Leslie Patton

, an understanding of your reputation, and a vision for 

, the next step is to embrace the multitude of online communities to market yourself or your practice.

Regardless if you are a student, a seasoned professional or a practice owner, the best way to convey your reputation and find opportunities for success is to market yourself.

As an individual you may be interested in the following sites:

 - Ensure you have a robust profile with strong key words highlighting your areas of expertise, membership to relevant groups, and contact information for recruiters or other professionals to reach out to you.
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 -Set up your free profile for patients to provide feedback
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 - If your goal is to evolve into a speaker or clinical expert the free basic plan allows you to upload your presentations or videos. 
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 - This free blogging site has a plethora of templates to choose from, and Google will catalog your topics when you input key words - another great avenue to market yourself and build your reputation.
• Industry groups such as RSNA and the American College of Radiology have Facebook pages that you can follow, post and comment.

Marketing your practice just to local hospitals or imaging centers is limits your growth, so why not promote the team and your cutting edge technology to other facilities with whom you’d like to partner? One way to do this is to have a very strong online presence with a Website and implementing some of the tools mentioned above to ensure the practice is found in Google search results.

Once you have a strategy in place with messaging and marketing I recommend having one person who controls that message and your online reputation. That individual can push relevant content that applies to your practice and promote the group as experts in certain areas.

For a practice the following sites are helpful:

 - The practice can have a company page for building a community and highlighting areas of the areas of expertise, technology, and practice procedures.
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 - For either an individual or a practice, set up a Facebook page where colleagues and patients can follow new content.
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 - This site provides one place to post messages that are disseminated to the various social media channels. A free tracking system can also be implemented to see who forwards your content.
• Google +1 - Over time it is expected that Google will begin to give higher ranking to websites that have “likes” or recommendations. If you interact with patients, this is a good module to add to your site.

Before you begin your journey in building your reputation, your brand, and marketing yourself, you may want to be proactive and review the 

. Then dive in, create opportunities for yourself and enjoy your success.

Leslie Patton is founder and owner of Renaissance Ultrasound, provider of per diem clinical applications support, and more recently a social media and marketing consultant for healthcare professionals.

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Armed now with feedback from your peers, an understanding of your reputation, and a vision for strengthening that reputation, the next step is to embrace the multitude of online communities to market yourself or your practice.

Market Yourself Through Online Communities

I suggested you invite feedback from your colleagues

 on how they perceive you, as a way to get a good understanding of your reputation in the field. Were you able to solicit and hear the feedback? Did you hear adjectives like team player, flexible, innovative - or aloof, unapproachable, unrealistic? Did you hear a few adjectives that weren’t what you expected?

Now is the time to determine what kind of reputation you want to create for yourself. If for example, someone said you were unapproachable, you may need to look at your interpersonal skills - being able to consult with peers, resolve conflict with staff and educate patients - which require openness to be successful.

Having been introspective with your feedback, what kind of reputation do you want so that you attract the right opportunities? Would you like to open your own imaging center? Do you want to become a speaker on 

? Does the idea of being a consultant appeal to your business side? Whatever your vision, ensure that you have a clear understanding of your reputation and how you are perceived in your community so that you can link your reputation to how you market yourself.

So, Google yourself, check Healthgrades. Set up a Google alert for your name or the practice’s name so that whenever either is mentioned online you will receive an email notification. This is a great way to control your reputation online and within your community.

If you see something negative, begin damage control to address it. The best tactic to repair your reputation is to acknowledge the negativity, apologize, then work to remove it by flowing positive content through social media channels. In time the negative comment will work its way out of search engines.

However, if you encounter positive surveys on Healthgrades or Yelp parlay those to your practice’s website. Potential patients want to read what others are saying about you. If your practice does not have a website you need to make this a priority. Sites like 1and1.com offer templates, domain hosting and customized emails for less than $15/month. You cannot afford to not have a website.

