Content Creation: 3 Compelling Reasons for Clinicians to Take the Wheel

In many ways, content is healthcare. When a patient leaves the hospital, they receive a discharge packet detailing their diagnoses. Their primary doctor may also sign them up for a patient portal with resources and videos. 

Outside the official healthcare system, it’s not possible to see a provider for every minor health episode. Provider visits are often too short to answer every question, or insurance doesn’t cover a specialist visit. In these cases, consumers turn to the internet to find content, community, and credibility.

1. Content today is more diverse than ever

In the primitive days of the internet, there were a few sparse websites and some popular blogs. Now, we’re saturated with technology and smartphone apps, which have changed the landscape of content consumption and healthcare content creation.

Just a few examples of content include:

• Long-form videos (Webinars, conferences, and long Youtube videos)
• Short-form videos (Tik Toks, Youtube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and web videos)
• Audio
• Continuing education and E-courses
• Social media posts
• Blogs and articles

Clinicians are familiar with each of the above forms of media because they are used in patient care. Every healthcare interaction was established from content creation that uses at least one form of media to supplement patient teaching.

2. Consumers turn to health brands that cultivate community

When consumers search for a product, they don’t always use the ‘shop’ tab on a search engine. They often type a question into the search bar, looking for the brand that cares enough to answer them. “What type of sunscreen is best for babies?” The brand they are looking for is aiming to do more than just sell a product, they are creating a community with healthcare content. 

A community can be created through:

• Blog articles
• FAQs
• Social media posts with comments and brand responses
• Forums

A healthcare content writer knows the questions their community asks because they have heard them in their own practice. Because of this, nurses can do content creation efficiently with the consumer’s needs in mind. They know the type of community that a brand needs to build to create trust with consumers and amongst the medical community. 

Nowadays, when people think they have a symptom, they search on the internet for answers. A 2017 study cites that ⅔ of people use search engines for medical inquiries prior to making a medical appointment. Clinicians should be the face of the answers that encounter public because they should be an answer that people can trust. Nurses are regarded as members of the most trusted profession, so people trust they will have a sense of integrity when writing content. They read content with the assumption that a nurse would never write something that isn’t evidence-based.

Healthcare hashtags are another great way to maintain a community feeling, as well as keep content organized. Using the appropriate hashtags will lead your audience to you organically through web and social media searches.

3. Search engines benefit credible content

Consumers have a pulse on what healthcare content marketing is trustworthy and what isn’t. When healthcare content doesn’t have a highly recognizable domain, searchers may be reluctant to trust it into they see some form of credibility or social proof. 

With an abundance of healthcare content, well-planned content creation and proper implementation of search engine optimization (SEO) are critical. No matter how great the content is to read, if no one sees it, it’s not going to help anyone. 75% of searchers don’t move past the first page of a search engine after a query.

Implementation of SEO in content creation rewards:

• Content that is not duplicated elsewhere
• Long-form content 
• Content with authority (credentials in an author byline or authoritative backlinks)
• Content that is written for the audience (not keyword stuffing or unintelligible AI-written content)
• Content that is accurate and that doesn’t contain misinformation 

Why choose a clinician for your healthcare content creation rather than an SEO expert?

It’s tempting to go all-in on an SEO strategy by hiring an “SEO writer” or “SEO expert.” However, a healthcare writer or clinician will have the ability to execute on-page SEO, while bringing their unique expertise into content creation. 

Here are a few of the qualities that nurse writers have that help healthcare content SEO:

• A sense of responsibility for writing truth to uphold their licensure
• Genuine desire to educate the public with accurate information
• An author byline with a credential (RN, MD, etc) has more credibility and will rank higher in search engines
• The ability to write long-form content due to their vast subject knowledge, which is also more likely to rank higher in search engines
• Knowledge of primary sources and reliable data
• Awareness of their personal biases and commercial biases when educating the consumer

Amplify Your Brand Voice

In both B2B and B2C healthcare content, nurses and clinicians are experts at communicating. They know the questions that consumers are asking, and they know how businesses impact the patient experience. They’re able to communicate clearly, ethically, and accurately. 

For professional content writing, RN marketing, and healthcare marketing consulting, contact Write RN, LLC for healthcare content you can trust.