How do you tell your independent community pharmacy’s story, get to know your patients better and generate more business?
The answer is blogging.
A blog is a great way to get patients engaged with your pharmacy, drive more traffic to your website and bring patients into your store.
Get all of your blogging questions answered and build a better blog with these tips.
Get to know your patients
The most important part of a blog is the content, so it needs to be high-quality. And in order to create high-quality content, you have to know your audience.
If you don’t do the market research, you won’t know what type of content patients best respond to, and therefore won’t have a very successful blog.
Your content needs to attract patients’ attention and provide them with value. If the content you write is irrelevant to your target audience or is too time sensitive, no one will care to read it.
If you already have a blog, analyze the data from your website to determine which blog topics your audience reads more often, and pay attention to comments left on your blog posts to get feedback.
If you don’t currently have a blog, take a look at your patient base. If you have a high percentage of patients with diabetes, for example, then write more blog posts related to that topic.
You also need to consider the best locations to post the links to your blog posts. For example, if the majority of your patients use Facebook, be sure to post snippets and links to your blog regularly on that site.
Pay attention to SEO
Blogs are beneficial to your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts, which enhances your website’s placement on search engines, such as Google. You can use relevant keywords in your blog posts that will prompt Google’s algorithms to rank your website higher in search engine results. And when your website is higher in search results, potential patients are more likely to find you.
In addition, if you consistently publish high-quality content, you increase your chances of building backlinks. When other professionals in your industry, related organizations or popular bloggers link back to your blog, it can have a very positive effect on your SEO.
Try building relationships with these influential bloggers and professionals in your industry. The more networking and collaborating you do, the more attention your blog will attract and the better your blog will be.
Encourage patient engagement
When you interact with your patients, you’ll better understand the type of content they’re most interested in, so you know what to focus on in your future blog posts.
And, when your patients are engaged with your business, they’re more likely to share your blog posts and drive more traffic to your website.
Enable comments on your blog posts and make sure your content is engaging enough that patients will want to respond and start a discussion.
Communicate your pharmacy’s brand
Because your brand is the backbone of your pharmacy, it needs to be effectively communicated. When patients connect with your pharmacy’s mission, it builds loyalty to your brand.
Your blog is the perfect platform to communicate your brand purpose, get readers to understand who you are and form a connection.
If your pharmacy’s mission is to go above and beyond for your patients to ensure their wellbeing—outside of just dispensing medication—you can create blog posts to reflect your investment in their health. For example, become a resource for patients who want to maintain their health by posting weekly health and safety tips on your blog.
Put a face to your name
It’s important to establish a human connection with patients, and that requires showing your brand’s personality.
Patients are more likely to read blogs that are relatable, so your content and writing style should reflect your pharmacy’s character and show your human side.
Write your blog content in an informal manner that allows your pharmacy’s voice to shine through. You can even post personal stories to remind patients that there are faces behind your pharmacy’s name.
Establish credibility
Publishing content on your blog that provides value and reflects your pharmacy’s brand will build your credibility.
For example, if your audience believes going to a pharmacy that truly cares about its patients is important, your blog post with tips for staying safe in the summer heat will help to grow those patients’ trust and loyalty.
In addition to meeting your patients’ needs, your blog also showcases your expert knowledge as a pharmacist, which further establishes credibility.
Blogging is one way to stay top-of-mind with patients who currently use your pharmacy’s services. Check out these additional tips to market your pharmacy to current patients.
