Online Reputation MGMT for Doctors, Physicians and Healthcare Professionals (2021 Edition)

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Online Reputation Management for Doctors and Healthcare Professionals

Reputation mgmt for doctors can be a full time job. Caring for patients is a true vocation and almost all doctors put the greatest amount of effort into doing so. However, we live in a digital world and often patients, who aren’t happy, resort to the online world to express their unhappiness.

Worse again, some doctors have the unfortunate experience of having to defend themselves in a legal case.  We work with companies in the casino area – the iGaming SEO area is one full of issues and we see plenty.

This can all lead to negative coverage in the press and on Google and can impact greatly on your business. Physician reputation mgmt is there to fix this problem and employs particular marketing strategies to ensure positive search results for a doctor or physician. 

If you are wondering how to ensure this is the case then read on. 

Tips for Reputation Mgmt for Doctors

Place Emphasis on Search Results

To build brand awareness and generate new leads, it’s important to consider the value of search results. This is how you build up a positive personal and professional reputation. It’s always smart to understand the nuances of well-established search results when it comes to controlling your online reputation. Being able to rank higher on Google and other major search engines can add credibility to the brand and what it stands for. 

Over time, we have gone through these details and showcased the value of understanding them. We believe there’s nothing better than being able to create a refined online asset by registering a personalized domain name to spread the word. This is how you can get out in front of the target audience on different platforms. By having top-quality online properties under your name, it becomes easier and easier to rank higher. This is how your online reputation as a doctor goes through the roof.   

Keep an Eye on Your Search Results to Ensure your Medical Reputation Mgmt

doctor reputation managementDon’t forget to analyze your online reputation and how well your company is doing online. It’s recommended to search your company’s official name at least 1-2 times per month. This is doubly important if you’re running a media-relevant business that’s in the news often. If that is the case, it may be time to set up a Google Alerts account to make sure you’re alerted if specific keywords are mentioned. This allows you to respond to negative publicity promptly.  

Remember, search engine results don’t finish after the first page. You want to look at other pages to see what’s going on and whether changes are necessary. This is why most website owners look at pages 2-3 to see if there’s negative content about their brand. You have to realize the rankings are always changing and negative content isn’t always reserved to one page. You have to organize your analysis and make sure each page is analyzed in detail. If possible, you should also organize your findings based on your online reputation. This means to determine whether the negative content is on your website, an affiliated website, or coming from someone with influence (i.e. news outlet, celebrity).  

Doctor Rep Management Requires you to Expand Your Presence Online

Social media platforms have grown in stature including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Using these platforms has become a must and businesses also have to think about additional platforms that are out there. Negative publicity can be found anywhere and it’s not always reserved for the major platforms. This is why you want to have a proper presence on the top platforms while keeping an eye out on the others.

Many brands also run LinkedIn accounts to deal with other business owners. This is how professional connections are established and new services are sought out. While there are other platforms when it comes to dealing with customers including Pinterest. Certain brands try to go after younger customers and they’re known to use platforms such as Snapchat. This is why it’s important to know as much as possible about these platforms and how they work in unison with your target audience. By having a larger web of accounts, you are always connected with your target audience and that allows your online medical rep management techniques an opportunity to work. 

Good Online Rep Management for Doctors Requires you to Own Your Assets 

Yes, this is just like real estate and it’s time to claim your space. You want to make sure all assets under your name are protected. This is similar to protecting your windows from an incoming hurricane during the tropical season. You want to make sure a well-established profile is set up with your domain name to make sure no one tries to put a claim in. There are many examples of this happening and it’s not an enviable spot to be in at the best of times. You want to make sure others aren’t able to put a claim in and you are the owner of these important assets. This means setting up accounts on all major social media platforms along with most of the secondary ones. Even if you are not going to use them, it’s still important to own your territory. 

Several professional sites need to be on your radar as well. These include having profiles on Yelp and BBB (Better Business Bureau). 

