When physiotherapist Nick Matheson first raised the idea of using a blog to promote the services of the health care practitioners in his wellness clinic, marketing consultants warned him against it.
I see their point. Many businesses start a blog with the best intentions, only to abandon it later. This not only counteracts any of the benefits of blogging, it can actually detract from the credibility of the business because it looks like you don’t finish what you start.
That hasn’t been an issue for Nick and his team, because “apparently, we have a lot to say!” In fact as weekly bloggers, the One to One Wellness team embody some of the best practices for group blogging.
They launched their blog in January 2010, although Nick Matheson started blogging in 2004 when his daughter was sick (it was a way to process his thoughts and cope with the experience). As a marketing tool, it appealed to him as “a way for us to have a conversation with people when we’re not there.“
The blog has brought them some media attention, including a profile in Process Magazine (Volume 18 No. 2, 2011) and a quote in an upcoming article in Canadian Living Magazine.
Nick says that the other benefits are harder to quantify, but they get a fair amount of positive feedback, and “a number of people check out the blog before coming in for an appointment.”
With eight contributors, each person only needs to produce a blog post every two months – that’s the beauty of team blogging! They have a central blog schedule, so everyone knows what’s expected of them. Nick goes in to edit, approve and publish the posts once a team member has submitted a draft.
I especially like how each post is clearly labeled with the name and speciality of the team member (like one by Nutrition Consultant Liz Manwaring) – no anonymous posters here (although I do see another word I don’t like)! Descriptive category names further organize their content, and there’s also a handy search box to find a particular topic.
Congratulations to Nick and the team at One to One Wellness Centre. And thanks for providing such a positive example of a wellness clinic team blog.
[Update November 24, 2015: This site is no longer active so I have removed all links.]
If you would like to start or re-start a group blog for your wellness clinic or other healthcare practice, contact us today to see how we can help!