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Introduction to social media marketing for veterinary practices.
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The Use of Social Media in Your Veterinary PracticeBrenda Tassava, CVPMBroad Ripple Veterinary Management Solutions, Inc.
VHMA Retreat, January 2010
Social Media Marketing DefinedYou can buy attention (advertising)You can beg for attention from the media (PR)You can bug people one at a time to get attention (sales)
Or you can earn attention by creating something interesting and valuable and then publishing it online for free: a YouTube video, a blog, a research report, photos, a Twitter stream, an ebook, a Facebook page.
----David Meerman Scott, Web Ink Now
Social Media is...
David Amano, Harvard Business Review says social media is:
“a way of thinking and approaching business that requires passion and commitment and, above all, willingness to participate in social spaces honestly and freely and by the rules of the social network itself.”
Social Media is not....
a quick fix
purely a sales tool
something to be automated
customer-centered......it IS people-centered
Why social media?
Shana Pereira, Tourism Queensland Regional Director:
"Consumers don't want to be sold anything anymore, you want to feel like you've gone out and found it yourself and decided on your own that that's what you want to do, or that's what you want to buy. There's no better time to actually go out and really try new things, because you just never know what's going to work."
Step 1: ListeningGoogle Alerts: create keyword specific alerts to be emailed when content appears online
TweetBeep: monitors up to 10 keyword alerts
SocialMention: tracks 80 social networks for your keyword; also monitors strength and influence of conversations
Social Media Venues
MySpace
Flickr
YouTube
Blogging
Foursquare
AIM
Ping
Skype
Loopt
Social Media Venues
MySpace
Flickr
YouTube
Blogging
Foursquare
AIM
Ping
Skype
Loopt
Step 2: Join the ConversationWhere do you start?
TwitterMicroblogging in 140 characters or less
•Client service
•Marketing
•Education
•Networking
Find your “voice” through microblogging
Begin to participate in “conversations”
Demographics of Twitter
more than 6 million members
growth rates of 1,382% year-over-year
median age of Twitter users: 31 (Gen X, ages 28 to 45)
26% of users are 35-44 yrs. old
14% are “stable career” types
Another 12% are “young cosmopolitans”, 40-somethings with household incomes over $250,000
Getting StartedTwitter name, location and profile are important!
Twitter “Control Panel”
@mentionsHow to tell you’re being “talked about” on Twitter
@________
to speak to someone, begin your tweet with @handle (no spaces after @)
Re-tweeting
RT followed by @_______.....is reposting of someone else’s tweet
ReTweet vs. Reply
Direct Messaging
“DM me...” means “send me a direct message”, which is private and won’t show up in the feed
Direct Messaging (DM)
Use of #hashtags (#) are used to search within the Twitter feed. Common use include:
#meowmonday
#woofwednesday
#followfriday
Use of hashtags (#)
The WOW Factor:
Social Media Magic!
Recommended Reading
Twitter Power by Joel Comm (@joelcomm)
Twitter Marketing for Dummies by Kyle Lacy (@kyleplacy)
“Tweeting for Pets” by Tamara Fox (@AAHAHelpingPets), Trends Magazine, January/February 2010 issue
BloggingWeb+log=Blog
Online Journal
•Education
•News
Blogging RulesThere are no rules!
•Handouts
•Newsletter articles
•Anything “new” in the clinic or with the doctors & staff
Brevity is king when it comes to blogging!
Blogging for success
Have a plan or schedule
Be consistent and develop a pattern
Links are good! Reciprocate whenever possible
Watch what generates traffic and write MORE on those topics
Divide longer “articles” into 2 or 3 posts
Don’t apologize
Wordpress Stats
Analyzing Your Traffic
Search Engine ResultsOptimization and key word searches
FacebookLargest social network in the world
•Client Service
•Education
•Marketing
How do I create a Page?
You can assign multiple Administrators to do updates
What do I talk about on Facebook?
Happenings in the practice
Happenings in the community
Staff anniversaries
Inspirational quotes about pets
Links to videos
Links to photos
Events
Links to new blog posts
Ask questions
Speak with “one voice”
Link your clinic Facebook Page to your clinic’s Twitter account!
Are people interacting?
Who are my Fans?
YouTube: Create a Channel
LinkedInLargest online professional network
•Professional branding
•Networking
•Resume
You can connect your LinkedIn account to your personal Twitter account.
The Not-So-Distant Future of Social Media is Mobility
Foursquare
Mobile Social App
•Marketing
•Client Service
DO NOT link your Foursquare Account to auto-post to your Twitter account!
“There’s an app for that...”
Step 3: Managing Your Social Media Program
Social Media Toolbox
StumbleUpon: content resource extraordinaire!
Minggl: can’t live without this!
Tweetdeck: manages multiple Twitter accounts
Evernote: a place to keep thoughts/ideas organized
Google Reader: pulls all the blogs you want to follow to one place!
Minggl Sidebar
Manages multiple “identities” from many networks, all in a toolbar/sidebar format
Create groups, monitor mentions, etc.
Online and on your phone....auto-syncs your notes
Subscribe to blogs and read them all from one place
Put it all together, and what do you have?
My desktop on any given day....
Create your own social network with Ning!
Thank you!! Feel free to contact me with questions:)
http://www.twitter.com/bktassava
