Your patients put their life into your hands, and as a wellness practitioner, they need to know that you’ve got their back.

They want to know you are capable of being their trusted health advisor. That you genuinely care about them. That you are their go-to person when something happens and they need help. That you want to provide resources to improve their quality of life and overall health.

But how do you manage that when you’ve got hundreds of patients to take care of?

Showing up in person is the easy part, but when we go MIA between appointments, we’ve essentially left them high and dry. We may have been fully present while they were in the office but after they leave… silence. What we’re really doing is ghosting them until their next visit.

Here’s the deal: you can’t be their health hero if you don’t show up consistently.

So, how do you let them know you’re genuinely invested in helping them feel better and live a healthier life? By providing valuable content about health-related issues that are important to them, not you! They might genuinely have questions about whether the Keto diet or Paleo diet would be right for them, but you think they need to know about the role of iodine and thyroid dysfunction. Both tops are legitimate, but one solves their problem, and the other is merely information for the sake of education.

For example, if you practice acupuncture, make a post about what it looks like to experience acupuncture with you rather than just listing the benefits of regular acupuncture. This helps answer a common question about acupuncture (“I wonder what it’s like to have needles all over your body?”) vs. providing information about the benefits, still leaving them curious to understand what it is.

Think about the questions your patients ask themselves in-between appointments. Then, create specific content that addresses their concerns and provide it consistently. This positions you as their hero and go-to guide for all things health and wellness.

But before you start randomly posting content, ask yourself this question:

How can I go above and beyond when providing valuable content for my patients or clients?  

This is not the time to do a hard-sell of your amazing services, devices, or other super cool technology. The whole point of creating a consistent conversation with your patients is to connect with them, understand their needs, and give them a reason to trust you with their health.  

Here’s a simple 3-part formula that will help you stay on track when managing your online content:

• Determine a topic or theme for each week of the month. Then, jot down 3 or 4 things they need to know about it in sequential order.

• Decide how you want to deliver your content (email, social media, in-office, etc.) and the format you want it to be in:
  • Live video
  • Pre-recorded video  
  • Related recipe
  • Link to a website
  • In-office talk or community event
  • Article
  • Book recommendation
  • Checklist

• Grab a calendar and schedule out your content, week by week.

Consistent contact with your patients is absolutely essential for building relationships that will last long-term. Because ghosting your patients after they’ve been in your office is not a great way to grow your business! 

Start by setting aside a few hours each month to gather all of the necessary information to start creating your content. The time you spend planning and scheduling your communication strategy makes staying in contact with your patients so much easier.

By authentically interacting with your patients, you’ll encourage them to find even more ways to live a healthier lifestyle, and of course, they will want to do that with you.