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Learn how to showcase your practice’s personality, develop a content calendar and keep parents informed.
Author: WG Content
Last updated: 04/22/23
A pediatrician blog can offer insightful advice to parents, establish relationships with families and serve as an opportunity to attract new patients. After all, why shouldn’t parents turn to your practice to help figure out the best ways to lower a fever or get accurate information on the latest news?
Fortunately, creating and maintaining a blog can be a simple process. It’s just a matter of putting the right steps in place. At WG Content, we’ve worked with many pediatricians and pediatric specialists to create and share honest, helpful and informative content with their audiences. Here are five best practices we’ve found when developing blogs for pediatricians.
It may seem odd to start a list of best practices for pediatrician blogs focused on personality instead of content. But people, especially families, want to connect with a provider not a blog. Make sure your team’s personality and care approach shine through on your blogs (and all content):
Include a provider’s byline at the top of each post and a bio at the end of the article. This is a great way to introduce your team and allow them to connect with patients. At WG Content, we often ghostwrite articles for providers. SME interviews and online resources are a great way to find information for articles. And pediatricians always have the opportunity to review and approve content.
Let your team’s care approach shine in writing. A friendly, approachable voice is best for a pediatrician, but how else can you connect distinctly to readers? Find your organization’s unique voice.
Highlight any volunteer work in the community or fun milestones at the office. Invite staff members from all positions to contribute to the blog. Showcasing your culture helps families get to know all the providers and staff members at your practice.
Blogs are a great way to connect with families. Many pediatricians already have successful blogs up and running. Spend a few minutes researching other blogs to get inspired and see what may work for your practice.
We’re honored to work with many pediatricians and pediatric specialists to share informative, engaging and empowering children’s health topics with readers. A few of our favorites include:
A content or editorial calendar helps keep you and your entire team on track with a steady drumbeat of blog posts. Your content calendar should include:
Include topics for at least three months (but six to 12 months is best). This keeps you from scrambling for last-minute ideas. It can also help fill in the calendar with seasonal topics (flu shots in October; water safety in June, etc.).
There’s no real right or wrong answer to how frequently you should post. Ideally, you should post at least once a week, but if you only have the resources to do two blog posts a month, then that’s better than nothing. Be realistic about what your team (and budget) can accommodate. You may find that you can post more frequently than you realized, especially after you see the return on your time and resources!
A content calendar is a great tool to keep your team focused, but sometimes you need to throw that plan out the window. When news happens, your families and patients will want to turn to you to for information they can trust.
The most notable example is the COVID-19 pandemic. Pediatricians and health care organizations across our country are working hard to get accurate information out to their patients and families. That includes information on the virus, testing, treatment and even basic information like office hours.
A blog is only good if it has readers. A marketing strategy can help make sure the content you’ve carefully planned, written and reviewed is seen by families. Your strategy can be as simple as posting blog articles on social media or a paid strategy to boost posts and SEM. Once again, it’s most important to choose the strategies that are a good fit for your team. Those may include:
Once your blog is up and running, you’ll be surprised at the opportunity it brings. You can even use your team’s experience to gain local news coverage as you reach out into the community.
These are just a few of the recommendations and skills we share when working with pediatricians on developing, writing and sharing blogs. If you need to extend your content creation bench, learn more about WG Content’s custom content development approach and our services.
Editor’s note: This blog was updated on April 22, 2023. It was originally published in April, 2020.
Focus on addressing the common concerns and questions parents frequently ask during appointments, such as child development milestones, managing common illnesses, or vaccine information. You can also track seasonal health trends (e.g., flu season) and new pediatric guidelines from reputable sources like the American Academy of Pediatrics to guide your content choices.
Mix up content formats by incorporating videos and infographics. Additionally, consider creating series on popular topics (e.g., newborn care or childhood nutrition) to encourage readers to return for follow-up posts. Updating older posts with new information is also a great way to keep content fresh and relevant.
Track key performance indicators (KPIs) like website traffic, time spent on each blog post, social media shares and engagement (comments or likes). You can also monitor conversion rates, such as how many readers schedule appointments or subscribe to your newsletter after visiting your blog. These metrics will help you assess what content resonates most with your audience.
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