Leading the Way

The blog post 7 Reasons Why Doctors Should Blog contained suggestions for ways in which doctors could use blogs.  

A main reason doctors should blog is to build trust and reputation. Thanks to the Internet, blogs are available to readers globally. Blogs are a valuable tool in building trust and reputation not only among a physician’s local community, but worldwide. A physician blogger should place focus on the publics in which he/she serves, but should also remember not neglect the online medical community.

One creative and unique suggestion mentioned by the author was to lead a social cause. Utilizing a blog to lead a social cause is an excellent proposal. If a physician has established trust, authority and professionalism through their blog, why not use their status to create awareness? For example, promoting an “anti tobacco campaign” would allow for the physician to engage with audiences through exclusive content. Leading a social cause can only be successful if individuals currently read and follow the blog. The physician blogger can post content about promotional events, information, current research, and personal stories all concerning the cause.

Promoting a social cause through a blog is an effective way to not only create awareness, but to produce unique content that can target new audiences. If a physician posts content about an “anti tobacco campaign,” his/her blog may be read by individuals or groups interested in the cause. Guest bloggers can also be an effective method to generate interest in both the cause and the blog. Individuals currently participating in an “anti tobacco campaign” could post content about the current efforts and organizations involved. Also, guest bloggers could post content about personal stories such as quitting tobacco, losing family members from cancers associated with tobacco use, or tobacco addiction. This would not only give readers a wide range of information, but could also draw in additional audiences.  

There are thousands of physician blogs. One way a doctor can set their blog apart from the others is to lead a social cause. An unknown author once said, “A blog is merely a tool that lets you do anything from change the world to share your shopping list.” Physicians, let’s focus on changing the world one post at a time.