As a medical professional, it’s essential to communicate effectively with your current and potential patients. However, you might find it challenging to convey your message in a way that is both relatable and informative.
You’re not alone in this struggle. Many medical professionals end up producing content that is too formal, based on subject matter that is too stale or using technical language and jargon that can make their content dull and difficult to connect with.
But it isn’t the way to find success in your digital marketing efforts.
Now, speaking more humanlike? Well, as my man the Mandolorian says, “This is the way.”
So, I am going to provide you with some tips on how you can humanize the content you are putting out, so you can better connect with your audience.
Tip 1: Tell Stories
Stories have been an essential part of our culture since the beginning. Early humans figured out how to tell stories through cave paintings and the spoken word, while modern humans continue to tell stories through books, movies, blogs, and social media.
“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”
― Philip Pullman
Storytelling has become an integral part of how we communicate with one another, and it can be a powerful tool in marketing.
After all, storytelling helps prospects remember your messaging.
During a class at Stanford University, a professor by the name of Chip Heath requested that students deliver one-minute speeches on non-violent crime. While most students focused on presenting data, with an average of 2.5 statistics per speech, only 10% of the students incorporated storytelling.
Surprisingly, when Heath conducted a poll with the students 10 minutes later, 63% of them were able to recall the stories, while only 5% could remember a single statistic. This highlights the power of storytelling and its ability to create a lasting impact on the audience.
Now imagine that you and your competitors are the students in the class. Which group of students would you prefer to fall into? 63% memorability, or 5%?
Utilizing Patient Journeys
When it comes to telling powerful stories, Patient Journeys are a powerful way to connect with your audience. These are personal narratives that highlight the experiences of real people who have used your services.
They are more compelling than traditional marketing messages because they offer a relatable and authentic perspective that people can connect with emotionally.
Patient Journeys can be shared in various forms, including long-form blog posts, testimonials, case studies, email blasts and social media posts. They provide social proof that your services are worth investing in.
Social Proof: Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people conform to the actions and opinions of others in social situations. In marketing, social proof is a technique that uses evidence of other people’s experiences with a product or service to influence the behavior of potential customers. Social proof can take many forms, including customer reviews, testimonials, case studies, social media posts, and influencer endorsements. The idea is that when people see that others have had positive experiences with a product or service, they are more likely to believe that it is worth investing in themselves.
But it’s not just the stories of your patients that can be effective in marketing. Storytelling can also be used to humanize your own brand, share your own experiences, and convey complex information in a more engaging way.
For example, you can share stories about the creation of your practice and how to this day you strive to maintain the values it was founded on. You could discuss the development of a new treatment methods including all the trials and tribulations that it required. This would give your audience insight into your work and build trust with them.
There are plenty of stories you can tell, the most important thing is to just start telling them.
Tip 2: Write How You Talk
As technology and search continues to evolve, the way people interact with search engines is changing too.
Voice search, in particular, is becoming increasingly popular, as people are opting to use virtual assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant to search the internet using natural language.
Natural Language Processing: A field of computer science and artificial intelligence that deals with the interaction between human language and computers. The goal of natural language processing is to enable computers to understand, interpret, and generate human language in a way that is similar to how humans do.
In fact, Google is using natural language processing for a whole slew of reasons, such as:
- Better understanding the context and intent behind user queries
- Identifying synonyms, related concepts, and entities such as people, places, and things
- Analyzing search engine results pages
- Generating and selecting Featured Snippets
This trend is shifting the way people interact with search engines, so it should be changing the way we write content as well.
Writing clearly and conversationally is becoming more critical than ever, as search engines are getting better at understanding natural language and prioritizing content that will be easily understood when Alexa or Siri reads it back to the user.
Using contractions, controlled slang, and colloquialisms can help your content feel more natural and conversational, making it more appealing to both search engines and readers alike.
This might hurt to read if you are coming from a writing or academic background, which encourages a more elevated, complex style, but using conversational language can help your content rank better in voice search results and increase its overall visibility on search engines.
Don’t Overthink It
Many people struggle to sound human in their writing because they tend to overthink it, convincing themselves they need something to “sound good.”
They may ask themselves or a writing professional, “How do I say this certain thing in my blog?” even after they’ve perfectly articulated the idea out loud just a moment prior.
So as search engines like Google move toward conversational language, people will become more accustomed to content that feels more natural and less robotic.
Tip 3: Getting Technical
While it’s important to sound human in your writing, knowing a few technical tricks can help you achieve that natural inflection.
So here are a few more advanced syntax concepts to help you achieve that:
Technical Term | Definition | How to Humanize |
|---|---|---|
| Active Voice | The subject performs the action in the sentence. | Use active voice to create a sense of action and immediacy. For example, instead of "the procedure was performed," use "we performed the procedure." |
| Personal Pronouns | Words used to refer to people or things. | Use personal pronouns like "I" and "we" to build a personal connection between you and your audience. This can make your content more relatable and help your audience feel like they are part of the conversation. |
| Second-Person Pronouns | Words used to refer to the person or people being addressed. | Use second-person pronouns like "you" instead of "the reader" or "one" to make your content more conversational and engaging. This approach can help your audience feel like you're speaking directly to them. |
| Contractions | Words created by combining two words. | Don't be afraid to use contractions, slang, and other colloquialisms that reflect your voice and personality. This can help your content feel more natural and less robotic. |
| Humor | The quality of being amusing or comical. | Injecting some humor into your writing can help to break up dense technical information and make your content more relatable. However, be mindful not to overdo it and make sure that your humor is appropriate for your audience. |
| Active Verbs | Verbs that express action or indicate a state of being. | Use active verbs to create a sense of energy and momentum in your writing. For example, instead of "the patient was examined," use "we examined the patient." |
| Rhetorical Questions | A question asked solely to create an effect or make a point, rather than to elicit an answer. | Use rhetorical questions to engage your audience and encourage them to think more deeply about your content as though a real conversation were happening. For example, "Have you ever wondered why...?" |
| Anecdotes | A short and amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person. | Use anecdotes to illustrate a point or provide context for technical information. Share personal stories or experiences to help your audience relate to your content. |
| Emotive Language | Language that is used to evoke an emotional response. | Use emotive language to create a sense of connection and empathy with your audience. For example, instead of "the procedure may cause discomfort," use "you may experience some discomfort during the procedure." |
Bonus Tip: Be Honest and Transparent
In the medical aesthetic industry, honesty and transparency are critical for building trust with your audience.
Patients expect transparency about procedures, outcomes, and pricing, and being open and honest in your content can help you sound more human and relatable to your audience.
Trust in the brand … has emerged as one of the most important goals of a marketing strategy. This trust can only be achieved through honest communication.
— Stefan Huber
Admitting mistakes and sharing personal stories can make your content more authentic and relatable, which can increase your audience’s trust in you.
By being honest and transparent about your work and experiences, you can show your potential patients that you are a real person with real experiences and challenges, just like them. This will help your practice build long-term trust with your audience and make them feel more comfortable and confident in your services.
Ready to Be Human?
As ridiculous as you might think it sounds to need help sounding human, you are far from alone. Figuring out how to present content that is relatable, informative and persuasive is a tall task. Luckily, we think you are up to the challenge.
But if you decide you need some help along the way, even if it is just getting started, our educators are here to answer any questions you have, anytime, for free. Give us a call at (800) 949-0133 or schedule a one-on-one.
Christian Shepherd
Content Stategist
Incredible Marketing
