Most physicians have a practice website, a static "digital storefront" that provides patients with basic information such as location, hours, and staff bios. That was sufficient once; it’s not any longer.
A blog, short for web-log, gives you the opportunity to create a dynamic site, with fresh, accurate, current information. If you’re on Twitter and Facebook, you might think a blog is unnecessary. You’d be wrong. In fact, it’s the ideal source for material to share on social sites like Facebook.
Starting a blog is easy and inexpensive. It can even be free with sites like WordPress or Tumblr (both of which I use). I’m unable to go into details here, but tutorials can easily be found online. Blogging sites worth reading include Copyblogger, The Minimalists, and Chris Brogan.
So why should you blog? The top reasons include:
• Patient education. Eighty percent of people who are online have searched for health information. I’m sure you have had patients share erroneous medical information with you that they’ve found online. Instead of just complaining about it, we can do something to change it: Create and share good content for both your current and prospective patients.
• Become a trusted spokesperson or expert. Blogging regularly and sharing content on social sites like Twitter and Facebook, provides writers, editors, and producers the opportunity to contact you. Being quoted in a national magazine or appearing on a local television show is also a great way to reach new patients. Remember, too, that regularly updated blogs are frequently crawled by search engines, which means over time, more traffic will come to your blog.
• Become a valued member of the community. Whether it’s to help promote a local race for psoriasis or to educate the community about a measles outbreak, you can use your blog to reach out in a positive way. This is also a great way for doctors new to a neighborhood to find patients.
• Show your personable side. More than ever before, patients are searching online to find the right physician. When patients read your blog and watch you in a video, they begin to establish trust.
• Reduce workload. No, I’m not being sarcastic. We all have instructions and advice that we repeat verbatim to our patients over and over. Instead of having to do this all the time, write a blog post or do a short video that will live forever. This is especially important for postoperative instructions that patients may like to watch at home. It’s also helpful for caregivers who weren’t at the visit.
As for blogging best practices, if you can’t do it alone (and most of us can’t because of time constraints), enlist the help of trusted office staff. Assign a blog manager who is responsible for an editorial calendar, updates, and responding to comments in a timely manner.
Use your blog for patient education and outreach, not marketing. Readers want value. Bombard them with product and procedure pushing, and they’ll run away.
Be authentic, honest, and transparent.
Be conversational and engaging. Patients don’t want to read doctor speak. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t include studies, statistics, and the like.
Never write about a specific patient by name or in a way that he or she could be re-identified or that violates HIPAA.
Tell stories. Readers remember them.
Write clearly and concisely, keeping blog posts under 400 words.
Post a minimum of once a week; however, two to three times a week is best for search engines.
Respond to both positive and negative comments in a professional, nonconfrontational manner.
Offer an RSS feed so people can easily follow along.
Be patient. It may take time for people to find your blog, but once they do, you’ll feel both personally and professionally rewarded.
Dr. Benabio is in private practice in San Diego. Visit his consumer health blog at http://thedermblog.com; connect with him on Twitter @Dermdoc and on Facebook (DermDoc).