Melanie Deziel’s Advice on How The Hearing Care Industry Can Create Powerful Content

On July 9th, our ‘Inner Circle’ members were joined by Melanie Deziel as our second ‘Expert Guest’ to discuss using powerful content marketing to educate, attract and convert prospects to patients.

As one of the finest minds in content creation, Melanie Deziel knows the power of effective storytelling.

With a couple of journalism degrees in her back pocket, she founded the Huffington Post’s Partner Studio, before heading up the New York Times’ branded content strategy.

Later, as an Expert in Residence at Gary Vaynerchuk’s BRaVe Ventures, she assisted companies like Viacom, Turner, Discovery Communications, and the Oprah Winfrey Network.

The secret to this success? The ability to tell persuasive, human narratives – combining precise facts with a clear message.

Melanie talked to members of the “Inner Circle” about how they can identify unique angles and content ideas for their clients.

 

Why your call to action might backfire

Many people use content to put products and services in front of potential customers – providing direct sales pitches and promotional offers.

But Melanie believes this can often have an adverse effect.

“It’s like walking into a bar, running up to strangers and proposing blindly to them, having made no formal introduction,” she says.

Her approach takes a different route: she focusses on educational, informative content, which lays the groundwork for a long-term relationship.

Where to start?

One of the best places to start this process, she says, is by examining the role and function of your patient testimonials.

Often, these exist as a simple quote below a picture – with nothing to suggest this isn’t a fictitious individual.

Instead, she sees detailed patient interviews as key, equipped with personal information that gives credibility to their opinion.

These should cover a range of individuals with an interest in your services – from young professionals to those at retirement age.

These “patient stories” won’t send sales soaring overnight, but they will underline your capacity to provide excellence to a range of shareholders.

The importance of data

Melanie sees data as a key asset when trying to convince potential clients of your value.

But the data she references isn’t the sort you’d find in statistical reports or a census. They’re figures that neatly summarise why you’re the best choice for a potential customer.

This might be the time a “curbside appointment” saves compared to a standard appointment, or the volume of sanitation liquid doctors use to ensure they don’t spread the virus

Melanie says this also gives you opportunities to extrapolate the information with fun insights, showing clients: “Two hours saved is enough time to bake a soufflé or watch your favorite film!”

This kind of data can also work well when place in “cumulative totals” – often featuring as a counter on your website, letting others know the value of your efforts.

 

 

How to get past the price tag

A price tag is a stumbling block for most businesses. But it’s a particular issue faced by those in the hearing care profession.

Melanie suggests adopting these three ideas to challenge historic opinions that hearing care is expensive and not value for money:

  • Examine the issue through case studies: content on past patients who found immense value in your products and services will help change the perspectives of others.
  • Use a quiz to breakdown popular misconceptions: this should demonstrate to people why they’re assumption is wrong and then lead them to a consultation or purchase.
  • Make sure your employee profiles are visible and easy to understand: if people know they’re receiving expert help, they’ll grasp why there’s a price tag attached to it.

What to prioritize?

But what is the best content to lead with when there are so many different options?

Melanie says you should consider two principles when making this decision:

  • Look at which pages on your site have the least amount of traffic. This will give you a target for what to develop further.
  • Think about which questions you’re asked regularly. These can be the starting point for articles, videos, social media posts, or other forms of content.

Focus on COVID-19

Since the start of the global pandemic, Melanie says people have started to search for terms like “tutorial”, “how to”, “DIY”, and “instructions”.

This shows they’re hungry for “process focussed” content right now – which enables them to conduct tasks that they might have previously passed on to another business or worker.

It’s therefore important to use your content to inform others in a similar manner, engaging people with information that can assist them now at home.

In doing this, you’ll be building trust with potential clients.

And while this may not create sales in the immediate future, once consumers have more confidence, they’ll turn to you for services and products in the future.

These are just some of the keynotes from a 70-minute interview with Melanie Deziel. The full interview is only available to “Inner Circle” members, but you can view highlights below.

 

 

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