10 May 3 Reason Why Your Health Practice Needs a Blog

In 2020, there’s no question of whether or not blogs generate leads.

In fact, marketers who prioritise blogging as a marketing strategy report 13-times the ROI of companies that don’t.

The truth is, blogging is alive and well. You’ll just need to work a tiny bit harder to persuade people to read your content in 2020.

So, what’s one way to get into a consumer’s head and figure out how to motivate them to read your blog? Provide Value, Value, Value! 

To win over blog readers, you’ll need to create content that provides some type of informative value or entertainment, rather than purely using your blog to discuss your brand or services.

3 Reasons People Read Blogs

1. People read blogs to learn something new.

By far, the most common reason that people will read a blog post is to learn something new. This result doesn’t surprise me at all.

Why? Posts that include guides, step-by-step processes, tutorial videos, or fast-facts often gain a large amount of search traffic. This is because people are looking up instructions for how to do things on Google every day.

Even when posts aren’t informing people of how to do something on a granular level, blogs that discuss complex topics such as studies, trends, or topics people are less familiar with can pique a person’s curiosity.

Psychologically, people crave new information similarly to how they crave food. As a business, you can harness this to create content that both piques curiosity, while discussing topics related to your brand, service, or products.

For example, a Physio might write an article

Aside from helping our readers, guide or trend-related blogs allow us to highlight the level of research and knowledge you have. This could also demonstrate to a prospect that you are a credible company that delivers high quality health care experiences.

2. People read blogs to be entertained.

While people crave knowledge, they also like to be entertained. Each day, people might read blogs that tell interesting stories, make them laugh, or intrigue them in some other way.

But, as a business blogger, You might be asking yourself, “How can I entertain my readers while still keeping my blog professional?”

The truth is, when you think creatively, there are a number of ways you can entertain your audience while still staying on brand.

For example, you could create a fun infographic or photo post about a viral trend in your industry, While your readers might not be willing to invest in this viral trend, the imagery and information about the trend might entertain them.

Alternatively, you could also create a fun, but informative, video or podcast to go with your blog post. With this added layer of content, you could dive deeper into discussing a health trend, or interview an industry expert that people in your field follow. While this might not be “entertaining” for people outside of your industry, it might be more interesting than the average blogs people in your field might be reading.

3. People read blogs to learn about trends related to their job industry.

While people might not be interested in reading blogs that specifically discuss your product or brand, they could be more intrigued by a blog that discusses an industry your product is affiliated with.

One example of a brand that discovered how industry experts read its industry-themed blog is American Scientist. Recently, the science blog conducted a study to learn about what motivated its blog readers to visit its site. They found that the average reader was either highly educated in science and technology or was actively working in STEM fields.

American Scientist also discovered that these readers, who already had some expertise on the topic, weren’t interested in general science news. They were actually interested in reading the American Scientist blog for specific “nuggets” of new scientific information, studies, or findings.

Creating Content That Fulfils Multiple Reader Needs

So, how do you create engaging content that pulls in audiences with all different reading motivations while still spreading brand awareness about your product or service? Consider publishing blog posts that combine industry trends, how-tos, and entertainment.

Teach your readers how to do something in your industry.

When you create content that educates people about strategies related to your industry, it’s also easier to subtly discuss your product in a way that doesn’t seem shameless of over promotional.

Entertain industry readers while still informing them.

Even though an industry blog will likely target company employees or leaders, this doesn’t mean your content can’t be informative and entertaining. For example, you can use videos, GIFs, imagery, or interactive blog assets to add to your content while keeping it interesting for the reader.

Building an Effective Blog Strategy

While it can be great to run with one successful content type, the blogs with the most credibility and quickest growth often have a mix of content that entertains or informs readers, makes them aware of brands or products, or teaches them something new.

If you need help with a blog strategy or marketing direction, get in touch!