Online Reputation Management Two Ways
In the last post on the Rosemont Review, we discussed the JC Penney link scheme and the need to be familiar with your website content, as well as the basic linking strategies of your SEO firm. In addition to the overall importance to your online advertising campaign and website promotion, managing your content is an integral part of online reputation management.
Good & Evil Travel at Similar Speeds
The funny thing about the internet is that it’s always on, always listening, always gathering information. The internet doesn’t discriminate or play favorites. It doesn’t sleep and won’t close for business. The internet can validate and qualify; falsify and mislead; motivate and inspire; disseminate and silence. Good and bad press often travel at similar speeds and typically find their way into the light thanks to the internet. So the question remains: how do we even begin to manage our online reputation, considering the vastness of the internet?
Medical Gag Order One Way to Go
Some practices have begun to issue contracts, or what critics are calling “medical gag orders,” which require prospective patients to sign nondisclosure agreements before they are accepted and treated. While this is one way to manage online content related to your practice, and can balance the rights of both patient and doctor, some view this as a drastic step and a form of censorship.
Regardless of where your opinion lies in the matter of managing comments about you and your practice, there are other, less controversial ways to manage your online reputation. The internet can be a very public space, so instead of attempting to control the damage (which is a difficult task to say the least), take advantage of the publicity and address an unsatisfactory experience head on.
Open & Direct Engagement Another, Possibly Better Way
On the Rosemont Review, we regularly demonstrate the expansive reach of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. To effectively manage your online reputation, take advantage of this reach. Engage the unhappy patient and express the fact that you understand they are dissatisfied and would like the chance to turn this negative into a positive. Then, continue to work at addressing the concern in an open conversation with the patient through your social media community. Ultimately, the chances are extremely high that you will not only make a fan out of the once unhappy patient, but also the many Facebook fans, Twitter followers, and blog subscribers that were given the chance to witness your dedication to exceptional patient care.
Virtual Word of Mouth
Aside from correcting an imbalance in the kharmic forces that be, the conversation is now out there, working tirelessly to manage your reputation. While word will spread as the specific patient recounts the story of good cheer to their own community, the positive impact inherent in virtual word-of-mouth can spread even quicker. So instead of trying to silence a patient, take advantage of the tremendous online advertising and reputation management opportunity by giving credence to their voice and strengthening the overall patient-doctor relationship.
Visit the Rosemont Media Facebook page and tell us how you’ve leveraged your social network to make a fan out of a distressed patient.
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