Unless you’re deep into autism issues, you probably either can’t name a spokesperson for the condition or you thought of Jenny McCarthy. But, why Jenny McCarthy and not some physician? Go read Mark Britton’s explanation. He says she’s kicking docs’ butts in communications and marketing. Sound shallow? Well guess what, that stuff matters. A lot.
“Aha!” Your internal marketing excuse machine says, “I am not a celebrity so you can’t expect me to compete with Jenny McCarthy or any of her Hollywood brethren!” OK . . . so you might not get you own talk show, but let’s start simple: Have you taken the time to simply join – or even investigate – a Facebook group relevant to your specialty? Have you seen what the masses are saying and offered to their conversation a few supportive, maybe even innovative, thoughts. Have you guest-written an article for a patient-oriented magazine or a blog? Have you ever “Tweeted” an interesting article, adding just 140 characters of your own commentary? Do you answer medical questions from every day people online?
Asked another way: Do you engage in grass-roots thought leadership at all?
Want to make a difference? You can’t do it if nobody can hear you. Blogging is also a way to start.
(H/t @haroldpollack via his private Twitter account.)
