Writing a Blog Is Not Hard - Think Simple

Many of you are interested in setting up a blog for your practice, and now, you are wondering "How do I write a blog?" My experience shows that it should not be an arduous task; instead it should be simple. When I work with clients in setting up their social networking/blog project, I generally also offer some critique on a few of their initial blogs. For doctors, I always have the same critique - KEEP IT SIMPLE.

Doctors are smart people, but too often they let their knowledge on their area of expertise get in the way of good communication with their patient. I always tell doctors to keep it simple and in terms their patients, and prospective patients, can understand. In the case of a plastic surgeon I have worked with, I had to tell him to be cautious about how he described the liposuction process. In his blog, he continued to reference liposuction as a "de-bulking" procedure. While technically correct, I know few patients who would want to be considered "bulky."

There are some wonderful blogs on how to write effective blogs. I am particularly fond of the ProBlogger at www.problogger.net. Here you will find some very straight forward talk about what makes a good blog, and how to make yours better. Check it out.

On a second note, you may have heard that Twitter crashed today. While inconvenient, it does demonstrate the overall utilization of social networking sites. Get involved - TODAY!

Advertising and Marketing Budget

Financial benchmark data suggests your advertising and marketing expenditure should be 1-5% of your collected revenue. There are circumstances where you might spend more or less. Examples might include a well established practice not interested in attracting new patients, or, the brand new doctor looking to build a practice. In any case, you should spend your money wisely and be able to track your return on investment (ROI).

Over the years, physicians have dedicated resources to attracting new patients to their practices. This is considered "external" marketing. But your best ROI for you marketing dollar comes from "internal" marketing. That is, advertising and marketing to your existing patients about new services, technologies, or products you offer.

If you have followed these blogs, you'll quickly recognize my bias towards internal marketing and, my interest in social networking. During a visit last week, a client asked me to review a print ad she was considering. This was an 1/8 page ad in one of those community advertising magazines. The ad looked good. When I asked about the cost, the doctor said, "About $299/month, and I'm not really sure if we get much from it." Well, you can probably guess my response. As we know, very few of these advertising magazines, or, advertising mailers ever get read, and more importantly, ever get acted upon. Most of these types of advertising vehicles end up in the landfill.

Blogs and social networking are just the opposite. Your message is enduring, distribution is free, and is always available to your audience. And, unlike the advertising magazines, your social networking efforts can be tracked and your return on investment measured. The internet provides some really interesting analytical tools to help you see which message is most popular with your audience, and, the key words your audience used to find you. How powerful is that?

At the end of the day, you have many choices to advertise and market your practice. You should approach your advertising and marketing efforts with a variety of channels. Please do consider social networking as an extension of your website marketing.