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Personal Branding for Healthcare and Medical Professionals.

A strong clinical reputation earns trust from patients who find you. A personal brand decides how many of them ever do.

By Mashman Consulting GroupApplies to: Healthcare / Medical Professional

Why Personal Branding Matters for Healthcare Professionals

The Manifesto's surgeon example is exact: a pristine reputation and assumed authority do not translate into exposure on their own. A doctor who contributes to journals, co-authors studies, appears in the media, or writes a book can go from anybody's doctor to the sought-after surgeon or the researcher donors support.

Healthcare also carries the strictest obligations of any profession here. Patient privacy and evidence come before every post, and the personal brand has to be built inside those lines.

A doctor may have a pristine reputation as a surgeon and be granted assumed authority, but alone their reputation doesn’t necessarily translate to massive exposure.

Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence, Second Edition, chapter 5

Where You Stand on The Hierarchy of Personal Branding

Most clinicians are known to their patients and colleagues. The Local Hero is the right target for a community practice; The State Representative is within reach for specialists who publish and speak.

  1. Tier 6The International Icon
  2. Tier 5The National Personality
  3. Tier 4The State Representative
  4. Tier 3The Local Hero
  5. Tier 2Friends and Family
  6. Tier 1Unconscious Incompetent

Where most stand: Tier 2, Friends and FamilyBuild toward: Tier 4, The State Representative

The tier measures how large a position is. How good it is, is measured by The Five Personal Brand Pillars. Read more about the six tiers.

Recommendations

Across The Five Personal Brand Pillars.

The moves MCG starts with for healthcare and medical professionals, grouped by pillar, in order. Each one cites the subchapter of Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence it comes from.

01

Omnipresence

25%
02

Credibility

25%
  • Become the Sought-After Specialist Contribute to journals, speak at conferences, and get quoted, so you move from anybody's clinician to the sought-after one. Chapter 5, Reputation Management
  • Collect Patient Reviews Ethically Ask satisfied patients for reviews within your professional rules. Subchapter 5.4, Building Credibility
  • Be the Local Media's Health Source Offer local news your expertise on seasonal and trending health topics. Subchapter 5.4, Building Credibility
03

Seamless Branding

20%
  • Show Bedside Manner in Public Share why you chose medicine and how you care for patients. Subchapter 2.2, The Law of Connection
  • Keep One Professional Face Consistent photo and bio across hospital, practice, and personal profiles. Subchapter 4.16, Seamless Branding
04

Reputational Health & Risks

15%
  • Protect Patient Privacy in Every Post Never share identifiable patient information, and get written consent for any story. Subchapter 5.5, Risk Management
  • Keep Claims Evidence-Based Check every public claim against the evidence and cite sources. Subchapter 5.7, Destroying Credibility
  • Protect Privacy and Evidence No identifiable patient details; evidence behind every claim. Subchapter 5.1, Leaning Tower
05

Marketability

15%
  • Build a Referral Network Develop relationships with complementary practitioners. Subchapter 6.4, Building Your Contact List
  • Make Referrals Easy A clear referral and booking path for patients and practitioners. Subchapter 4.11, Deliverables

Content Ideas: The Skyline Strategy for Healthcare Professionals

All consumed media educates, entertains, inspires, or connects. The Skyline Strategy asks for two pieces about your work for every one about your life. Here is one of each, for each purpose.

PurposeBrand PostPersonal Post
EducateTeach something useful.A health myth corrected with evidence.How you look after yourself on long shifts.
EntertainMake it enjoyable to follow you.The question patients ask that always makes you smile.Your life outside the clinic.
InspireShow what is possible.A recovery story, with consent and no identifying details.Why you chose medicine.
ConnectGive people a reason to reply.Answer a common question from the community.Ask what would make appointments less stressful.

More Ideas for Healthcare Professionals

  • Educate the Public. Publish short, accurate explainers on the questions patients ask most.

Plan the ratio with the free Skyline Planner (opens in a new tab).

What to Avoid

Avoid

Identifiable Patient Details

Never share identifiable patient information, and get written consent for any story.

Avoid

Claims Without Evidence

Check every public claim against the evidence and cite your sources.

Avoid

A Different Face Everywhere

Use one consistent photo and bio across hospital, practice, and personal profiles.

Measure It First: The Identity Positioning™ Brand Audit

Twenty-five questions, about seven minutes, free. Choose Healthcare / Medical Professional on the intake and the audit scores all five pillars, places you on The Hierarchy of Personal Branding, and returns the three moves that would raise your score most, each traced to the subchapter it comes from.

Take the Brand Audit (opens in a new tab)

Frequently Asked Questions

Should doctors build their personal brand?

Every doctor already has a personal brand; patients and peers form an impression regardless. Building it is the choice, and the answer is yes. Publishing, speaking, and patient education are how a clinician becomes the one patients and peers seek out.

What can healthcare professionals post?

Accurate, evidence-based education on the questions patients ask most, why you chose medicine, and life outside the clinic, never identifiable patient details.

How do I collect reviews in healthcare?

Ask satisfied patients within your professional rules, and never trade anything for a review.

The Wiki

Keep Reading

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Lawyers and Legal Professionals

Clients hire a lawyer, not a letterhead. The attorneys whose names are mentioned in the right circles are the ones who built a personal brand on purpose.

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Coaches

A coach's personal brand is the proof of the method. People hire the coach whose life and results already show what they are selling.

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Finance, Credit, and Banking Professionals

In finance, trust is the product. A personal brand is how a client decides to trust you with their money before they have ever met you.

Subchapter 5.4, Building Credibility

Building Credibility

Follower counts only get you so far. What matters more is how much the people who follow you trust you.

Subchapter 5.2, Who Has Leverage Over You?

Who Has Leverage Over You?

To be a public figure is to be watched. As your efforts pay off, the people who hold leverage over you, and what they could do with it, matter more.

Subchapter 4.16, Seamless Branding

Seamless Branding

There should be no doubt who you are when someone introduces you, on or offline, and no question that you are the right person to follow.

Engagements

Your name is already being interpreted. The question is who are they, and what are they thinking?

Engagements are accepted by application and seats are limited each quarter. Tell us who you are, what you are building, and the position you intend to hold.

Speaking fees available on request. Speaking for non-profits and charities is free of charge. You can also email contact@mashmancg.com (opens in a new tab) directly, or play Identity Quest™ (opens in a new tab) first.