Should you blog?

This is one of those questions can only be answered with, “It depends.” Recent studies show that chiropractors are not blogging, (chiroeco.com/chiropractic/news/3504/52/study-dcs-dont-take-advantage-of-blogging/) but blogging can be a great part of a practice marketing effort. If you want to use blogging as a marketing tool, you would have an advantage over chiropractors in your area who aren’t blogging. But to be effective as a blogger, you must do it right.

Set up your practice Web site to include a blog site, or put a blog on your website’s front page. Then start blogging. The real key to blogging is to do it regularly. There are millions of blogs out in cyberspace that have only a few posts on them. You don’t want that to be your blog. The magic number for blog posts seems to be 100; that means, if you blog 3-4 times a week, you should have a nice blog within a year.

What to blog about? Everything related to your practice. The best blogs mix factual information, dialogue with readers, and personal interest items. For example:

• Talk about cases you have cared for (not including names, of course) and how the patients benefited from your care.

• Discuss health and wellness questions patients ask.

• Announce events in your office, from patient appreciation days to the holiday fund-raiser.

• Talk about your staff – who they are, their backgrounds, and interesting facts about them.

• Include personal information about you and your family (only if you feel comfortable doing this).

• Tell about trips you have taken, cities you have visited, conferences and seminars you have attended, and what you have learned.

• Ask for comments about current health care topics.

• Express your opinion about current health care topics, but don’t be too controversial and risk offending people.

• Blog regularly and you will find that you have developed a loyal group of interested readers. Even if people come to your blog only a few times, they may find something that makes them want to visit your office.

For more information on marketing by blogging, read this online article from Chiropractic Economics:
chiroeco.com/chiropractic/news/5593/1010/blogging-as-a-new-marketing-tool/