The Prehab Guys' 5 Steps to Build Brand Awareness Online

Step #1: Start with why – build brand awareness through purpose

• Action: Before you post a single thing, clarify why you’re doing it — your core purpose, belief, or motivation. It’s more than just building an online presence that feels like you. Why do you want to build an online presence that feels like you?
• Why it helps: People are more inspired by why you do what you do, not what you do or how you do it. When you start with why, you connect on an emotional level, build trust, and attract those who believe what you believe.
• Optional pro tip: If you start with 'why,' you are free to fail and adjust your 'how' as you learn. Furthermore, you can always pivot your what.

Step #2: Be selfish – why your personal motivation helps online brand building

• Action: Say out loud how you will benefit from an online presence, and don’t be ashamed of saying it.
• Why it helps: I can guarantee that your why is something bold and visionary — and something you’re extremely passionate about. But business doesn’t run on passion…forever. Passion MUST fuel every business in the beginning, but it’s not enough to scale. Scale requires endurance. And endurance requires internal motivation to push through the loneliness, sleepless nights, and never-ending problems that entrepreneurship will throw at you.
• Optional pro tip: Our roles as healthcare providers necessitate us to give to others, but what about ourselves? You can’t take care of others unless you take care of yourself.

💡 Tools that save you time and mental energy, like an EMR or clinic management system, make it easier to focus on your people, your practice, and your purpose.

Step #3: Trust your gut – build your brand with confidence

• Action: No matter how complex or consequential a decision may seem, always trust your gut.

• Why: An internal rift arises when you feel you aren’t being true to yourself. I would much rather be wrong and be 100% OK in my decision than be right and not understand the rationale behind a decision.

Step #4: Be you – how to build an authentic online presence

• Action: Share content in your natural tone, how you’d explain it to a patient, colleague, or friend over coffee. Avoid jargon unless you’d use it in real life.
• Why it helps: It builds trust. People connect to people, not personas. If your writing sounds like your actual voice, it won’t feel like “content,” it’ll feel like a connection.
• Optional pro tip: In the world of LLMs, make sure you utilize the memory and prompting functionality to stay true to yourself. I have my own Pro ChatGPT account, which I use for everything, both personal and business. It knows how I speak, because I use a lot of voice prompts, and it knows how I feel on many different topics. This ensures that when using LLMs to help with writing, it always stays authentic to me.

Step #5: Be vulnerable – grow brand awareness with a human touch

• Action: Talk about what you’re learning, not just what you’ve mastered. Share challenges, pivots, behind-the-scenes decisions, and internal thought processes.
• Why it helps: Vulnerability is magnetic. Your audience doesn’t just want the final answer; they want to see how you got there. That’s what makes you relatable and credible. It also strengthens brand awareness by showing the human side of your business.

🎧 Hear more from the Prehab Guys

For more tips on building a brand that feels true to you, check out the whole conversation with the Prehab Guys over on Radio Front Desk.

📔 Find more from Michael Lau over at michaellau.substack.com

💪 Look for The Prehab Guys on Instagram and ThePrehabGuys.com