photo by DC Cheloveck via Flikr

I’m so happy to see so many of my fellow therapists taking the plunge into the online world!  Welcome!

However, I see some behaviors that give me pause and would like to offer a short course in online etiquette. Marketing a professional business online is a civilized endeavor and so we must conduct ourselves similarly to how we would in the “real world.”

Suggested Rules of Online Etiquette for Healthcare Professionals

1. Be nice.  The thousands of people I interact with every day online are exceedingly nice, polite and helpful. I try to return the favor at all times.  There seems to be an unwritten rule of, “If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.”  I know this seems obvious, but I see some of us, how do I say this nicely….not being constructive.

2. Be honest. Transparency is an important value of quality online inhabitants.  Be who you are, promote helpful services/products, follow up on any and all inquiries, admit when you don’t know stuff.

3. Don’t plagiarize. You cannot take someone else’s blog posts, put them on your own site and pretend they are yours. So uncool.  Now, it is perfectly OK to take someone else’s blog post and with their permission, post it on your site giving them FULL credit and a link back to their site.  But you can’t take my anyone’s words and pass them off as your own.  You will be called out  if people find out you are doing this.  (Not to mention, it violates rules #1 and 2 above).

4. Share.  The online culture is one of open sharing. If I see a post or tweet that I think is informative, funny, cool, important I pass it on.  I will write about it here (and send links to the specific info) or tweet about it. Social media works because of the social. Anyone can do media.  Share and others will share your info, passing it on all around the world!  [For example--if you like this post, please hit the "Retweet" button above. It is so appreciated by me and you may be helping out your fellow Tweeps!]

5. Show your face.  I see therapists starting to participate in networking sites, twitter, linked in, but many of you have not put up pictures.  Remember this space is social. If we can’t see you, we have a hard time relating to you or believing things you have to say.  This is especially important on your own website. If I am a client looking at your website I do not want to see stock pictures of really attractive people smiling at  me, or worse, random pictures of a beach or waterfall (that is nowhere near your office). People are smart and social media savvy, they know those people are not real clients and that beach is not in your backyard.  Just show your face. If they are going to become a client they will eventually know what you look like!

6. Be helpful. Ah, this is where therapists can really shine in social media!  The WHOLE purpose of social media is to share useful information.  So start talking about what you know and share it with those who can benefit. This is NOT therapy. It is sharing information that you might write in a book on stress management (or whatever your specialty is).

7. Trust that your readers are smart. Lots of therapists tell me they don’t want a blog because, “my clients might post comments…..”  Yes, they might, but I can almost guarantee you they are not going to start asking deep personal questions on your public blog or in your twitter stream.  People get it. They know this stuff is public. They will call or send a private message if they want to get more personal.

8. You set the boundaries. Just like a “real life” relationship, you set the boundaries in social media. You can turn off your blogs comments, require phone calls for personal conversations, etc. No one can run amok in your online space (unless you allow it to happen).

9. NEVER EVER discuss client issues in the social media space. Don’t even hint about clients you have seen or will see, issues that come up. You can’t disguise them enough so they don’t recognize themselves.  One doctor I follow on twitter will tweet about patient issues he sees in the ER. Things like, “Laceration from pet dog required stitches.”  I am HORRIFIED when I see this. I know where this guy works (’cause it’s on his profile) and I know exactly what he is seeing in the ER. NOOOOOOOOooooooo….  What if that patient sees this tweet?  He knows when he was in the ER and that he had the dog bite……I shudder to think about the consequences, especially for those of us in mental health.

You can use social media very effectively without ever referencing specific client treatment issues and procedures.

OK–those 9 rules should keep you making the most out of social media. When in doubt always default to #1 and #2. Be nice. Be honest. The rest will come.

If you’re nice, honest and ready to learn more about how to use social media to market your practice you may want to sign up for my RSS feed or email updates to get these posts hot off the press. Want weekly practice building tips? Sign up for my newsletter!