Consumers seek out healthcare content daily. Whether they’re searching for symptoms or specialists, each query is an opportunity for hospitals and healthcare systems to share insights and build trust with prospective patients. Content marketing is the perfect vehicle for providing value and building a relationship with would-be patients.

Content intelligence provider Ceralytics conducted a study of healthcare content, both consumer- and provider-focused, and uncovered an interesting Venn diagram of the topics generating the most interest and the topics most healthcare marketers are covering. The areas in the high-interest category that see no overlap with the current content budget represent low-hanging opportunity for savvy content marketers looking to drive traffic and affinity.

Trends in Consumer-focused Content

The five top-performing topics in consumer-focused healthcare content are:

1. Heart disease
2. Diet
3. Tips (mostly for weight loss and pain relief)
4. Recipes
5. Pain

Heart disease is the clear winner in terms of most-shared content, but only a little more than half of healthcare providers are adequately covering it in their content.

Diet, recipes and tips all complement each other as consumers seek advice for living healthy lifestyles.

Pain management makes sense as a popular topic as the U.S. confronts an opioid crisis born largely from prescription painkillers.

One of the fundamentals of good SEO is usefulness, and these topics are a sure bet when it comes to providing your consumers utility. Answer their basic questions about heart disease, diet and pain, and you’re on your way to a set at the table.

If you’re ready to move beyond table stakes, however, start differentiating your brand with these top five underutilized topics in consumer-focused healthcare content:

1. Quit smoking
2. Blood sugar
3. Stroke
4. Cancer patients
5. New baby

Smoking cessation has a cyclical interest curve, with searches peaking around the time people make New Year’s resolutions. Consumers are looking for content about why and how to stop smoking, as well as what to expect in the journey to quitting. Infographics on this topic do well.

Blood sugar has gained increasing search share in the U.S. over the last five years, and it’s a topic that lends itself to repurposing and repackaging of content. Consumers looking for answers on blood sugar are drawn to recipes, diets, prevention methods and management tips. If you already have generic content on healthy living, some light modifications to make it diabetes-focused can go a long way.

Content about strokes should cover the warning signs and contributing factors that increase the risk of stroke. Consumers also want answers about regaining function after a stroke.

The topic of cancer is well-covered, but the human aspects of living with the disease are less so. Content that addresses the everyday questions cancer patients have, such as what to eat, can do remarkably well. The Ceralytics report points to one post by the Cleveland Clinic as an example that was shared more than 15,000 times.

There’s no shortage of mommy blogs, and product-focused brands to provide insight on breastfeeding and sleep solutions, but healthcare providers have been quiet on new baby content and can join the conversation with the added legitimacy of their pediatric experts.

Trends in Provider-focused Content

Among articles written for healthcare providers, the best-performing topics are:

1. Studies
2. America
3. Mental health
4. Autism
5. Cancer

Perhaps expectedly, providers are interested in staying abreast of the latest findings from medical studies. Writing summaries or recaps of research can be a great way to attract providers to your content.

Similar to studies, articles that focus on medical issues unique to America are another source of traffic for healthcare content marketers.

Mental health is a broad topic, which is good for content creators. It means there is much ground to cover before your ideas become stale. Providers want to know how to address the stigma of discussing mental health as well as suicide prevention practices.

Autism is still a developing topic in that all that can be known about it has yet to be uncovered, so there is always more that can be written. Providers actually face a dearth of autism content compared to consumers.

Like autism, cancer continues to be a heavily researched disease, and as we stated earlier, studies are popular among providers. Take advantage of findings when they come out.

The five provider-focused topics most ripe for coverage are:

1. Medical errors
2. Autism
3. Depression/anxiety
4. Addiction
5. Cancer patients

Medical errors are the biggest opportunity in provider-focused content. It may be a touchy subject to cover, but the appetite for thoughtful content on this topic makes it worth the effort.

Autism is underrepresented in provider-focused content. Providers are looking for research and new findings to meet their consumer’s interests. Providers also want more content on research and treatment for depression and anxiety, likely a reflection of their prevalence among patients. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America reports more than 18% of Americans are affected anxiety disorders.

Providers find addiction content lacking, especially as they are facing the disease more often with the prevalence of opioid addiction. And finally, mirroring consumer interests, providers also want content focused on cancer patients. Rather than ideas to make daily life more comfortable, though, they’re looking for treatment options.

As content marketers begin crafting their calendars for 2020, these topics are a great starting point in the healthcare field for generating traffic and trust with both consumers and providers. For more ideas on what to write about next year, check out this post on healthcare predictions.