At Quaintise, one of the most common concerns that we hear from potential clients is, “I don’t’ even want to know what’s out there on Google about me.” It’s a relevant fear. For physicians, the healthcare marketing field has changed so dramatically in the past few years that, while they know that they must manage their online reputation, they’re terrified of actually doing it. But that’s ok. That’s where Quaintise comes into the picture.
Step one to reputation management is establishing yourself online. But guess what? That’s already been done for you! Your patients, as well as online medical resources and doctor-search-sites have already established your online presence. You are everywhere already -- on Healthgrades, Vitals, ZocDoc, Yelp, and probably a hundred more directories. So, fret now about getting started, it’s already been started for you.
Step two to reputation management in healthcare is to manage your reputation online. Step one was easy, and yet that’s the worst part of the entire healthcare marketing reputation process. Since you’re already out there on every healthcare and local directory available for any Google user to search, you’ll need to go through each and every single one of them to make sure they are accurate. Check the following:
- Business Name (physician name)
- Licenses and Accreditations
- Background and Schooling
- Address
- Phone Number
- Website
- Social Networking Profiles
Unlike a local business directory site, healthcare directories include many aspects of your background so that potential patients can make informed decisions. The above points must be identical across all platforms.
Step three to reputation management online is to drown out the internet noise with your own voice. This is the most important step, and the one that never-ends. Do not let your voice become overpowered with every other website online. From healthcare directories to local directories to social media to patient blogs, there are hundreds, if not thousands of voices online that are talking about you, masking the truth, twisting the facts, and muddling the brand message. You need to be the only voice that potential patients hear and see when researching your practice.
Establishing your own voice online for the purpose of drowning out the noise and managing your own reputation involves quite a few simple and yet crucial steps. From social media marketing and management to creating quality content and engaging patients through reviews and testimonials, it’s your ultimate goal to ascertain that your voice, your brand message is the only one getting absorbed by potential patients. Quaintise can help!
Step one in establishing your voice for the purpose of reputation is to start a doctor blog. If we’ve said this once we’ve said it a million times. Establishing a consistent, informative blog not only provides pertinent medical information to your patients and potential patients, it affords a much needed sense of transparency, which builds trust. Blog on your own site but also post guest blogs on multiple other medical sites. This will help to drown out that internet noise and will strengthen your own voice online. Blogging also builds followers and community, which leads to social media marketing.
Step two is to increase your social media presence. This is a wonderful way not only to engage with your patients and local community, but to create your own noise that reflects your brand message without interference.
Step three is to encourage positive reviews and testimonials from your patients and staff. This is the trickiest and yet a crucial step in managing your reputation and voice online, and it is so difficult simply because it involves time and effort from your patients. History has shown us that if it takes the smallest amount of effort and any time away from a patient’s personal lives, they’ll probably only do it if they’re really fired up about something – and that something is usually not good.
You need to counteract that negative passion with positive passion, which means you need to be the best at what you do. Encourage patients to leave reviews in your newsletters and on your website. When you receive a positive review or testimonial on one of the hundreds of healthcare directories, share it with everyone. This will encourage more positive reviews, and as the saying goes ‘when it rains it pours.’
Managing your reputation online is not complicated, yet it is never ending and incredibly time consuming. Let the team at Quaintise make absolutely sure that your brand message, your voice is the only one that potential patients hear when they search for you online!