Additionally, posting on large websites such as Forbes and Inc can help with online rep management for doctors –  Learn how to become a Forbes contributor and benefit.

Just like you have to set up online accounts on all major social media platforms, it’s also smart to create your domain name. This will allow you to have the website in your possession as soon as possible. Don’t let it get to the stage where someone else has your domain name and won’t sell it. Even having ownership is a good starting point.  

Focus on Your Social Media Accounts

Social media accounts are important when it comes to your medical online reputation and it’s smart to keep an eye out for what’s going on. You want to make sure there’s enough insight for you to know what works and what doesn’t from a healthcare rep management perspective. This is why it’s always best to go through your social media feeds to see what people are talking about. This is how you are going to generate results, bring in new leads, and boost your engagement numbers over the long-run. You don’t want to let things slide as that is when the brand starts to slow down. You want to take advantage of these accounts and build something worth holding onto. 

Create a Narrative and Remain Active

Having social media accounts and a domain name is a wonderful starting point. You will immediately have something to work with as you build an online presence.

You also have to start thinking about posting on these accounts and making sure a routine is set up for your brand. This means being able to post new information on each account and interacting with followers. This is how your brand is going to grow as time goes on. If you are inactive, someone else is going to fill the void and that is when your online reputation takes a hit. 

You should look to become a leader/expert in your niche. This happens with detailed content creation. You can even share smart tidbits on your main account or share a story that’s close to your heart. This is how you’re able to relate to the target audience and become a leader. By doing this, you are going to be well on your way to success.

Managing Healthcare Rep Management and Dealing With Negative Content 

Let’s assume you are going through your Google searches and notice a horrible review about one of your products/services. This might be the first thing that pops up when someone types in your brand’s name! If that is the case, it’s time to relax and contact them. You have to stay professional, understand their concerns, and offer a solution. This is how you can make sure the case doesn’t spiral out of control leading to a PR nightmare that’s impossible to reel in.  

Reviews are Essential for a Good Online Reputation for Doctors

With more and more people heading online before making a purchase, it’s important to realize the power of good reviews. The average customer likes digging through these reviews to determine whether or not they want to buy. If you want to sell, it becomes important to have good reviews about the business everywhere. Studies show more than 70% of all customers use online searches and reviews to make their decision on a product/service.

Promote the Idea of Leaving Reviews to Customers

Your happy customers are a major asset and it’s time to ask for positive reviews. You want them to share their experiences. This can be something as simple as reminding them after a purchase is made. These positive experiences add up over the long-term allowing you to feel good about the process.

Tips To Encourage Users To Write Reviews

1. Just Ask

Believe it or not, sometimes getting people to offer their feedback is as easy as asking them to. This doesn’t mean you have to beg for reviews or to place such call-to-actions all over your website. You should rather place these feedback requests on pages where they seem natural.

If you’ve already noticed how Tesco is asking customers to leave reviews on each of their product pages, remember that they are not the only company that values customer feedback.

2. Make Their Task As Easy As Possible

Many website owners fear that making it easy for their users to leave comments and reviews will open the gates to a flood of spam. Even when you implement a CAPTCHA solution to protect your contact forms you get quite a lot of spam you have to deal with.

Nevertheless, the more information you ask your readers to fill in, the less amount of feedback you’re going to get. People as very easy to put off these days, so you need to make it very easy for them to leave a review on your website. For example, if a user is already logged in, allow them to leave feedback without needing to provide you their name, email address or other information which you already have anyway.

The main reason why I only leave reviews on Lovefilm is because they make it very easy for me to rate their movies. I just pick the number of stars from one to five and I’m done.

It is also true that a stars-based rating isn’t as valuable as a written review, it is still an effective way of enticing your readers into providing you with feedback or even into writing a review.

All stats and analyses point toward the fact that reviews are a powerful tool to help you reassure your customers and boost your sales volumes. This is why you should place your stars and written reviews in a very visible position on your pages, for all readers to see this information at the first glance.

