Chapter 1: An Introduction to Content

In this first chapter, you will learn each of the six “Ws” of content. After reading these sections, you will understand the core concepts you need to build an effective content production system for your practice. 

1.1 What Is Content?

In the world of digital marketing, content has many meanings. It can be anything from website copy and social media captions to Instagram Reels and pictures posted on Twitter. But content is not limited to the digital space. Physical content in the medical aesthetics industry manifests most often as marketing materials like conference fliers, business cards, handbooks and other similar assets.
Many people think the term content in the marketing ecosystem refers to material with a particular purpose, such as advertising or conversion. But the goal behind the material is inconsequential. Content can be used strategically for many different business or marketing goals.
It can entertain, like in the case of a funny plastic surgery-related meme on social media. You can educate your audience with content like blogs that cover the best dermal fillers for certain conditions. You can engage your audience via polls or surveys. In advertisements, the intent is to persuade. These are four of the most common content goals, but they are by no means the only four.
If neither format nor goal dictate the definition of content, how, then, do we actually define it? If you understand the way that digital marketing works, the answer is simple: you don’t. Content can be anything, and although some foundational definitions help newcomers understand the term, it is best not to let preconceived notions of “content” restrict your use of the actual tool. If you need a definition in order to move forward and feel confident about your comprehension, we recommend sticking to this one:

Content: Anything that is used to convey a message about your practice, brand, services, or products regardless of the format it is produced in, the platform it is experienced on, or the goal it is hoping to achieve.

As you move through this textbook, you will learn about the different types of content in the medical marketing space and see real-world examples of how to use them to achieve practical strategic goals.

1.2 Why Is Content Important?

Content is all about messaging, and without messaging, your practice, brand or product will never see the kind of exposure you need. Whether it is listing your practice online, pushing your services via advertisements, or simply putting up a sign outside of your door, messaging is an omnipresent part of a successful practice. Without content, you could have no digital marketing program. It is the backbone of everything digital marketers do.
Planning and perfecting your messaging is critical. If you want to resonate with a demographic of people who will actually sign up for your services, you need to understand what they want to hear and the best way to get that message to them.
Without that strategic understanding, you will waste time producing content that doesn’t click with your audience—if the messaging manages to reach them at all. That means fewer patients signing up for treatment at your practice, less conversation about your products and services, and smaller groups of people who even know that you exist.

1.3 Who Creates Content?

The term “content creator” appears often in modern-day media. Typically, we associate it with people on platforms like YouTube or TikTok creating a video product. But in truth, many types of content creators exist outside of these platforms and formats. Anyone who spends their time creating a resource used to convey a message about your practice, brand, services, or products is a content creator. Generally, though, there are five options for who creates your practice’s content: yourself, staff, freelancers, agencies, or artificial intelligence. 

Yourself

Some medical professionals attempt to create their content themselves. If you have the time and know-how, this isn't a bad option. Content is often at its best when it is personal and genuine, a strength of content created by medical professionals themselves. However, most providers lack the time and technical skill to create the breadth of content they need to fulfill their goals. This is why it is common for them to contribute to content development rather than create it on their own.

Staff

Practices may choose to staff an internal marketing team. These employees can wear many different hats. One internal content employee might handle all the marketing tasks to different degrees of depth, splitting their time producing material for your website, social media accounts, your physical business, and everything in between.

Freelancers

Videographers, audiographers, photographers, writers, graphic artists, traditional artists, and social media specialists are all examples of freelance professionals who can create content for your brand. Using freelancers offers you variety and versatility, but it requires you to organize your content efforts thoroughly to ensure a unified message across all platforms. Additionally, someone needs to be responsible for communicating with freelancers on a regular basis, including handling corrections and managing deadlines. 

Agency

Many practices choose to hire an external marketing agency, where, among many other services, the practice gains the opportunity to work with industry professionals who focus on one content format. This grants you access to specialists in all the freelance creator fields and doesn’t force them to split their efforts. Agencies generally manage and lead the content strategy and timelines themselves, and have plenty of creative resources to draw from. Using an agency does, however, mean someone from your practice must communicate with an external point of contact. 

Artificial Intelligence

AI is just beginning to leave the infancy of content creation. While some tools do not hold up to quality standards, others might be worth learning to use. As a general rule, content writing must still be overseen by a professional. Graphic art AI, however, can generate somewhat reliable assets as long as you are open to a general art direction. The technology isn’t quite there for video or audio yet, but some tools do exist to speed up your workflow if you are new to content creation. In most cases, as of now, it is still best to have a professional in the driver’s seat who can recognize and correct issues that arise from holes in the AI’s understanding. 

1.4 Where Is Content Distributed?

As we dive into the specifics of each content type in the following chapters, we will cover, in-depth, where those types of content are best suited. What works for one platform might not work for another, and you must understand the different algorithms and demographics at play so you can be efficient and effective with your messaging. There are some generalities we can cover beforehand to prime your understanding.
Content can “live” virtually anywhere. Your website, social media, advertisements, other people’s websites, physical magazines or newspapers, video and photo sharing sites, galleries, television, fliers, handbooks—content fills them all. To understand where content lives, we go back to our original definition of content itself: Anything that is used to convey a message about your practice, brand, services, or products regardless of the format it is produced in, the platform it is experienced on, or the goal it is hoping to achieve. If it can be used to get a message across to an audience, then it is a place where content can live. 

1.5 When Is Content Useful?

Remember, content conveys a message. If it is getting across a message you want your audience to receive, then the content is doing its job. But if the message being conveyed is not part of your strategic plan, then you have a problem in your content program. This issue can derive from many different sources: lack of planning, misunderstanding of your brand’s voice, editorial review oversight, miscommunication between team members, etc.
Of course, even when done correctly, content resources have varying degrees of usefulness. For example, a 300-word blog on Botox published to your website that gets very little traffic is unlikely to be the most helpful content you produce. But publishing five slides on social media explaining the Botox fundamentals to 2,000 followers could be. A lot of factors go into making effective content for your practice, and we will cover those in more depth as we move through this textbook.

1.6 How Is Content Measured?

Analytics databases offer many metrics to help you understand how your content is performing. Generally, you want to pay attention to three key components:

1. How many people see your content
2. How long do those people stay on your content
3. How well your content is pushing conversions

The number of people who see your content gives you an idea of how well it contributes to brand awareness. How long those people stay on the content tells you how deep of a connection they are forming with your practice. The amount of conversions created by the content is a direct reflection of how many new patients were acquired or how many new services were rendered from your content campaign. Don’t get too caught up in metrics early on. There are often unseen benefits to creating content from an SEO perspective, and it is difficult to understand how valuable something is without giving it time to settle into the platform. Consistency is critical to marketing success, so give your content program a chance to ramp up before dismissing it.