Now that you have a starting place with feedback from others and an assessment from Google, you can begin to build credibility and your reputation online through sites such as LinkedIn. Google actually reads your LinkedIn profile to create search results so you want to make sure that keywords that you use to describe yourself are on your profile. This also makes it easier for recruiters or associations to find you.

For example, if you want to become a speaker and demonstrate your expertise in the field of MSK, highlight those accomplishments on your LinkedIn profile. You can also join one of the many groups available when you type in “radiology” or “MSK.” Participate in these conversations, answer questions from medical students seeking advice from radiologists, use every opportunity to become a resource and you will build a reputation for yourself. Another idea would be to start your own group if one doesn’t exist or if you want to establish a local chapter of a larger one in your community.

Having a clear vision of how you define success allows you to evolve your reputation so that you are consistent with your actions, how you interact and are perceived by others, and ultimately how you market and brand yourself to attract the right opportunities. In the online community patients are becoming savvier and although you may not interact with them directly, they will have a preconceived idea of the practice you are associated with; does that practice accurately reflect what you want to be known for?

In the final part of this series next week I will dive deeper into how to manage your online reputation.

Having been introspective with your feedback, what kind of reputation do you want so that you attract the right opportunities? Whatever your vision, ensure that you have a clear understanding of your reputation and how you are perceived in your community so that you can link your reputation to how you market yourself.

Managing Your Reputation in the Medical Imaging Industry

Who needs to worry about marketing and branding? You do.

The reality is that we form opinions about people every day, whether or not we think we’re being judgmental and regardless if we know someone personally. You are forming an opinion about me right now as you read this post. My reputation has been built over the past two decades in the ultrasound market. I may think I have a good reputation but - here’s the kicker - what I think doesn’t matter. It’s how I’m perceived and what others think of me that truly forms my reputation.

A reputation is built over time and can be good or bad, but most importantly, it can be controlled. Whether you are a radiologist looking to join a new practice or you are planning to start your own group, a perceived reputation is a driving force in the outcome. Let’s look at that a little closer.

If you are considering joining a new group there is a reason for the change. Maybe you have been given reduced hours or extra call, maybe you have a co-worker who is sloppy with his or her readings, or the practice is losing business to the competition. Whatever it is, you no longer want to be associated with that organization.

Ideally as you begin the search you take stock in what’s important to you. A better work/life balance? A practice that has cutting edge technology with a web-based teleradiology app? One that fosters a philanthropic environment? Your selection will be based on that group’s reputation.

If you are planning to open your own practice you should think about the type of colleagues you want to attract and partnerships you want to develop with hospitals and what you want your group to be known for. By intentionally putting effort into your reputation you attract opportunities and people to you.

If you take a cookie-cutter franchise approach, you will hire staff who clock in and out and don’t think outside the box. But how will that serve the growth of your practice? If you start a progressive practice with key differentiators from your competition you will strategically set yourself up for growth and success in your community.

What opinion do others have about you today? Have you ever solicited feedback from colleagues or can you honestly take stock in adjectives that accurately reflect who you are?

The best way to really know your reputation would be to get that feedback. Positive and negative feedback are welcome; it allows you to embrace the good qualities and gives you the ability to make changes.

As an example, you may think you are being efficient and direct when asking someone to do a task. However, that person may see you as rude and inconsiderate, which does not foster a good working relationship. If you want to be more effective in getting that person to assist you, you need to change your approach.

As an exercise this week, ask three or more people who you respect, and who trust and respect you, for their opinion of you. Next week we will look at taking inventory of your reputation and how to maintain it or shape it into what you want.

Leslie Patton is founder and owner of Renaissance Ultrasound, provider of per diem clinical applications support, and more recently a social media and marketing consultant for healthcare professionals.


Leslie Patton

Articles

Market Yourself Through Online Communities

Managing Your Reputation in the Medical Imaging Industry

Evaluating Your Reputation in the Medical Imaging Industry