Building your physiotherapy profile or brand

Here in the UK we are looking at NHS reforms that are going to make it even more important for all physiotherapists to have a business brand or personal profile.  We will be competing for business not only amongst ourselves but also with other professions.  It is therefore becoming more and more important that we let the world know what it is that we do and  what it is that we are good at. 

Why do physiotherapists need a profile or brand?

In the digital age where more and more people are searching for products and services on-line it is important that you can be found and your name (or your business name) is a valuable currency to use.  It can help you to create your career, guide your future and position yourself for success so that you become known for your passion and expertise.

• Businesses and products can build brands to keep existing clients and to reach new clients
• Researchers can develop their personal profile to highlight their work and raise their profile as an expert within their field of work.
• Clinicians can also build a personal profile to reach out to like minded colleagues for networking and collaboration.

How do you go about building your profile or brand?

Chad Levitt on Dan Scwabels blog listed five points as a cycle for using content as as part of personal brand creation and marketing strategy.  I have modified it slightly here:

1. Create Content – To create a credible and influential personal brand requires that you create remarkable content. Content can be blog posts, presentations, videos, wiki articles, podcasts, webinars, journal articles etc.
2. Promote and Share – Once you have created some content it is time to promote and share it with others. Develop a social media strategy to do this using applications such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Scribd, SlideShare and YouTube.
3. Monitor and Analyze -  You need to be monitoring and analysing your content so that you know which type of content is doing the best.  Over time you can realise and take advantage of the trends.
4. Iterate and Evolve – Content gets better over time as you make changes and get better at creating content.  Always be iterating and experimenting so you can find what works best. Strive to constantly improve your content and you will create something very valuable over time.
5. Create Leverage – When you are seen as a part of the community and have built up a credible personal brand you can then take advantage of leverage. You can leverage the personal brand that you have developed to start presenting at conferences, speaking on panels or doing webinars.  You can also leverage relationships with others to collaborate on projects.

So if you are wondering how you might progress your career, reach out to new clients and determine your own future have a think about developing your profile on-line with these simple steps.  The creating content bit is also great for your own personal learning and professional development!

Related posts:

1. Web 2.0, Social Media and Physiotherapy.
2. Technology and Physiotherapy
3. Physiotherapy Websites, Search Engine Optimisation and Social Media Strategy
4. Keeping your professional physiotherapy portfolio
5. Blogging in Physiotherapy