Now that you know why your veterinary practice should have a blog, you may be stuck deciding what to actually write about. Writing is tough, and determining the topic is much more difficult when you’re faced with a blank page and incessantly blinking cursor. We understand that deciding which topics to cover, and delivering the information in a way that pet owners find interesting and relevant, can be challenging. Let us take the burden off your shoulders and make choosing your blog post topics much easier. Here are five ways to flesh out your content calendar.
#1: Ask your clients what they want to know about their pet’s care
Your own clients are one of the best sources for potential blog topics. Ask them what they want to know about their pet’s care, either through in-practice surveys or social media posts, or compile the most-asked pet owner questions as you work through appointments. Have a whiteboard, Google Doc, or simple sheet of paper for listing common pet owner queries that your team is asked during the day, and use those as a springboard for creating a content calendar. By catering to the clients in your area and their specific questions, your blog posts are bound to receive plenty of reads and shares.
#2: Mirror hot topics in the latest veterinary publications
Take advantage of that giant stack of veterinary publications that you never have time to read cover-to-cover and look for topic ideas. At least peek at the front page to see the most popular veterinary medicine topics, and think of ways to convert them to pet owner-facing content (i.e., your blog). Check out your latest issues of AAHA Trends, Vetted, Clinician’s Brief, and Today’s Veterinary Practice for inspiration before piling these magazines in your “I will read eventually” stack.
#3: Create evergreen blog posts on popular topics
Although a million and one blog posts about heartworm disease are floating around on the internet, write your own. While heartworm treatment protocols and prevention options may change, basic heartworm disease information will not evolve. Content that has virtually no expiration date and remains as relevant today as the day it was written is referred to as evergreen content. Evergreen topics can provide a large database of blog post topics that can cover everything from common behavior issues to infectious diseases. By putting a personal spin on evergreen topics that never go out of style, you can attract potential clients with unique content, especially when you write a better post than your competitors.
#4: Gear your blog posts toward approaching holidays or practice promotions
When you’re stuck about a topic for your next blog post, search for upcoming holidays you can tie in with a practice promotion. For example, National Pet Dental Health Month is huge, and you can tackle this meaty topic in tons of ways. You can not only advertise any February specials, but also warn pet owners about the dangers of dental disease, and how to spot problems in their pet. You can also cover ways to implement an at-home dental care program, how to brush your pet’s teeth, the chew toys you deem safe, and the benefits of regular professional dental cleanings. Each year, ensure you take a different angle and produce novel content about the same holiday, season, or promotion.
#5: Use SEO tools to determine topics important to pet owners
Search engine optimization (SEO) doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, you can take advantage of many free SEO tools that will guide you toward choosing popular blog post topics that will boost your practice’s website visibility, and underscore your authenticity as a pet care information source. Use a tool like Answer the Public to see what pet owners are searching for. Simply plug in a keyword or topic, and you will have a lengthy list of pet owner questions. Rather than allowing them to turn to Google or social media for their answers, encourage them to turn to you as the best source of pet care information.
If you’re struggling with coming up with your own clever blog topics, or finding the time—or desire—to write your practice’s blog posts, partner up with our Rumpus Writing and Editing team.
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