Do I need a blog for my veterinary business?

In a digital environment where content is king, blogging can provide a range of benefits for any veterinary business. In this blog, we’re going to explore how that can work, from the single-site practice up to multi-site and referral hospitals, pharmaceuticals and corporates.

What is blogging?

Blogging in a business capacity is a powerful marketing tactic that uses content to help drive additional online visibility and support the growth of your practice. Blogging is defined as the act of creating a piece of short-form content (usually 600-1000 words) that is posted to the blog section of your website. Your online blog will house every article you create and will become a valuable content hub, containing useful advice and information for your clients.

Frequently creating and sharing fresh content will quickly transform your blog into a powerful marketing channel for your business to attract new prospective clients and can be used to complement your other endeavours such as email marketing, direct mail, and/or social media strategies.

What can blogging do for a veterinary business?

Your website can and should be one of your most valuable marketing assets. For this to happen, however, you need your audience to actually know it exists. The more pages your website contains, the better for your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) as you are more likelyto rank well in search engine results pages (SERPs). Crucially, however, your on-site content should be of the highest quality to convince the search engines that your website contains the detailed information searchers are looking for. Of course, it can’t just be machine readable – it also has to be genuinely useful and interesting to your clients, current and potential. This is the creative tension that is at the heart of good blog writing.

A good, regularly updated blog can bring a wide range of benefits…

• Build and nurture important relationship
  It’s one thing to attract traffic to your website, but it is another thing entirely to successfully convert that traffic into leads and clients. Your clients are more than just customers; collectively they will likely feel more like a community. As such, investing time in nurturing these valuable connections will always enhance your brand image and ensure you present yourself as a professional, highly proficient and, importantly, welcoming veterinary business.
• Showcase your expertise and educate your clients
  Clients want to know that the practice or business to which they are entrusting their beloved pets wellbeing has the knowledge and expertise to provide the most comprehensive care, treatments and advice. Blogging provides you with an ideal opportunity to create a variety of bite-size articles, covering a range of different topics, that will showcase the scope of your expertise and instil confidence in your professionalism.
• Build community
  Additionally, many clients will look for a friendly face to turn to when they need some guidance or reassurance. Blog posts are ideal opportunities to educate your community and your clients will appreciate having a comprehensive resource they can turn to at any time of the day or night.
• Fuel for social media
  Sharing your blog posts on Facebook not only helps to keep your social media up-to-date and relevant, but it is another way of reaching new audiences. Running highly targeted Facebook campaigns is a great way of reaching new, relevant prospective clients with your expert knowledge and advice

  Why should I be blogging regularly?

  Every time you publish a new blog, you are creating an additional opportunity for your website to rank in SERPs for relevant search queries, this in turn leads to an increase in website traffic. Frequently sharing fresh content will provide you with more opportunities to connect with new and existing clients, and deliver valuable information in accessible and highly engaging ways.

  Are there any challenges related to blogging?

  Although blogging frequently will require a significant investment of time, establishing and sticking to a schedule will help you to demonstrate that your business is both credible and reliable. In the veterinary world, you need your community to trust you and creating a content plan will keep your blogging schedule on track, ensuring that you never miss any opportunities to create content that will resonate with your audience.

  If you would like some help setting up and/or managing your blog or growing its reach with targeted Facebook campaigns, our team of marketing and veterinary content experts can help. Contact us via our online enquiry form or call us on 02382 250 102 to find out more