Reputation management can mean the difference between success and failure as a medical practice

If you’re like most people, you’ve gone online to look at reviews for everything from products to restaurants. Potential patients are doing the same thing when they’re looking for a healthcare provider. During their search, you want them to find your practice and schedule an appointment. However, they won’t do that if they see negative reviews or can’t find you. This is where reputation management comes into play for medical practices around the country.

First of all, what is reputation management?

At the most basic level, managing your reputation involves any action your organization takes to create and maintain a certain public image. This involves a two-part process.

• Identifying what people are saying and thinking about your organization
• Working to make sure your public image aligns with your goals

However, that’s just the beginning. Managing your organization’s reputation entails so much more than these two basic steps.

• Optimizing your business listings to help new patients find your practice
• Managing your patient reviews and improving your ratings
• Engaging on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
• Being ready to respond to negative press and publicity
• Promoting exciting news and developments in your practice

Between keeping up with social media and communicating with the press, reputation management is a full-time job.

For example, someone could post a positive comment on your practice’s Facebook page one day. However, the next day your practice could be facing a scathing review on Google, from someone who may or may not have ever been to your clinic. It can be overwhelming to keep up while you’re trying to run your practice, but you don’t have to do it alone.

Why do you need someone to help manage your reputation?

It’s unlikely that you got into the practice of medicine to deal with Facebook comments and Google reviews. However, for your practice to grow and flourish, you need to address these and many more aspects of reputation management. Thankfully, an experienced healthcare marketing company like Catalyst can help by providing the following services.

• Creating a proactive strategy to resolve current and emerging issues, while also taking steps to protect your image in the future
• Providing crisis management when you’re facing PR issues, allowing us to reduce the impact to your reputation and help your image bounce back
• Helping you come back from bad press by fighting the negative content with positive news and reviews
• Managing online reviews on websites, including Google My Business, Facebook, Healthgrades, Vitals, Yelp and more

If you’re looking for an experienced marketing partner to help you with managing your reputation, contact Catalyst today and learn about what we can do for you.