In fact, we notice that a lot of dentists have good intentions when starting a practice blog, but in reality, it can be a struggle to keep coming up with content ideas for your dental blog that are both relevant and engaging for their viewers. Sadly, this is when most people give up.
The thing is our brains are pretty much an endless source when it comes to new ideas, so it can be frustrating when we feel like we’ve run out of steam – or hit a brick wall.
If you can relate to this and are hoping to shift your bout of ‘writer’s block’ and get your creative ideas quickly flowing once again, we’ve put together a list of 3 simple but effective strategies that help you to do exactly this. So without further ado, let’s dive straight in and take a look.
Content Ideas for your dental blog – 3 Effective Strategies
Listening to your patients
You can’t go far wrong by listening to your patients’ concerns, and as a dentist, it’s probably something you’ve become quite accustomed to by now. So use this to your advantage.
Yours is a unique position because you get to hear day in and day out what patients are wondering, asking, and interested in. So it’s a good idea to make a note of the most commonly asked questions you receive from your patients throughout the week. Take a look at your list, pick one and there you have it… blog post topics that are relevant to your current patients and more importantly, those which are about to be.
Here’s an example:
Say you notice that one question many of your patients ask is “What does bleaching my teeth involve?” Why not write a post titled ‘5 questions about tooth whitening answered’ or ‘3 ways to get whiter teeth.’
You can use the post to answer what tooth whitening is, what the procedure involves, and why teeth are subject to staining over the years. You get the idea.
But the whole point is that as a dentist, people respect your knowledge of oral health subjects, so when you offer up tips, tricks, or secrets on certain topics, it comes from a trustworthy and reliable source – you! For this reason, it carries a lot of kudos.
Dental Forums
Online forums are great for people to discuss issues and get answers to questions. People visit dental forums because they want quick answers to their dental problems. So by spending a while scouring a few forum posts, it won’t be long before you pick up on some of the most commonly asked questions you can use as a basis for your next blog title.
More importantly, most dental forums let you see exactly how many views a particular question has and also how many replies. Therefore the topics which have received the most attention are the ones you should be basing your blogs around.
The bottom line is that if you can provide valuable information on subjects that are most searched for, it shows your practice to be a reliable ‘go-to’ source in the future.
Why?
Because you understand your patients’ needs. This understanding leads to trust and confidence in your practice as an authority and this in turn helps to build a new loyal customer base. Simple!
Keeping It Personal
Ever wondered where the term ‘blog’ even came from in the first place? Interestingly, it’s a mix of the words ‘web’ and ‘log’ and was originally formed back in the mid-’90s. The name itself gives our third suggestion away. People would use a blog as an online diary, to record their experiences and share thoughts. Although blogging has come a long way in recent times, it’s still important to include a personal element to them. Blogs were created to be more interactive and informal than your website, so use this as your chance to reach out to your readers on a personal level and show the people behind your business.
At the end of the day, your blog is a reflection of your practice, so include information about your team, or goals that set you apart from others, and make you unique.
You could write posts about what happens outside the dental chair, so any charity or fundraising events you and your team have participated in, including photos too. Got a new staff member? How about introducing them to your viewers through your blog?
Here’s another suggestion, what about an employee bio? A day in the life of a dentist, hygienist, or nurse? These types of posts can greatly help because the viewers get to know you and begin to feel connected and comfortable with you and your staff, and in doing so are far more likely to become patients.
Little tricks like using “I,” “we,” “you,” and “us,” are helpful too, because these words make your blog sound more conversational and appear more like a one-on-one with the reader, again making them instantly feel more connected and valued as a patient.
Above all, be realistic about your blogging schedule. Yes, the more you can blog the better, but the more you put yourself under pressure the harder you’ll find it to stay fresh and it will become a massive weekly chore. So always set yourself a reasonable blogging goal to begin with and try to stick to a certain day or time of the month when you post.
So there you have it. Hopefully, this post has given you enough new ideas to keep you going for a while. But if you’d rather save time, why not let us handle your content needs? After all, that’s our speciality, we love writing dental content. Visit our website at www.dentalwriters.com or contact Dale on +34 605 45 73 42 o find out more.
