If you’ve been around inbound marketing for sometime, you probably have heard the saying that content is king. Matter of fact, one of the first blog posts that I published on Next Generation Chiropractor covered this subject briefly.
But, as more chiropractors learn the value of inbound marketing — more specifically, becoming a content publisher — one of the traps I see is that content instead of what matters most becomes their primary focus.
In other words, some chiropractors have bought into the mantra without fully understanding the reason for it.
Content as Currency
Content, no matter what format you distribute, is the currency that drives online communities. Without it, our virtual world would come to a sudden stop.
Google and other major search engines use it as the Internet’s road map. By indexing keywords, consumers and prospects can more easily find what they’re looking for via a click of the mouse.
Therefore, as a chiropractor, it’s imperative that you consistently produce as much content as possible that relates to your niche and market. If you don’t pay the never-ending toll, you’re not going to be easily found on the information superhighway.
The Value of Content
Anyone can create content. And, with today’s technology, publishing it is a breeze.
Matter of fact, there are services out there that’ll create it for you. However, I DO NOT recommend them.
Why?
Because if they produce the same material for every chiropractor, then you run the risk of duplicate entries with Google which can blacklist you from their services.
But, the secret isn’t in its creation but rather its value.
To put this into perspective, Google’s market capital is worth over $200 billion. If you don’t think it’s valuable, then I’ve got a bridge to sell you!
So, let’s bring this down to our level.
If our content isn’t valuable, our readers won’t stick around for very long. If this is the case, then there’s no reason to build a presence online in the first place.
Bottom line — you must create content that is valuable!
What’s Its Purpose?
Now that you understand that valuable content is king, you still need to know why. Right?
I mean, what’s the point of producing it if it doesn’t affect your practice’s bottom line?
That’s where its purpose needs to be forever engrained in your mind.
Social media enables you to engage in conversations with your community so you can improve your ability to attract, retain and serve your customers.
Thus, valuable content isn’t created in and of itself. Its created to stimulate conversation with your prospects.
If you’re having trouble grasping this concept, maybe this graph from eMarketer.com will help drive home the point:
If you can stimulate conversations, you can then build relationships. Since relationships are built on trust, it’s the trust that eventually opens wallets to spend money with you.
How do I build these relationships?
By listening to your prospects concerns, responding to their questions and providing as many tools as possible for them to easily connect with you.
These tools can consist of everything from the comments section of your blog to your Facebook fan page.
Bottom line — focus on building genuine, authentic relationships with your readers.
It’s the only avenue to convert leads into dollars from your most valuable content.
In closing, whenever you raise your banner to proclaim content is king, just remember that it isn’t the content but rather the relationships you establish that matter the most. Take care of the relationships and you’ll enjoy being king of your own domain!
Question: How well are you doing in engaging your reader?
Let me know in the {comments} section below.
About Dr. Patrick MacNamara
Great Post Dr. MacNamara,
I completely agree quality content is what helps build a blog. One of the best pieces of advice that you gave was to check out the website http://www.psychotatics.com. His articles and content provides value and engages the reader to read more. Have you taken his article writting program? I am planning on taking it starting next month. I like the wibiya bar, good color choice. Thanks,
Dr. Todd P. Sullivan
Dr. Sullivan :: Yes, I’ve been through several of his courses. They are worth every penny for serious online entrepreneurs.
Thanks for motivating me to install the wibiya bar. I’ve been monitoring my site’s download speed and haven’t noticed any slow down so far. I’m very impressed with it and will be writing a blog post featuring it very soon.
And, yes, you’ll get full credit for encouraging me to implement it!
Great post, Dr MacNamara!
I really like your point about not recommending any services out there that will create content for you. Since, they not only do they produce the same content for every chiropractor, which runs the risk of duplicate entries with Google which can blacklist you from their services, it also hurts the personalization of the blog’s posts that is necessary to building the genuine, authentic relationships with your readers that you discussed.
Look forward to the wibiya bar post! I already installed it too, once I saw you did it after Dr. Sullivan’s comment on your previous post on How to Deliver Your Chiropractic Blog to Mobile Phones like the Android, BlackBerry, and iPhone with Ease.
Thanks for the tip Dr. Sullivan!
Dr. Heins :: Your point is HUGE! I wish every chiropractor that subscribes to those lists would understand that principle — authenticity is key to establishing strong relationships.
And, kudos to Dr. Sullivan for his effective peer pressure!
Dr. MacNamara, & Dr. Heins, I am glad that my peer pressure has helped. I think the key is to make the toolbar color very similar to your site’s colors to avoid being distractive. Do you know if you can make the toolbar a custom color to match your website’s or blog’s color exactly. Thanks,
Todd P. Sullivan, DC
Dr. Sullivan :: According to Wibiya’s support forum, the color customization option isn’t available but they are in the process of adding this feature in their next upgrade.
Google loves content and readers love valuable content. It’s best to make both happy by putting out lots of valuable content. And Dr. Mac would know since he puts so many great posts out!
Dr. Beck :: As always, thanks for the input and compliment!