Your professional website, social media posts, review sites, and news articles combine to create an image for your business. This is your online reputation; how others see your medical practice when they find you online.
For doctors, one of the most powerful tools for their online reputation is in the hands of their patients. Today’s patients are informed and empowered. They have the ability to strongly influence potential patients when they share their experiences on social media and doctor review sites. A study by the Institute for Healthcare Policy (2014) shows that an overwhelming 94% of internet users who visited a doctor review site found the reviews helpful. Another study by the American Osteopathic Association (2014) reveals that about 1 in 3 patients use consumer review sites as tools to find doctors or health care providers. A customer review survey by Bright Local (2015), an SEO research firm, shows that 80% of consumers say they trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. And these numbers are increasing; the same survey reveals that 92% of consumers read reviews online (up from 88% in 2014). Given these numbers, you can’t afford to leave your online reputation bleak.
Your reputation, of course, is how others see you. So, as a doctor, the best protection for your reputation is your own personal quality of care. Your dedication to the patient experience will be evident in your patients’ satisfaction, so the next step is to help guide your patients to share their positive experiences. While approximately 9 out of 10 customers check reviews online, Bright Local’s study shows that only 10% of patients leave reviews online. Every patient has the potential to have a very strong voice.
Step 1: Create your profiles
The first step in managing your online reputation is making sure you create it yourself. Visit major online review sites like Google+, Yelp, and HealthGrades; take the time to fill in the information about your practice. You want to be the person who describes your practice, make sure your contact information is correct, and provide an accurate description of your specialties and experience.
Treat it as an opportunity to introduce yourself to new patients. Add a professional photo to personalize your profile, and if possible, add additional photos to showcase your location, office, and friendly staff. The added benefit of listing yourself on multiple review sites is that it could improve your organic search ranking. For example, if your business is listed in several of the major local business directories and regularly mentioned in local news sources, and if your business has excellent user reviews on the various sites, you are likely to rank higher. high in searches.
Naturally, your reviews on Google+ carry additional weight in ranking in Google searches, plus you’ll get immediate visibility embedded in search results, provided you rank in the top three search results in your field or keyword search. .
Online reviews are important for more than just your search ranking. As a general rule, the more positive reviews you get, the more traffic you get online. If you want to do more to get local reviews, make your presence known in local directories.
Step 2: Inform your patients
OK, you’ve created your online profiles, now what? You can sit back and wait for patients to check you out, or you can be proactive. Let patients know where to find you online. Make sure your website has a link for Patient Reviews, which directs them to your profile, where they can leave a public review.
As your patient checks out, make sure your staff asks about their office visit. If everything was satisfactory, find a graceful way to suggest that they leave an online review for the doctor and share their experience. Reviews are most valuable when they are honest and unbiased, and a certain etiquette applies to requesting reviews online. Do not offer or accept money, products or services to write reviews. If you own a business, do not set up checkout stations or kiosks at your workplace.
One more step in encouraging patients to leave an online review is to send them an instructional brochure, which guides the satisfied patient through the online review process. Whitespark, an SEO and software company, offers a free, printable instruction sheet for patients on how to leave a review on Google. This handout, which you can customize for your business, is located at https://www.whitespark.ca/review-handout-generator. It is a step-by-step guide that walks patients through the process of leaving an online review. This can be a useful tool for your less tech-savvy patients who would be happy to leave a review, but find the process intimidating.
Step 3: Monitor your online reputation
So now that you’ve established your presence on the various online review sites and informed your patients how to review it, it’s time for you to get a grip on your reviews. Managing and protecting your online reputation starts with awareness. If you don’t know what’s being written about your practice, you won’t have a chance to protect your reputation in case something negative is said, nor will you have a chance to maximize glowing reviews.
It’s important to review your profile regularly, however a more effective way to monitor your online reputation is to set up a Google Alert for your name or the name of your practice. A Google alert is just what it sounds like; You are notified by email each time your practice is mentioned online. Setting up a Google Alert is a simple process; go to http://www.google.com/alerts. The basic instructions will guide you through setting up an account to receive your updates.
You can also set up Google alerts for any niche topics you’d like to monitor or specific news stories you’d like to follow. If you find yourself constantly searching for the same term, setting up a Google Alert is a great way to stay informed.
Well, now you’ve created your online profiles on the various review sites, and you’ve encouraged your patients to review you online, and you’re carefully monitoring them to see what gets written. Now what?
Step 4: Get involved and participate in your online reputation
Acknowledge good reviews with a thank you and a comment reiterating the compliment. Use those glowing reviews to your advantage; With the patients’ permission, add them to a testimonials page on your website.
No one wants a negative review, but if one does appear, quickly address it with a public comment and customer follow-up. If you handle it publicly and gracefully, you can still look good. When you actively respond to negative comments online, other potential customers can see that you are engaged and care about your customers. And, in fact, a negative review can make the review process seem more legitimate. Most of the time, the best response to an upset customer is to say you’re sorry without qualifying the apology to redirect the blame onto the critic’s feelings. Admit that a mistake was made and ask yourself what you can do to resolve the situation. With a consistent response policy, you can turn a bad online review into a positive prospect for your business.
One thing to address regarding negative reviews is the concern of a false or malicious negative review. If you can determine that the statement is factually incorrect, you have the right to request that the comment be removed or retracted. This can only be achieved if you can provide conclusive evidence that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the comment is indeed false. Actually, this takes time and effort, and in the meantime, there will be a negative review online. So, even if you have factual evidence, while you’re in the process of requesting removal, you should consider correcting the post in the comments section. Present conclusive facts professionally and don’t make it personal.
For medical professionals, social media marketing is changing how potential patients find their practice, how and where they share their experiences, and eventually where they will spend their time and money. Patients are more likely than ever to seek health information and recommendations through review sites, medical social media blogs, and online health websites. Take the time to be active in these fields, find places where you can contribute your ideas. Enlist the help of a Public Relations firm that specializes in the medical industry. Above all, stay active and committed to your online reputation; your business depends on it.