Consistent content creation – what does that mean? If we look up the word ‘consistent’ in the English Dictionary, it’s nicely explained for us as meaning ‘unchanging in nature, standard or effect.’ What does a consistent person conjure up in your mind? If you’re on the same wavelength as me, you’ll probably think of a trustworthy and reliable person, someone who is unfailing and dependable. Well as a dentist, that’s a pretty good reputation to have, right?
While that’s all well and good, you’re probably wondering what that has to do with your dental business.
Well, you can have the best website in the world, but ultimately in the eyes of Google at least, it means nothing without a consistent supply of content. That’s where a blog comes in.
Despite the fact that consistent blogging is key to building a successful online presence and getting more patients, having to create and publish new content on a regular basis can seem daunting. So while content and consistency go hand in hand, just like sugar and cavities, let’s have a look at 4 main reasons why they work together.
#1 Consistent content creation shows dental authority and builds patient trust
I’m sure you’ll agree that you’re reading this because your aim is to consistently get new patients through the door and into your dental chair. However potential patients need to trust you first before they commit to booking a consultation or appointment. In other words, they need to get to know you and your practice.
The problem is that more and more dental practices are realising just how important having a regular and well-developed content marketing plan is as their line of attack. Because of this, there’s now more competition online. The good news however is that this is where consistency can set you apart.
Consistent content creation helps you stand out from the crowd. You see, the more regularly you update your blog or add new pages to your website, the more credibility you gain. The reason for this is that it portrays your practice as a strong leader in the dental industry and quickly creates confidence in your practice in the reader’s mind. But that’s not all….
Having a well-maintained blog gives you the best opportunity to reach out to prospective patients and answer various questions they might be interested in. It also makes your business more real and personal because it provides a connection where your audience can check in at any time and see what’s happening with your dental team.
The bottom line is, once people begin to trust what you say, the more likely they are to become your patients. How do we gain their trust? With consistent, well-written content!
#2 Google loves regular blogs
The idea of a search engine is to provide people with the most factual and relevant results possible on the internet. The more fresh and regular content that you have on your website, then the higher your ranking on Google can become.
This is highly important because your website is your virtual dental practice. Imagine you go to the effort of organising a large party, you put on an array of foods, drinks and cakes, only to have no guests turn up. Well in just the same way, you may have spent a lot of money and effort on your website to make it attractive, informative and welcoming…so you need to ensure you are getting plenty of visitors in return.
Search engine optimisation is becoming more competitive, but the two most important things that affect SEO are a combination of frequency and quality. You need to have both. These show Google that you have a well-maintained website or blog and therefore that the information found within it is valuable and informative. If you can do this, Google will reward you by displaying your post as a search result. Ultimately the more search results you have, the greater the chance of being found. Simple!
#3 Consistent content creation that targets your audience
Now that your website has regular visitors is that it? No of course not!
How likely is it that you would continue visiting a website that is never updated? You might read the information there once, maybe twice but often that will be all. To illustrate, how many times would you go to the cinema to watch the same film being shown?
In contrast though, how much more does a well-maintained and updated blog show your audience that you’re passionate about dentistry? Put simply, if your content isn’t fresh, relevant, or engaging for the reader, then it won’t be doing its job.
For many people, your blog will be used as a line of communication to get to know you and your team before they decide whether or not they will visit your practice. So having engaging content that is aimed at your target audience on a variety of topical subjects is what’s going to help turn these visitors into patients and not just passers-by.
Once you’ve caught the attention of the reader (and of course, they will have found your blog very informative) use the chance to ‘call them to action’ as us marketing folk would say. While this might sound like a scene from Custer’s last stand, it really means a peace of text designed to influence the reader to take action and contact or visit your practice. Without being pushy, a persuasive call to action can be very effective and when placed at the end of every piece of content, it can lead to new patients.
#4 Has long-term results
I’m pretty certain that your dental practice has a closing time o , say 5 pm or 6 pm. The internet and your blog never close. This means that it continues to work for you around the clock, picking up new visitors and potentially converting them into new patients for your practice.
Although you may see an initial increase in visitors to your site after posting a particular blog, that doesn’t mean that it’s done the job and clocked off. The good news is that because your post is now ranking in the search engines it continues to bring a steady flow of new traffic to your site for years to come.
Consistent Content Creation – The lowdown
Having a good content marketing strategy may at first seem a little overwhelming at times but it’s definitely the way forward for your dental business. Although you can’t expect a million new patients through your door from the get-go, in the long run, consistent content creation through blogging will help to greatly increase traffic to your website and bring in a steady stream of new patients. So the question is, knowing what you now know… what are you going to do to ramp up your blogging capacity in 2017 and beyond?
If you’d like to know more about how something as simple as consistent blogging can increase your patient base then contact [email protected]. We specialise in writing content purely for the dental profession, so if you’re looking to stand apart from your competition, we’d love to hear from you!