Just take a look at Kiddicare, as this is a great example that makes my point. All products they showcase on their front page bear star ratings. Also, product pages showcase reviews just below the price.

4. Email Customers To Solicit Reviews

The best time to ask for a review is when the customer has just received their order. This is the moment of maximum excitement, when most people are more inclined to taking five minutes of their valuable time to write a review.

Coordinate your email messages with your delivery schedules. Send out a message 7-10 days after the customer has received the order. Tell them you hope they enjoy their new purchase and kindly invite them to share their opinion about that product.

If they’ve been satisfied with their purchase, chances are they are open to share these thoughts with other people. If they’ve hated their product, they might want to leave a negative review to prevent others from making the same mistake.

This leads me to the next thing on our list…

5. Publish Both Positive And Negative Reviews

Even though you may be tempted to rule out negative reviews, you should publish the good and the bad alike. Most potential buyers expect to see both negative and positive feedback, so they may shy away from a website where everything looks amazing and there are only raving reviews.

This is why you should publish negative feedback alongside positive reviews to reassure your customers that you are fully honest and that they can trust your website. This will also encourage them to write a review, as they will be confident you’ll publish it.

6. Offer Incentives

Offering a reward or a discount in exchange for a review isn’t the best idea ever. However, you can find smarter ways to incentivize your customers to write reviews or to rate your products.

One example would be to run a monthly prize draw for all people who take time to leave a review. Send out an email to let your customers know about this contest or insert a flyer into the product packaging.

7. Use Reviews To Enhance User Experience

If you buy something from Amazon or Lovefilm and you leave a review, you’ll get custom recommendations of relevant products you might like. Offering your users a customized experience is one of the best rewards you can offer them. They’ll love shopping on your website!

Professionally Handle All Criticism and Your Medical Rep Management will be Easier

Let’s imagine you hop online and there’s a negative review on the main business listing. This happens all the time and it’s important to act as promptly as possible. You want to make sure the review doesn’t do extra damage over the long-term. By leaving a dignified, professional response telling your side of the story, it’s easier to nip this issue in the bud. You want to make sure the process is as simple as possible and you can take action right away.

There are times when you may have made the mistake and that’s when it’s time to accept your shortcomings. Don’t try to defend your actions when there’s no room to do so. You want to make the best of a bad situation and try to deal with the customer professionally. This may include offering discounts and/or other similar benefits to keep them happy. 

Remember, the goal is to get this problem offline as soon as possible. 

Analyze Your Wikipedia Page

Wikipedia remains an integral part of a healthcare company’s online rep management strategy. These pages tend to rank well. This is why you can’t ignore them because customers are going to go through them. Look at any leading company (i.e. Microsoft, Apple) and you are going to see detailed Wikipedia entries about their business online. 

You won’t be able to manage these entries and make changes. You also don’t want to get involved through Wikipedia. This isn’t allowed and doesn’t work in your best interest. If there’s something incorrect, it’s time to take action by asking the Wiki community to help out. They will make changes if necessary.

Don’t Ignore Your Problems

This might be the biggest mistake website owners make because ignorance is a real issue. You have to stay focused and this comes by having a gameplan from day one. Ignoring your problems is not the answer, especially when there are options to push down bad results.

An example of this is when someone writes a bad review on Facebook and you don’t respond right away. Don’t leave it to next week because the customer is already angry and disappointed. They don’t want to wait around. 

By taking the time to speak to them right away, you’re already showing them a sincere approach. This alone can work with most customers and is a step in the right direction. 

Find Help with Online Rep Management for Doctors 

It’s never a bad idea to find professional assistance when it comes to your online rep management needs.

An expert will be able to help with your assets and will know what to do moving forward. This is all about creating a good impression and building a strong brand. If that means seeking help from external parties, then that is the route you have to take. Simple changes in strategy can go a long way in delivering great results. This is why doctor rep management is key.

All of the above will help you cement your physician rep management and really put yourself in a very positive position.