From a global pandemic, to George Floyd, to riots in our towns, it seems as if large-scale events continue to occur. 2020 has undoubtedly been a year like no other.
As we continue to see more and more business and community members posting about these events, it’s creating somewhat of a peer-pressure situation, where those who don’t comment publicly are concerned about how they’ll be viewed.
So a natural question that keeps coming up from many physicians is, ”Do I need to comment publicly on my website and social media about these current events?”
From a physician marketing viewpoint, my answer is typically no, and you shouldn’t.
Beware of Virtue Signaling
If you’re like me, you’ve been inundated with emails from any company you’ve purchased something from sending out their comments on current events. Typically, the content of these emails falls under the category of virtue signaling.
Virtue signaling is dangerous because the truth is, you can’t win with either side.
In my and experience, unless you intentionally market yourself in a certain way (i.e., pro-life Ob/Gyn), people generally don’t have a burning desire to know what their doctor thinks about events and issues.
Despite and short-term peer pressure like ”silence is violence”, it’s best in both the short and long-term to hold your opinions and comments.
As a former boss told me years ago, ”You don’t want to quack when it’s duck hunting season.”
Remember the Goal of Having a Platform
Maintaining perspective is vital in chaotic times.
If you’re like my clients, the primary goal of having a platform is to attract patients. And if that’s that goal, why would you do anything that would potentially derail you from accomplishing that goal?
One of the best ways to win at anything, life, sports, or otherwise, is simply to not put yourself in a position to lose.
When it comes to business and marketing, word of mouth spreads quickly. Things online spread even faster and never go away.
Consider Alternatives
If you just have a strong desire to comment on an issue that’s personally important to you, I get it and have been there.
At the end of the day, it’s your platform, and one of the advantages of that is that you have the freedom to do with it what you want.
However, if your comments are likely to alienate patients, it may be worth considering some alternatives.
- Could you create a separate blog?
- Could you create separate social media accounts?
- Could you start a podcast not branded as you?
There are many possible outlets today for you to get your views across that don’t run the same risk of damaging your marketing platform.
Instead of being concerned with commenting on current events which most people are not seeking your input on, let me encourage you to continue creating content around what most people are seeking you out for: high-quality medical information.
