You’ve heard the old saying that “practice makes perfect” once or twice in your life, haven’t you? Whether you’re playing a game of golf away from the office or training to use the latest piece of surgical equipment, practice makes you better.

So why aren’t you practicing good public relations (PR) for your medical practice? Read on to find out several key tips to get started and ways you can increase revenue at your office without spending money on traditional advertising techniques.

So what exactly is good PR you ask? In a nutshell, any way you can establish yourself as an expert in your field and get into the eye of the public without paying for it in traditional ways, like buying a radio spot for example, is quality PR. You want your patients, and potential patients, to see you as the “go-to” person for their problem. That’s why it’s important to do whatever you can to get your name out there, be it TV interviews and writing monthly columns in community papers on a larger scale all the way down to writing a blog update and having informational flyers at your office on a smaller scale. Those activities all establish credibility and trust in their own way. Patients want to put their health in the hands of the most credible doctor they can find, which is where PR steps in to guide them to your front door.

A good PR plan is vital to your overall media mix. Your goal is to establish the ever-important credibility your practice needs and can’t get from traditional paid advertising – often at a fraction of the cost of an advertising campaign.

What Does the Media Want to Cover?

Believe it or not, your practice is newsworthy. Everything from adding new physicians to winning an award and even going paperless makes for a good story as long as you’re targeting the right media group.

It’s also helpful to tie your story into a larger trend that affects your community as a whole, if you can. For example, if you recently went paperless, see if that ties into a new county conservation initiative or a story about how big your local landfill is. The broader the interest is, the easier it is to sell the reporter.

A Timely Manner

First and foremost, find out the deadlines for each of the media outlets you’re interested in pitching your story to. If you miss these deadlines, then you’re out. It’s important to make sure your announcement is timely as well. Try and tie it into a time of year or a larger picture story that’s going on for the most impact.

Know Your Audience

Media have to know who is watching, reading or listening to their stories. If you’re pitching to them, so do you. Ask yourself if the audience of that outlet would be interested in the proposed news piece. Think about it for a bit and then ask yourself again. Remember, they may not know anything about the medical side of the story, but you being the expert will have to relate it to them.

You Can Never Proof Enough

Do whatever you can to avoid typos, sloppy writing or grammatical errors since these mistakes will ruin your credibility with the media almost instantly. You only have one chance to submit your story so make sure everything is right before you do it. Catching that typo could be the difference in your story getting picked up and a patient scheduling an appointment.

What About Outside of News Media?

PR isn’t just about news media. It’s anything you do to enhance the image of your practice. Carve out a few minutes a week and post on your practice’s blog. This allows you to talk about a new trend or explain a procedure in your specialty while connecting to patients. Create a flyer that answers common questions you get during this time of year. Send some of your staff to a few community events. All of these activities make a difference and work incredibly well to give your practice the PR it deserves.

That’s just a few of the things you can do to increase PR in your immediate area, both in the media and in your lobby. Although establishing an effective media relations plan may seem daunting at first, it is vital to the continued success and overall growth of your practice. 

Jennifer Thompson is a Central Florida small business owner and serves as president of Insight Marketing Group, focusing on medical office marketing and community relations. In this capacity she is responsible for developing and implementing the long-term strategic vision for the overall organization including publishing the company’s community-based monthly news magazine and hosting the company’s weekly small business networking group. She can be reached via email at jennifer@insightmg.com.

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