Whether you’re a seasoned aesthetic professional or just starting out, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t consider publishing a blog. As well as reaching new patients, well-written blog posts can reinforce your status as an expert in your field and keep your existing patients loyal. You may ask, however, what do you write about? Here, I will share the main benefits of blogging, as well as top tips for creating content.
Top three reasons to blog
1. Increase your website traffic
As well as helping you to build trust with your audience by showcasing your knowledge and expertise, a blog will help drive traffic to your website and, hopefully, encourage potential patients to book with you.
In fact, a 2022 study of 1,531 websites by HubSpot found that those with blogs got 55% more traffic than those without.1
Ideally, I would recommend posting a blog at least once a month and aim to keep the date consistent each time so followers will know when to expect it. If you have more time and lots of content ideas, you could increase to bi-weekly or even weekly blog posts.
By sharing snippets of your blog posts on social media or asking other sources to add the link to their website, you will encourage what is known as ‘social’ or ‘referral’ traffic.2 Visitors will likely be people who already know a bit about you – they may be a regular patient or someone who’s heard about your clinic and followed you to learn more. This type of sharing is great as it reminds people that you’re still around and could give them an idea of other things you can help with.
What’s particularly valuable about blogging, though, is that every post you add creates another indexed page on your website, which can increase ‘organic’ traffic.2 This means you’ll have more chance of being seen by search engines and pushed higher in the search results of people who are looking for your types of services.
For example, if someone types in ‘is salicylic acid good for acne’ and you’ve written a blog post detailing what salicylic is, how it can help acne and when it should be used, then you could gain not only a website visitor, but someone who appreciates that you know what you’re talking about and are someone worth booking with.
Crucially, you must ensure that you’re using the right search engine optimisation (SEO) tools to be seen. This involves using relevant key words, meta titles and meta descriptions. There’s lots of advice online about how to do this well – I’d recommend articles by Semrush and Google to get started.3,4 Turn to p.73 to find out how to put together an SEO strategy. As a Forbes tech article described, ‘Search engines will identify your website as a key resource that is providing valuable information that needs to be found. Typically, websites that have a blog have 434% more indexed pages.’5
2. Better understand your audience
Having a blog can also allow you to gain insight into your target audience. If you allow readers to subscribe, comment and like posts, then you’ll gain an indication of the topics they find most interesting and be able to tailor future content, as well as your products and services, to these interests.
Most websites will have a section where you can view your analytics or you can sign up to Google Analytics for free – do this on a monthly basis and track things like:6
- Number of visitors: compare what type of posts get the most attention
- Bounce rates: find out how quickly a visitor leaves your blog post page – higher rates for certain posts may mean the content wasn’t as engaging
- Average time on page: gain a good indication of whether visitors have skipped, scanned or read your blog post properly
- Top traffic sources: learn where most of your visitors come from and consider posting there more often
There are loads of other things you can analyse, but these statistics are a great starting point to give you insight into your blog posts’ performance and ideas of what you can tweak to better serve your audience.
3. Expand your patient demographic
While Instagram Reels and TikToks may seem like the most popular forms of content at the moment, it’s important to remember that your marketing strategy shouldn’t solely rely on these videos alone. To ensure your business reaches a wide demographic of potential patients, you need to consider varying your output and tailoring it to different platforms.
This may sound like a lot of work but, in reality, if you start with a simple blog post, you can translate this into multiple forms of content that appeals to a wide variety of people. For example, if you were to write a blog on your ‘top 10 skincare recommendations’ you could use the information to also:
- Create a Reel/TikTok of your skincare routine that incorporates your recommendations – great for those who are short on time
- Post images of your recommended products on Instagram – perfect to grab attention of those who love a visual
- Film a YouTube video of your recommendations – some people learn better from watching/listening compared to reading a blog
- Expand on your points further in a longer-form article and pitch it to a local magazine for publication – reach those who aren’t as internet-savvy
As well as sharing the link to your blog alongside these social media posts, you should link to it in your patient newsletter to drive traffic further too.
Choosing effective blog topics
It’s all well and good having a blog, but it’s useless if it doesn’t add value to the reader. The key point to remember is that a blog shouldn’t be used as your online diary, full of your thoughts and ramblings that mean nothing to those who visit it. Instead, it should make a positive difference to readers’ lives and encourage them to take action.
Here are some ideas that will help you achieve this:
Answer FAQs
Every business will have frequently-asked questions. For an aesthetic clinic, these may be things like ‘How does this treatment work?’, ‘What’s the clinical evidence behind it?’, ‘How long until I see results?’ and ‘Will it hurt?!’
If you’re struggling to think of FAQs, try websites like answerthepublic.com or semrush.com where you can gain insight into what people are typing in search engines, on any subject you choose.
For each treatment you offer, create a blog post that answers these questions and invite readers to book a consultation for more in-depth advice.
Link to news
See what people are saying about aesthetics, and associated products and treatments in the press. Has a celebrity undergone a procedure you offer? Educate your readers on what they likely experienced and how the treatment works.
Recent great examples I’ve seen of this include Judy Murray and her Morpheus8 procedure, and Shirley Ballas following NeoGen plasma treatment.7,8 Multiple clinics who offered these treatments were able to share their insights and tell internet searchers that they could help patients achieve similar results.
Don’t forget trade press… this very journal is an excellent source of industry news and some of it can be translated to a consumer audience. Take the recent updates on regulation as an example. Aesthetics reported that ‘Government Delays Proposed Licensing Scheme’.9 For your blog you can:
- Briefly explain what the licensing scheme is
- Detail why it is relevant to those having aesthetic treatment
- Highlight the impact the delay will have on patients
- Give your take on the scheme and point out anything else you think that should be done to benefit patients
Doing so will demonstrate that you care about patient safety, understand the complexity of regulation and are passionate about positive change that will benefit your patients.
Expand on statistics
One of my favourite quotes when I was training to be a journalist was ‘facts tell, stories sell’. Essentially, this means that a fact (or stat) will grab readers’ attention, but a story around it is what will keep them engaged.
Again, this journal is a great source for statistics. You’ll notice a stats column published in the news section each month, covering all sorts of topics related to aesthetic medicine. Keep an eye on other specialty organisations and publications for more too.
So, how do you make a story out of a stat? Let’s look at this one: ‘38% of women said they would take action when they begin to notice sagging of face contours in the cheekbones, jaw and neck areas’.10 Your blog post could:
- Explain why women begin to see these changes as they age
- Address that it’s ok to want to take action
- Outline the treatment options that could help this concern
- Detail how they work and expected results – for each option, cover pain, side effects, potential complications, when you will see results, how long results last
- Share a patient testimonial from someone who has taken action that highlights their positive experiences
Statistics are a great way to get people talking and, importantly, sharing; ask your readers to share their perspective on your stats too – this will generate further reach and positive engagement.
Don’t forget…
Whatever type of blog post you decide to write, always remember to include a ‘call to action’ at the end of each blog post – what you want a reader to do next – whether this is book a consultation, share with friends or visit another area of your site to learn more. You don’t want to lose them just after you’ve attracted them with your great content!
Getting started
Hopefully you now recognise how valuable starting a blog can be to you and your business. As well as building trust in you as an aesthetic professional, it will drive those all-important clicks to your website that will ultimately lead your target audience to book treatments with you. And if writing is not your forte or you simply don’t have time, get in touch with an experienced writer or marketer for support.
