Healthcare is a people business...where trust and confidence begins with the first impressions. Here's how to create an effective professional photo that helps build and extend your first-class reputation..
OK—we'll be the first to admit that not everyone is incredibly photogenic.
But a professional's professional photo is a powerful and often neglected communications tool in healthcare marketing. So...take a dispassionate look and ask: What is your "executive portrait" saying about you? (Use the same test for hospitals, key staff members, and hospital executives.)
Visual information is more impactful than verbal or written communications. You and I (anyone) remember 10 percent of what we hear, 20 percent of what we read...and 80 percent of what we see. And more importantly, pictures connect people to people on an emotional level. They portray trust, confidence and sincerity—the intangible but vital elements of your professional reputation.
Now take another look.
Is your professional photo as good as your professional reputation? Or is your "image" saying unkind things behind your back? Do you even have a recent and decent professional photo? If you need a picture to send to the media or professional society would you be scrambling to find something appropriate on short notice?
In our work with professional practices, hospitals and healthcare organizations large and small, we see tons of good and bad examples of practitioner pictures in all sorts of healthcare marketing materials. Unfortunately, the poor examples tend to lead the pack.
And, like it or not, your reputation is reflected in what people see in your photo. Absent any other input, they can feel that you don't deserve their professional trust. (And perhaps a competitor gets their attention.)
What we see suggests that successful practitioners—doctors, surgeons, dentists, administrators, technicians, staff—have and use top-quality professional business portraits. And here are eight guidelines that experience tells us will help you get the job done right.
For the sake of your professional reputation and your brand...
It seems that the world is increasingly visually oriented. The uses for professional portrait photography have grown as the Internet and online marketing have grown. People expect to see what you look like in hospital or medial practice advertising, PR and publicity releases, peer connections and CVs, the hospital or surgi-center welcome wall, annual reports, newsletters, brochures and dozens of other places.
Send us a sample of your marketing materials and we'll give you quick appraisal of what it says about your brand, reputation and professional image.
Marketing a healthcare organization can be challenging - even painful if you don't approach it with the right knowledge, tools, and guidance. By reading about mistakes and lessons others have learned the hard way, you can boost your marketing effectiveness and take a shortcut to success. Discover how to avoid these "Seven Deadly Sins". Plus, join over 30,000 of your fellow healthcare providers with a free subscription to our Insight Newsletter.