We all know that content is King, but it only reigns if it gets read, shared and liked. Here’s how to make sure that happens with your hospital’s blog:

Hire ex-journalists

Your marketing department is going to need those Woodwards and Bernsteins to shake up your office. You want to hire people who know how to write leads that pull people into stories, how to connect to patients during an interview and can balance multiple deadlines under intense pressure. Post an opening on JournalismJobs.com and see who comes your way.

Ask your doctors to guest blog

You’ve probably got a few doctors who fancy themselves as writers. It’s your job to find them. And once you do, encourage them to write something for you. Are they too busy for blogging? Ghostwrite articles on their behalf.

Write what people care about

First, you need to do a little sleuthing. Go into your Google Analytics and see what blogs are the most popular. Healthy living recipes? Exercise videos? Heartwarming patient stories? Whatever it is — do more of that. Know what your audience wants and serve it up on a silver platter.

Make your headlines sparkle

Your journalists are going to know how to do this automatically, but here’s a quick refresher:

• Put numbers in your headline
• Make them short and sweet
• Ask thought-provoking questions
• Include “tips” or “how-to’s”
• If appropriate, be funny

Don’t act like a hospital — act like you’re a friend

You’ve probably heard the buzzword “brand journalism.” That basically means that your hospital (your brand) produces news and stories that people want to know about. Your brand is then seen as a trusted resource for the community. But the way to really pull that off is to write informative, engaging stories that people want to read. Take a look at Advocate Health Care’s brand journalism site. Its website is chock-full of stories with headlines like: “If you like eating meat, listen up,” “Top gym mistakes you may be making” and “Are you repressing your emotions?” This doesn’t sound like it’s coming from a hospital. It sounds like it’s coming from a friendly organization who really knows and cares what people want to read about.