It has been a while since I have specifically talked about the role of blogs in your marketing plan. Given that I have been working with Dmitriy Kruglyak, Toby Bloomberg, and Fard Johnmar on the upcoming Healthcare Blogging Summit, my own attention has been turned to why people blog and what they get out of it.

What is the single greatest point of value you receive from blogging?
That was the simple question asked by CK back at the end of August 2006 to her fellow marketing professionals. CK (Christina Kerley) is a growing voice in the interactive marketing blogosphere who has a real knack of summarizing some of the real trends in marketing in a fresh innovative way.
I took a moment this week to follow up to find out what if anything CK had learned from her simple question. Thus I happened across the great graphic summary of her findings on her blog.

ck2_collage_final_notagline_4.png

So what did CK find?

CK’s graphic emphasizes a number of benefits of blogging. Many of them rang true for me as well. They include:

  • Self improvement
  • Sharing insights
  • Inspiring others
  • Learning
  • Knowledge
  • Feedback
  • Conversation
  • Community
  • Connection
  • Exchange of Ideas

How does this relate to the healthcare industry?

Because of the personal nature of the delivery of healthcare services, social interaction and patient/provider collaboration are essential for optimal health outcomes. Buliding community and creating a forum for connection, conversation, inspiration, and exchange of ideas are key in building collaborative relationships.

Unfortunately, in today’s healthcare climate, we are strapped for time and resources. 15 minute physician visits, shrinking lenghts of stay, and increases in outpatient services, make it difficult to learn individualized and personalized information about one’s health and ways to manage illnesses and/or sustain good health. We are often left with broad sweeping medical advice that seems impersonal and to be honest, does not really inspire a person go to the trouble of making difficult changes that can improve their health.

According to CK and her contributors, blogs seem to have the ability to connect people, create community and relationships as well as educate. Thus they seem to have the potential to bridge the communication and community gap we have in healthcare today.

Value of Healthcare Blogging

In 21 days, the results of the first survey of the health blogosphere will be presented the Consumer Health World conference. At that time, we will have a better understanding about the value of healthcare blogs. It will be interesting to see if the findings of the two surveys are similar and ways that they differ.

If you are a healthcare blogger or considering blogging, I want to invite you to drop by and share your insights and feedback as we discuss this in person.

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