“Don’t Gossip!”

Here’s a great USSR poster warning against the dangers of gossip and blabbing – “It’s only a small step from blabbing to treason” (rough translation).  We’ll ignore the bit about the walls listening and the thinly veiled KGB threats in order to glean a bit of wisdom from this old Soviet poster. Here’s the important bit: protect your online reputation at all costs. Increasingly, folks are turning to the internet for reviews and advice on anything from deodorant to heart surgeons. Assume your patients are smart enough to look you up online, check your credentials, and seek out reviews of your services. You should also get ready for them to find you on Facebook and scrutinize your personal character before walking into your office.

Terrified? Don’t be. My advice is to differentiate your personal and professional web personas, just like in real life. If you have a personal Facebook profile and don’t want patients to see it- you need to access your privacy settings and restrict information to only those you approve. But make this basic assumption: when you post anything on the internet, it has become public record and will, someday, catch up with you (for better or worse). The best solution to this dilemma is simply to publish only nice, informative, and professional information the the web.

Eventually, someone will attack you over the internet. They’ll slander your name, question your expertise, or outright insult you. The best response to this kind of activity is none at all or a strictly factual, diplomatic, and non-emotional correction of any false information. When you see something nasty about you online, take two or three days to separate yourself and ask whether it’s even worth responding to- overwhelmingly, it isn’t. Ultimately, taking the higher ground will always pay off.

So what if someone slanders you online and it’s your only review? Obviously, you don’t want to lose patients but you don’t want to respond brashly either. The solution: offer your best patients a 50% discount on one of their adjustments if they write a review of your practice online. It won’t take long before you’re overflowing with positive reviews…and don’t be surprised if you see a surge in new patients too!

Rod Campbell
Marketing Director
Chirohosting.com