This post is part of a series that explores how Unlock Health makes great work easier.

Healthcare marketers have a daunting challenge on their hands. Increase brand awareness and preference, grab market share, drive patient volumes, and demonstrate ROI. And do all of this while patients and consumers have more choices than ever. At the same time, more choice can lead to more complex health decisions. Choosing when and where to get care, not to mention who to trust with your health, can often be personal, confusing, and just overwhelming.

When people have more questions about their health than answers, this creates a critical opening and substantial opportunity for healthcare organizations to prove themselves as trusted partners in care. So, how do we build this trust (outside of clinical encounters)? Trust comes from connection, and connection is built over time through consistent, personalized, and valuable interactions.

This is the primary case for content. In addition to being a crucial piece of the integrated marketing mix, content is the cornerstone upon which meaningful engagement is built. If planned and executed well, it’s the bridge between brand promise and patient action. Yes, we are bullish on content and engagement being at the heart of every healthcare marketing strategy. An effective content strategy can transform trust into care decisions and patient loyalty. Here’s how.

Content as the relationship builder

We’ve all had to make important healthcare decisions, with some more significant than others. When it matters the most, people want to have confidence that they’re making the best care decisions for themselves and their families. I have certainly been in this spot. I am sure most of you have too.

Several years ago, my son was given a life-changing medical diagnosis. This kicked off a healthcare journey my wife and I had no experience with or plan for. Despite my personal experience working in and with the healthcare industry for nearly 20 years, there were thousands of decisions ahead of us and we had no idea how to begin making them.

Like most parents in this position, we had no choice but to dig and get as smart as possible as fast as possible. We consumed as much content as we could. Resources related to diagnosis, treatment options, prognosis, specialty services, research studies, physicians, patient stories, community groups, complementary therapies, and on and on and on and on. During this experience I turned from a professional evangelist who had long preached about the value of content in creating connection, confidence, and trust to a true consumer who experienced its power.

Well-crafted content is often the first impression a brand makes, and it can either build trust or break it. By delivering valuable, empathetic, and accessible content that guides people through their care journeys, organizations demonstrate their expertise and humanity, which is key to fostering long-term relationships.

Bridging the gap between care needs

We have seen too many healthcare organizations think of content as episodic, something patients need when they’re actively seeking care. But the truth is, 80% of a consumer’s health journey occurs outside of direct care interactions. What happens in between episodes of care matters.

The providers of this content became the experts and voices we trusted most, and that trust determined where we sought care. While we met with my son’s clinical team regularly, many of the decisions we made were (and still are) supported by the content we consumed in between appointments and treatments. In many ways, it gave us the confidence that we were making the best decisions about our son’s care.

The right content nurtures connection between care needs. It sustains relationships, reminds audiences of your value, and keeps your organization top of mind. When the time comes for someone to make a care decision, they’ll turn to the brand that’s been consistently present in their lives.

Driving volume and appointments with strategic content

Content isn’t just about storytelling or creating awareness, it’s also about driving action. Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing channels, according to NYTLicensing, and the leads generated are 6 times as likely to convert to action. Whether it’s scheduling a mammogram, signing up for a diabetes management program, or attending a health seminar, content is the catalyst that turns interest into action.

Take one of our clients, for instance. This client developed and deployed a content campaign to promote a health risk assessment (HRA) for breast cancer. By creating engaging, educational pieces tailored to a specific audience segment, they saw a 42% increase in HRA completions year-over-year. This increase led to more appointments, which created more revenue for the client and more opportunities to improve health outcomes for their patients.

Data like this is not uncommon for our clients, and underscores that content isn’t a soft investment. It’s a critical lever for growth.

Falling behind without a strategic focus

If you’re not engaging your audience, your competitors are. Even though nearly 90% of healthcare marketers say they use content marketing as part of their overall marketing strategy, according to the Content Marketing Institute, just 29% describe their approach as “very successful”. We’ve seen firsthand that the gap between intention and execution is massive. It’s where opportunities are lost, and where industry leaders separate themselves from their competitors.

Organizations that lack a clear content strategy not only fail to engage but risk losing trust. A website with outdated information, a social feed with inconsistent or filler posts, or an absence of thought leadership can erode credibility faster than you think. Meanwhile, competitors with a strategic focus are the ones who are going to win audiences and take market share.

Content is the means; engagement is the goal

If we’re being honest, content is a means to an end. The real goal is engagement, creating relationships, trust, and actions that drive care decisions. Every blog, video, guide, or infographic should be measured against these outcomes. Is it resonating with the audience? Is it leading them to trust your brand? Is it prompting them to take the next step? Whether it’s a long-term strategy for ongoing patient communication or a high-impact campaign to drive immediate volume, every piece of content serves a purpose.

The bottom line

Content isn’t optional in healthcare marketing, it’s the foundation of engagement. It’s how organizations build trust, differentiate themselves, and guide care decisions. Without it, you’re not just missing an opportunity, you’re ceding ground to competitors.

If your organization isn’t making strategic content and engagement a priority, I cannot emphasize more strongly that now is the time. The stakes are high, but so are the rewards. With the right strategy, content has the power to transform your audience’s perception, deepen their trust, and ultimately drive the care decisions that matter most—for their health, and for your bottom line.