Brand and me ! What ? I’m not a celebrity, I’m a dentist ! If you think so, read on :)
YOU ! My friend , you are a BRAND.
Believe it or not , we ALL are brands.
Each day,every day,whatever you do,whoever you interact with,you are creating a BRAND.
Knowingly or unknowingly, you are creating a brand.
Whether you work in a hospital, your own clinic or other healthcare setting, your branding is already evident to everyone you interact with.
People draw conclusions from every instance your name is being mentioned. Your brand is your reputation. It’s what people talk about you & perceive you when you are not in the room.
But Branding is not marketing. Simply put, Personal Branding is about being authentic and delivering value.
Branding is about differentiating yourself and authenticity is key.
Without authenticity, branding would be merely acting - an empty, exhausting endeavour as you struggle to play a part that doesn’t come naturally to you.
Being yourself sounds easy, but it requires you to truly know yourself, your unique strengths and abilities and the ability to leverage these to build your own, true,authentic powerful brand.
Having a strong personal brand allows you to develop a reputation that makes people want to work with you, and makes them expect a certain level of quality and consistency from you.
Ultimately,branding can help you expand your practice, reach a wider audience,increase referrals, and increase the number of clinical procedures that you perform.
A personal brand is about more than making some superficial changes to your social media profiles or writing a killer bio. It’s a lifetime commitment to showing up daily and consistently so your actions become louder than your words. Oh, and it’s an ever-evolving process. Your personal brand WILL change because it’s simply a reflection of you – an ever-changing, always fascinating piece miraculousness. So relax and enjoy the journey!
Let’s us see the basic steps in building your Personal Branding Roadmap.
STEP 1 – CLARITY
Clarity is at the core of your personal brand. Without it, you could end up creating the wrong content for the wrong people written in the wrong tone of voice... and what good will that do you?
The clarity you need to build a powerful personal brand covers a few areas…
‣ Who you want to serve ?
‣ What problem they need solving ?
‣ How you solve that problem ?
‣ What makes you qualified to help them
‣ What makes your own story unique ?
Who you want to serve ? Who is that ideal dream patient that you want to particularly serve ?
Are you an esthetic practice , that is primarily focused on veneers,bonded restorations & whitening? Or are you a family practice who serves housewives and senior citizens and full mouth reconstruction and implants are the key services in your practice?
What are the demographics ( age, sex, location, relationship status, income) and the psychographics ( the way they make decisions, their thought process ) of these people ?
When they require a dental service, how do these people seek out information?
Do they ask their friends?
Do they google ?
Do they ask recommendations on Social media ?
What are the pain points of these people ?
Is the inability to chew or the look of their smile , their key concern ?
Can you build a target audience avatar based on this key information?
MARKETING IS NOT ABOUT YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE ,IT IS SOLVING THE PAIN POINT OF THE END CONSUMER OR PATIENT ,TRANSFORMING THEM IN THE PROCESS & BRANDING IS COMMUNICATING THAT STORY OF TRANSFORMATION IN A COMPELLING ENOUGH WAY TO MAKE THEM DECIDE THAT YOU ARE THE DENTIST WHO CAN SOLVE THEIR PAIN POINT /PROBLEM ,LONG BEFORE THEY NEED ONE!
How will you solve their problems ? ( Your unique solution )
What do you do differently to your competition that makes you unique.
What makes your own story Unique ?
What is it in your own life that led you to doing what you do? Is there something close to your heart that drives your“why”? What is it about you that would make a journalist want to write about you and your business that would connect emotionally with their audience.
I will cover the story part in detail in my subsequent blog.
STEP 2 – CONFIDENCE
In order to serve your audience in a way that is genuine and un-salesy, you need to have confidence in what you do and your audience needs to have confidence in you. This works from the inside out.
This is where that old know/like/trust equation comes in. And it doesn’t happen overnight.
What makes you qualified to help your Audience /Patients ?( What training, experience, results and/or social proof do you have that will help your audience believe that you’re qualified to help them?).
- In What ways are you going to deliver Value ?
How do you serve your audience before they become paying customers or clients?
Once you are confident in your niche/ skill and can deliver value to your audience and even your audience has the faith and confidence in you, comes the next step.
Communicating that message to your audience.
STEP 3- COMMUNICATION – Now you’ve laid the foundations for yourself, the next step is communicating your message and ensuring it reaches the right people. As I'm sure you know, communication is more than just words. It’s in all the other signals we send, from the colours and fonts we use, the photos we share, the clothes we wear, the body language we use and so much more.
What is your STRONGEST FORM OF COMMUNICATION ?
Is it the written word ?
Then Blogs May be your strongest tool to get your message out there.
Are you shy in front of the camera ? Do you prefer only audio ?
Then Podcast may be your strongest tool to get your message out there.
Are you very good with video ?
What form of video are you best at ?
Recorded or Live ?
Then U tube or FB live , is what you should be looking at.
On the basis of this discovery, you will choose ONE primary platform and one or two secondary platforms to communicate to your target audience.
STEP 4 – CONSISTENCY –
Consistency is the key that builds the most trust with your audience as you’ll become familiar to them, they’ll know what to expect from you and you’ll become a reliable source of education/value/information/entertainment/ whatever it is you’re offering.
Your audience is paying attention to everything you do, so it’s just as important to respond with integrity to the people you like and want to serve as the people you want nothing to do with. And that’s easier said than done! But just think of the payoff once your brand is established and growing your business like wildfire.
CREATE CONSISTENT RELEVANT CONTENT in the following areas.
1.Your Primary Niche - Eg Implants /Cosmetic Dentistry /Pediatric Dentistry/Digital Dentistry. All content is in the form of stories mostly.
2.Another key passion area other than dentistry-eg- photography/books/baking/yoga/parenting/a particular sport etc. This will make your audience know what you are as a person, make you relatable & show your personality (builds the know –like –trust factor in the long term).
3.Your Team and people you work with and everyday stories that happen as a result of this interaction.
So this is your Personal Branding Map, now its up to you to do the work, show up consistently & actually BUILD YOUR BRAND.
Would love to end with the quote from the famous Marketing Guru, Seth Godin,
“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer's decision to choose one product or service over another”
To be continued…( We cover Brand Story in the next blog )
About the Author -
Meet the visionary of dental marketing innovation - Dr. Anisa, Your Social Dentist and founder of Anisa Your Social Dentist. With expertise seamlessly intertwined with a passion for authentic connections in the dental industry, Dr. Anisa envisions dentistry as a canvas for storytelling and personal branding.
Embark on a transformative journey with Dr. Anisa, where dental marketing becomes a narrative woven with threads of trust, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to redefining patient experiences. Join Dr. Anisa in shaping a future where dental practices thrive as beacons of genuine connection in an increasingly digital world.